November 27, 2024

Team posts two more wins after loss to IU

 Returning from its first road trip and first loss of the season, the Stanford women’s basketball team righted the ship with two wins.

The first was a 91-49 blowout over Morgan State on Nov. 22, the second an 81-45 defeat of Cal Poly on Nov. 25.

For the record, the 79-66 loss came to Indiana University three time zones away on Nov. 17. Playing in front of more than 10,000 fans, the team lost its three-point touch, making only two.

The story was different against Morgan State as four players teamed up for 10 3’s, with three each by senior forward Brooke Demetre and redshirt junior guard Jzaniya Harriel.

Played in front of more than 2,500 on a rainy, rainy night, the game featured several firsts. One of them saw junior guard Tess Heal getting her first start, filling in for unavailable junior guard Talana Lepolo. She finished with a game-high 14 points.

Another was that freshman center Kennedy Umeh had her first double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, all in less than 11 minutes.

Finally, junior guard Lauren Green, who rarely gets to play, scored her first-ever collegiate basket, much to the delight of her teammates and the fans.

Tess started again against Cal Poly and went on to score 14 points, behind Brooke’s 17 and sophomore forward Nunu Agara’s 15.

Brooke accounted for half of the team’s six 3’s while senior guard Elena Bosgana had two and Tess one.

In this game attended by more than 2,700, Stanford dominated the first quarter, but Cal Poly matched its points output, 18, in the second. Nevertheless, Stanford surged ahead in the final quarters, leading to the 81-45 victory.

Next up is UC San Diego, coached by Tara VanDerveer’s sister Heidi, at 2 p.m. Nov. 29. ACCNX will stream the game.

November 16, 2024

Aggies try but can't stifle Cardinal

 

                        Junior guard Tess Heal gets one of her two blocks. (Stanford Athletics)

After the euphoria of three lopsided wins fueled by a barrage of 3-pointers, the Stanford women’s basketball team returned to earth but still defeated UC Davis 69-56 on Nov. 13 at home.

Because of the Aggies’ defense, 3’s were harder to come by, only five.

Sophomore forward Courtney Ogden contributed two. The others came from senior guards Elena Bosgana and Brooke Demetre plus redshirt junior guard Jzaniya Harriel.

Scoring was led by sophomore forward Nunu Agara with 25 points plus 10 rebounds for a double-double, the first of her career.

Courtney with 16 and Brooke with 11 also were in double figures.

The starting lineup was the same as in past games with Nunu, Elena, Brooke, Jzaniya and junior guard Talana Lepolo.

All 14 players were available, but with the game so tight throughout that only 10 played.

Witnessed by 2,499 fans, the game started inauspiciously with a turnover, the first of 16, on Stanford’s first possession.

When the first quarter ended, the score was 17-11 in Stanford’s favor. More than halfway through the second quarter, though, Stanford had added only 2 points to its total, while Davis scored another 5 points. At the half, Stanford was up 29-21.

Davis actually outscored the host team in the third quarter, which ended with Stanford up by only 2 points, 49-47. Stanford could have been behind by then, but Courtney buried a buzzer-beating 3.

In the fourth quarter, Stanford had an 11-point advantage to win the game.

After this four-game home stand, the team ventures on its first road trip, visiting Indiana University at 11 a.m. PST Nov. 17.

 

November 11, 2024

Cardinal christen court with win

 

 Alumnae salute their coach. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez The Chronicle)

Chalk up another big win as the Stanford women’s basketball team defeated the visiting Gonzaga Bulldogs 89-58 on Nov. 10 to raise its season record to 3-0.

This win vaulted the previously unranked Cardinal into #24 in AP’s Nov. 11 weekly poll.

The team started off strong and never looked back. About 2 ½ minutes into the first quarter, the Cardinal were up 10-0, necessitating a Gonzaga time out.

By the end of that quarter, Stanford led 26-4. The hosts outscored the visitors in the next two quarters, while Gonzaga managed 25 points to Stanford’s 22 in the fourth quarter, when the game was well in hand and bench players had taken over.

Thirteen 3’s are lucky

Once again 3-pointers made a solid contribution with 13. Redshirt junior guard Jzaniya Harriel had four, followed by sophomore guard Chloe Clardy with three.

Junior guard Talana Lepolo and senior guard Elena Bosgana each added two. One each came from sophomore forwards Mary Ashley Stevenson and Courtney Ogden.

All 14 players got into the game, and 10 scored. Double figures came from sophomore forward Nunu Agara, 16; Elena and Jzaniya, 12; and Chloe, 11.

Of note is that freshman center Kennedy Umeh played less than two minutes at the end of the game but still scored 6 points.

Oher noteworthy stats: Stanford had only five turnovers to Gonzaga’s 18, and it had 19 assists to Gonzaga’s 11.

The starters were Nunu, Talana, Elena, Jzaniya and senior forward Brooke Demetre.

On hand were the band, Tree, Dollies and cheerleaders (with orange pompons).

Conga on the Court came back after the first quarter.

Court named after Tara VanDerveer

The crowd of 3,865 saw not only a winning game but also the unveiling of Tara VanDerveer Court, in honor of the recently retired coach who is the winningest basketball coach of all.


Wearing the jacket honoring her 1,000th win, Tara chats with Kate. (Karen Hickey/ISIPhotos)


The words “Tara VANDERVEER Court” appear twice on the floor next to the center line facing east.

Among the fans was Tara’s mother, Rita, who lives in Colorado, as well as several alumnae. After the game, three of them – Alyssa Jerome and Lexie and Lacie Hull, all ’22 – addressed the crowd.

Wearing the custom-designed jacket she received after her 1,000th win, Tara then took the microphone to comment, “It was a great game. … What a fabulous job Kate is doing,” she said, referring to her successor, Kate Paye. She added that she’s working part-time in the office of athletic director Bernard Muir.

Afterward fans lined up in the Hall of Champions for a meet and greet with Tara.

Stanford’s home stand ends at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 against UC Davis. ACCNX will stream the game.

November 8, 2024

Team defeats Washington State -- again

 

Elena, left, who led the team in scoring, and Tess, who had four 3's, celebrate. (Stanford Athletics)


It has been said that there’s a time and a place for everything.

That may be true, but for Washington State, Nov. 7 was not the time nor was Maples Pavilion the place for the Cougars to defeat the Stanford women’s basketball team.

Instead the home team prevailed 94-65. Former conference opponent WSU has never defeated Stanford in all 74 of the teams’ meetings since they started playing each other in 1983, AP reported.

All 14 Cardinal players were available, and all played before the crowd of 2,428.

Four players scored in double figures. Senior guard Elena Bosgana poured in 19 points, followed by sophomore forward Nunu Agara with 18, junior guard Tess Heal with 14 in her Stanford debut and sophomore guard Chloe Clardy with 13.

Team stays hot behind the arc

Three-pointers accounted for a chunk of the score with 14.

They came courtesy of Tess with four (of four); Nunu, Elena and senior forward Brooke Demetre with two each; and Chloe, junior guard Talana Lepolo, redshirt junior guard Jzaniya Harriel and sophomore forward Courtney Ogden with one each.

The Cardinal’s 14 triples came on just 20 attempts (70.0 percent). Through the season’s first two games, Stanford (2-0) is shooting 59.3 percent from deep (32-of-54), Stanford Athletics reported.

Starters were Nunu, Talana, Elena, Brooke and Jzaniya, all of whom scored.

When the first quarter ended 21-15 in Stanford’s favor, nine players had seen action.

Fans got a bit of a scare during the second quarter when Nunu limped off toward the locker room, but she soon was back in action.

Nunu delights crowd with buzzer-beating 3

She later provided one of the game’s biggest highlights with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to put Stanford up 69-48 at the end of the third quarter.

Even though long-distance shots were a hallmark of this game, the team did a better job of getting the ball inside than in previous games.

Stanford dominated the stat lines with more rebounds, assists and steals and fewer turnovers. However, the home team had more fouls but still made more free throws.

Starting this season, Chick-fil-A is donating 10 meals for the hungry for every Stanford assist. Thus this game’s 16 assists resulted in 160 meals.

The upcoming Nov. 10 game against Gonzaga will feature the unveiling of Tara VanDerveer Court in honor of the recently retired head coach. This game will be shown on ESPN2.

The team has one more home game, 7 p.m. Nov. 13 against UC Davis, before hitting the road to play Indiana University at 11 a.m. Pacific Time on  Nov. 17. ACCNX will stream these games.

 

 

 

 

 

 

November 6, 2024

Cardinal romp to victory to open season

The 2024-24 team features 14 players (Stanford Athletics photo)


The Stanford women’s basketball team made history by defeating Le Moyne College of DeWitt, N.Y., 107-43 in its first game of the regular season Nov. 4.

It was head coach Kate Paye’s first win since taking the reins from Tara VanDerveer, college basketball’s all-time winningest coach. Tara retired after last season.

Moreover, the team set a program record with 18 3’s. Redshirt junior guard Jzaniya Harriel was responsible for six of them, while senior guard Elena Bosgana had four (including Stanford’s first basket of the game), and sophomore guard Chloe Clardy had three.

Senior forward Brooke Demetre and freshman forward Harper Peterson each pitched in with two. Sophomore forward Nunu Agara had one.

Jzaniya tosses in 24 points

Jzaniya led the team with 24 points, followed by Elena with a career-high 19, Nunu with 18 and Chloe with 15. In all, 10 players scored.

Another notable statistic was that the team had 25 assists to the Dolphins’ seven. The Cardinal also had more steals and rebounds and fewer turnovers.

The starting lineup featured Elena, Nunu, Brooke, Jzaniya and sophomore guard Talana Lepolo. Thirteen of the team’s 14 players were available, all played and all contributed in some way. The only inactive player was junior guard Tess Heal.

The game started in less than stellar fashion. Shooting seemed off, and the team had a hard time getting the ball inside. The shorter Le Moyne players, on the other hand, had good ball movement.

However, Stanford had a 16-10 lead after the first quarter, in which eight players saw action.

Between the first and second quarters the men’s basketball team  came onto the court wearing VOTE T-shirts in recognition of the national election the next day, which was Stanford Democracy Day.

By the end of the half, the score was 50-22, and 11 players had seen action.

During the third quarter, junior guard Stavi Papadaki, usually a bench player, got into the game to loud cheers by both the crowd and her teammates. Those cheers grew even louder a few seconds later when she made a decisive block, one of the team’s four.

Moreover, the team did a better job of shooting from mid-range and getting the ball inside.

Newcomers do well

Four of the newcomers did well in their debuts: Harper and sophomore transfer forward Mary Ashley Stevenson with six points each, freshman center Kennedy Umeh with five points and freshman guard Shay Ijiwoye with two points.

The crowd of 2,887 included the band and Tree. Betty Ann Hagenau was in her familiar role as announcer.

Stanford's 64-point margin of victory tied for fifth best in program. Its 107 points were the most since 108 against Cal Poly on Nov. 25, 2020.

Tougher tests await the Cardinal with three more home games: 7 p.m. Nov. 7 against Washington State, noon Nov. 10 against Gonzaga, and 7 p.m. Nov. 13 against UC Davis.

The Gonzaga game will be shown on ESPN2, the others streamed on ACCNX. The Gonzaga game will be highlighted with the dedication of the Maples court to Tara.

 

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November 1, 2024

Cardinal win exhibition game against Cal State LA

 

Courtney drives to the basket on her way to 10 points against Cal State LA. (Stanford Athletics)


The Stanford women’s basketball team tuned up for the 2024-25 season by defeating Cal State LA 91-70 in an exhibition game in front of 2,197 fans Oct. 30.

Starters were senior guard Elena Bosgana, senior forward Brooke Demetre, red shirt junior guard Jzaniya Harriel, junior guard Tess Heal and sophomore forward Nunu Agara.

Junior guard Talana Lepolo and freshman guard Shay Ijiwoye were there but unavailable to play.

Because it was an exhibition, it had no Tree, cheerleaders, band, Dollies or announcer Betty Ann Hagenau.

One difference from last season is that the team stayed on the court for the national anthem rather than retreating to the locker room.

Kate subs often

Head coach Kate Paye made frequent substitutions, especially during the first half.

Some of the first players off the bench were sophomores: forward Courtney Ogden, forward Mary Ashley Stevenson and guard Chloe Clardy.

By game’s end, all but junior guard Lauren Green got into the game, but freshman center Kennedy Umeh, junior guard Stavi Papadaki and freshman forward Harper Peterson each played less than two minutes at the end.

Six players were in double figures, led by Nunu with 25 points plus 13 rebounds. Elena, Chloe and Jzaniya each had 11 points, while Brooke and Courtney had 10 each.

The play seemed ragged during the first two quarters, perhaps because of the frequent substitutions, leading to what looked like uncertainty at times.

Moreover, Cal State LA players, though lacking Stanford’s size, were scrappy. They moved to within a point, 32-31, at the 4:04 mark in the second quarter, but Stanford turned up the heat to end the half with a 48-36 advantage.

However, the third quarter had a less than auspicious start with five fouls in the first four minutes. After that, the play was more cohesive with less subbing. This quarter ended 73-56.

CSLA had some sharp shooters, making 11 3’s, sometimes when seemingly open  on the perimeter. Stanford had 10 3’s, thanks to two each by Courtney, Brooke, Jzaniya and Chloe and one each by Elena and Nunu.

Jzaniya logged the most minutes, 31:40, and Nunu was close behind with 30:08. Tess, Brooke, Chloe and Courtney all had about 24 minutes or more.

Among the fans in the stands was recently retired head coach Tara VanDerveer, who was using a cane. She reportedly had had a hip replacement.

Buck Cardinal Club members hear from new players, Kate

The night before the exhibition, Buck Cardinal Club members gathered at the Hall of Champions for a reception and program.

Emceed by broadcaster Kevin Danna, the program featured four of the new players along with Kate.

The players were the three freshmen -- Shay, Harper and Kennedy -- along with Mary Ashley, a transfer from Purdue.

Questioned by Kevin, they agreed that sisterhood and togetherness are some keys to the season.

Harper said that she fell in love with Stanford when she was in fifth grade and now assistant coach Erica “Bird” McCall was playing. She added that her father played for Gonzaga and that she worked out with him.

Mary Ashley scored 53 points in one of her high school games, but it “is not the WNBA,” she said.

Shay was Arizona’s Gatorade Player of the Year and said she admired Anna Wilson, ’22.

Kennedy played with the USA U-17 team and learned a lot, she said. Now she admires Nunu. “She’s like an older sister,” but they’re very competitive in practice.

Kate, too, stressed sisterhood as the season’s theme, but “we’ve always had great chemistry (and) great culture.”

Although she has taken the helm after the retirement of Tara, basketball’s all-time winningest coach, Kate is undaunted. She said she would “take the baton from Tara and run like hell. … We have the best coaches and staff in the country.”

Team enjoyed trip to Italy

Because the team traveled to Italy and played three games there, winning them all, the players had 10 extra practices – a plus. It was a great experience with stops in Rome, Florence and Venice.

Looking ahead to the transition from the Pac-12 to the Atlantic Coast Conference, Kate said it would provide tough competition. The challenges include learning new teams and traveling longer distances, but “change is energizing.”

Asked about a rotation, Kate said it’s unsettled for now, but she expects it to be deep. “We are still learning about our team. … We have so many different weapons, and everybody’s looking great.”

“We want to play up-tempo and will be guard-oriented.” It’s likely there’ll be different high scorer at each game, she said.

Overall, “Our team is fantastic ... We have hungry competitors on our team,” she concluded.

After the exhibition, the season will start with four home games: 7 p.m. Nov. 4 against Le Moyne, 7 p.m. Nov. 7 against Washington State, noon Nov. 10 against Gonzaga, and 7 p.m. Nov. 13 against UC Davis.

The Gonzaga game will be shown on ESPN2, the others on ACCNX. The Gonzaga game will be highlighted by dedicating the Maples court to Tara.