Nunu Agara drives to the basket during her 18-point college debut. (Al Chang/ISI photos.com)
The Stanford women’s basketball team started its season on a winning note, defeating Hawaii 87-40 at home on Nov. 8.
Two players who made a big difference were junior forward Kiki Iriafen and freshman forward Nunu Agara.
Kiki, one of the starters, poured in 23 points and snared 13 rebounds in a mere 24 minutes.
Coming off the bench in her collegiate debut, Nunu contributed 18 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes -- a productive rate of one point per minute. Fans were impressed with her strong moves under the basket.
Also in double figures were junior forward Brooke Demetre with 12 points and junior guard Elena Bosgana with 10.
Joining Elena and Kiki in the starting lineup were senior forward Cameron Brink, graduate guard Hannah Jump and sophomore guard Talana Lepolo.
Cameron played only 17 minutes and had 8 points. Like her teammates, she was frequently subbed in and out. However, about halfway through the second quarter she went to the locker room accompanied by trainer Katelin Knox. She returned a few seconds later and sat on the bench and was back in action to start the third quarter.
About halfway through the fourth quarter, Kiki went to the locker room with assistance. She returned to the bench late in the quarter and went to the bench.
Bench players took over for part of the fourth quarter. Thus, everyone got into the game, and everyone made a positive contribution whether by scoring, rebounding or assisting.
Apparently because inside play was going so well, the team had only four 3’s. Three of them came consecutively in the second quarter with two from Brooke and one from Hannah. Freshman forward Courtney Ogden made the other one later in the game. She also was the only player to foul out.
The crowd of 2,535 included a student contingent with the band, cheerleaders, Tree and Dollies. A group in the student section waved handmade signs such as “Clardy Party” to support freshman guard Chloe Clardy.
The team played tough defense, forcing Hawaii to shoot late in the shot clock. The Cardinal also enjoyed a huge advantage in rebounds, 60-18, and made 19 of its 20 free throws.
Hawaii had 11 turnovers, Stanford 12 – an area that head coach Tara VanDerveer will be looking to improve.
The No. 15 Cardinal face a tougher test at 2 p.m. Nov. 12 when No. 9 Indiana visits Maples. ESPN will televise this game.
