In its last game before a two-week break, the No. 5 women’s basketball team will face upstart UC-Davis on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Maples Pavilion.

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Stanford Daily File Photo

Senior guard Candice Wiggins surveys the defense. Wiggins and the rest of the Cardinal have started strong this year and look to keep their momentum going against the UC-Davis Aggies.

The Cardinal is coming off a convincing 96-61 win over San Francisco on Wednesday, in which it was able to overpower the Dons with a combination of tenacious defense, offensive firepower and superior strength and speed.

The Aggies — off to their first 5-0 start since the 2001-2002 season after finishing 13-16 last year — downed Portland State, 80-62, on Tuesday night. Prior to that victory, UC-Davis won the Waikiki Beach Marriot Classic, which included a victory over Washington in the final. Sophomore guard Anna Harp averaged 14.7 points for the tournament to win MVP honors and was named Big West Conference Player of the Week for her efforts, despite not starting once.

The Aggies are in their first year as official members of Division I — they played with a provincial status over the past four years as they transitioned into Division I.

UC-Davis has a formidable core group of players to compete with. Senior forward and starter Heather Bates, along with Harp, was all-tournament in the Waikiki Classic. Bates led the Aggies in both scoring and rebounding last year.

Junior forward Haylee Donaghe — the older sister of Cardinal freshman guard Hannah Donaghe — and senior forward Jessica Campbell, who tallied the 1,000th point of her career against Portland State, are both scoring in double figures. Haylee Donaghe is also a defensive force: she and junior guard Kirsten Commins — both starters — lead the team with 13 steals each.

UC-Davis can credit its tough defense for its impressive start; the team has held its opponents to just over 30% shooting on the year. The offense, though, has been lacking: Through the first four games, they were only hitting 42.9% of their shots.

But the Aggies turned it around in the Portland State game, shooting 58% from the floor. They will need to continue that trend if they are to compete with the Cardinal, who may be the toughest opponent they will face all year.

The Cardinal are scoring 75 points per game and holding opponents to 35.1% shooting. Sophomore center Jayne Appel and senior guard Candice Wiggins lead both the offensive and defensive attacks for the Cardinal — Appel leads the team with 16.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, while Wiggins is second in scoring with 14.9 points per game. Appel has 20 of Stanford’s 32 blocks on the year, and Wiggins leads the team in steals, with 14.

They are assisted by junior forward Jillian Harmon, an occasional starter and an effective scorer, and a formidable group of freshman, including starting forward Kayla Pedersen. Sophomore point guard Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, who has started every game this year after missing all of last season with a torn ACL, is a steadying influence and an unselfish floor general.

Stanford, who seemed to perfect the fast break against San Francisco, will continue to press its up-tempo style against UC-Davis. The Aggies, though, are a fairly versatile team, and they will be able to use a number of player combinations to try and contain the Cardinal.

But first they’ll have to find the right squad quickly — San Francisco was able to keep pace with Stanford throughout the first half on Wednesday, but by that point, the Dons were already in a 20-point hole.