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.
