Any notions of the women’s basketball team pulling off two upsets in a row and accomplishing its first road sweep of the Bay Area schools since 1999 were put to rest in the first half of Saturday’s game at No. 11 Stanford.

The Cardinal — behind seven points from Jillian Harmon — jumped out to a 24-7 lead midway through the first half, and the Huskies never recovered. Stanford won easily, 80-54.

“It’s tough, Stanford played pretty well today,” said coach June Daugherty. “It seemed like we were a little bit weary, a little bit tired, but that’s all excuses. The strength that got us there with Cal on Thursday wasn’t there today.”

While Washington (15-11 overall, 8-7 Pac-10) was able to come back from a 19-point deficit against the No. 20 Golden Bears, Stanford’s interior made sure that once the Huskies were down, they stayed down.

The Cardinal (21-4 overall, 13-1 Pac-10) got 40 points from posts Harmon (8), Brooke Smith (12), Jayne Appel (8) and Kristen Newlin (12).

“I think we tried to play them physical, but it’s tough to play with those monsters down low,” said guard Cameo Hicks. “We will do a better job against the next team’s posts.”

Aside from the offensive blitz, the Cardinal virtually shut down the UW’s big women. Laura McLellan (2), Andrea Plouffe (9) and Breanne Watson (7) combined for 18 points, but Jill Bell, Maggie O’Hara and Heidi McNeill contributed zero points in 33 minutes.

“As disappointing as this loss is, we’ve got to put it behind us really quick and get back to the gym,” Daugherty said. “You have to remember, Stanford’s front line is the biggest in the nation. We’ve got to move forward. We’ve got to find consistency in the scoring in the paint.”

It wasn’t just interior play that Stanford dominated. Two-time Pac-10 Player-of-the-Year Candice Wiggins scored 23 points before leaving with a sprained ankle with eight minutes left in the game, and freshman guard Melanie Murphy added 11 points off the bench.

Junior Emily Florence was the only Dawg to notch double figures, scoring 11 points. She added team-high’s with eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. The rest of the Husky backcourt struggled, hitting just 10-of-31 shots from the field.

“Em’s such a great competitor, but like the rest of us, she’s just very disappointed right now,” Daugherty said.

Besides scoring, it was rebounding that doomed the Dawgs. Stanford owned the glass, grabbing 48 rebounds to 32 for Washington.

“I really think it was rebounding,” Daugherty said. “We were not sharp in our box outs. There were too many second shots and too many third shots.”

The Huskies have a week to work on their game before they travel to WSU Saturday to take on the last-place Cougars. With three games left on the schedule, time is short to assure a position in the postseason.

Washington is fifth in the conference, and all three of its remaining games are against opponents below them in the standings.

In order to improve their chances, Hicks said there are a few things the Dawgs need to do.

“I’d like to see us get into our running game a bit more,” she said. “I’d like to see us buckle down on defense.”

Daugherty said that despite the Huskies’ losing seven of their past 10 games, the season can all come together in the next two weeks.

“You want to be playing your best basketball at the end of February,” Daugherty said. “That’s a possibility with this team.”

Reach reporter Sam Cameron at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.