Portland ends Stanford's season in OT

 

Head coach Kate Paye in a huddle with the team. (Brandon Vallance/ISI Photos)

The Stanford women’s basketball team saw its season come to a heartbreaking end with a 69-68 overtime loss to Portland in the first round of the WBIT tournament in Maples on March 20.

In the wake of that loss, some fans might be pondering what if….

One: What if Nunu Agara hadn’t fouled out in the final minute of overtime, when the score was 68-66 in Stanford’s favor?

After suffering an injury, the sophomore forward had returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Feb. 6. She led the team with 21 points and 12 rebounds in just over 35 minutes and made several clutch shots.

Two: What if the team had made just two more free throws instead of 13 of 18?

Three: What if the team had made just one more 3-pointer instead of five of 10 while the Pilots made seven of 19?

Four: What if the team hadn’t had 20 turnovers resulting in 12 points for Portland? For its part, Portland had 12 turnovers leading to 10 Stanford points.

Five: What if some of the officials’ calls, which were roundly booed, had instead been in Stanford’s favor?

Six: What if Portland hadn’t applied full-court pressure almost the entire game?

Missing the Big Dance

This was the first time in 37 years that Stanford hadn’t made it to the NCAA tournament.

With a record of 16-15, it had to settle for the relatively new Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament and the chance to host Portland.

The starting lineup featured Nunu along with senior forward Brooke Demetre, sophomore guard Chloe Clardy, sophomore forward Courtney Ogden and senior guard Elena Bosgana.

Elena was the team’s second-highest scorer with 19 points and eight rebounds. She was the first Cardinal to score in the first quarter and helped to get the second quarter off to a good start with two 3’s (of her three total) in a row plus a 2.

Chloe was the other Cardinal in double figures with 11 points, including the other two of the team’s five 3’s.

It was a back-and-forth game with nine lead changes and seven ties. One of those ties came at the end of the fourth quarter, 60-60. Hence the OT.

Stanford was ahead for about 31 minutes during the game. Its biggest lead was 13 points in the third quarter. Portland was ahead by just four points in the second.

The Maples crowd was sparse – only 1,106. The upper area was roped off on all four sides.

The Band and Tree were there, but no cheerleaders or Dollies.

The student section was sparse, probably because it was finals week. The last finals were slated for March 21, so it’s likely that some students might have left for spring break, which ends with the start of spring quarter on March 31.

Now the team and fans are left to wonder what if and to look forward to next season.

 

 

 

Early exit from first ACC tournament

 

Shay Ijiwoye (center,) Jzaniya Harriel (left) and Kennedy Umeh warm up. (Stanford Athletics)

Playing in the first round of its first-ever ACC tournament, the Stanford women’s basketball team lost to Clemson 63-46 on March 5 in Greensboro, N.C. Thus the team finished with a 16-14 record overall.

At first the game looked promising as the Cardinal got off to an 8-4 start early in the first quarter, but the Tigers rallied and had an 11-10 lead when the buzzer sounded.

In this game attended by more than 6,900, Clemson’s lead expanded from then on, leading to the 17-point Stanford loss.

Clemson surpassed Stanford in nearly every category. Perhaps the worst discrepancy was in 3-point shooting.

Clemson connected on eight of its long-range shots. Stanford saw only three go through the net, accounting for a 15-point difference.

Sophomore guard Chloe Clardy, sophomore forward Courtney Ogden and junior guard Tess Heal each had one trey.

Perhaps the best news that day was that sophomore forward Nunu Agara, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, was finally able to play after missing several games with an injury.

She wasn’t in her usual starting slot, but she entered the game late in the first half and went on to play just over 17 minutes. During that time, she had eight points, second-highest on the team, to go with three rebounds and two steals.

Courtney led the team with 13 points, the only Cardinal in double figures. Clemson had three players in double figures.

Although NCAA tournament teams won’t be announced until 5 p.m. PT March 16 on ESPN, Stanford’s chances look dim.

If it doesn’t make the cut, it will be the first time since 1987 that it was left out.  “That 37-season streak was the second-longest in women’s college basketball,” after Tennessee with 42. Yahoo Sports reported.

Instead, the team might make it to the WNIT or WBIT. The 48 WNIT teams will be announced right after the NCAA tournament announcement.

The WBIT will have a 32-team bracket that also will be announced March 16. It's the second year of the event, according to NCAA.com.

In the post-game press conference, head coach Kate Paye said the team is open to playing in another tournament.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Team completes regular season with two home wins

 

Shay and Elena celebrate the win over Georgia Tech. (Nhat V.. Meyer (Bay Area News Group)

The Stanford women’s basketball team completed its regular season with two home victories: 86-69 over Miami on Feb. 27 and 87-82 over Georgia Tech on March 2.

14 3’s help in victory over Miami

After the lead seesawed during the first half, the team tightened its defense and sharpened its offense to emerge with its 86-69 win over the Miami Hurricanes.

Stanford got off to a hot start with an 8-0 lead about two minutes into the first quarter before Miami got into the scoring column.

After that, the team eked out a one-point edge at the half and then outscored Miami by a total of 16 in the second half.

Scoring was boosted by 14 3’s. They came courtesy of sophomore guard Chloe Clardy with four, senior forward Brooke Demetre and sophomore forward Courtney Ogden with three each, senior guard Elena Bosgana with two, and freshman guard Shay Ijiwoye and junior guard Tess Heal with one each.

Brooke led four players in double figures with 19 points, followed by Courtney with 18, Chloe with 16 and Elena with 15. Tess wasn’t far behind with nine points.

One indication of the solid offense was the assist total of 23, compared with 13 by Miami. Stanford also had more rebounds and fewer turnovers, 11-15.

Stanford’s tight second-half defense led to three shot-clock violations by the visitors.

As was true in the following game, the Cardinal still were without the services of high-scoring sophomore forward Nunu Agara as well as freshman forward Harper Peterson and junior guard Talana Lepolo. Talana has missed much of this season and is expected to redshirt, giving her an extra season of eligibility after her senior year.

Because the game was sponsored by Stanford Health and Wellness as part of American Heart Month, two physicians from that department took the court.

Dr. Tamara Dunn, clinical associate professor in the Division of Hematology, sang the national anthem. Vascular surgeon Lizzie George, a Stanford grad who was on the women’s soccer team, accepted the honorary game ball.

Alums Lacie Hull (left) and Fran Belibi enjoy the Miami game. (Stanford Athletics)

The more than 3,300 people at the game included SWBB alums Fran Belibi,’23, and Lacie Hull, ’22. Fans may remember Fran for her dunking ability and Lacie as the twin sister of Lexie, who plays for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever.

Team withstands Georgia Tech’s onslaught

All looked rosy with a 13-point lead after the first quarter of the Georgia Tech game on March 2, but the Yellow Jackets kept rallying, but not enough to avoid an 87-82 loss to Stanford.

The loud crowd of 4,400 helped to cheer the victory. Many were wearing the T-shirts given out that day.

Elena and Brooke show off the T-shirts for the Georgia Tech game. (Stanford Athletics)

Because it was Senior Day, head coach Kate Paye presented flowers to GT’s two seniors before the game.

And in honor of Elena, who hails from Greece, the Greek national anthem preceded “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Elena started the game and made Stanford’s second basket, a 3-pointer, one of the two she made in leading the team’s scoring with 19 points.

Four other Cardinal players were in double figures: sophomore forward Mary Ashley Stevenson, 17; Courtney, 16; Chloe, 12; and Brooke, 10.

GT kept the score close as the game continued, thanks in part to its nine 3’s and rebounding advantage, 32-27.

Stanford had five 3’s. Besides Elena’s two, Brooke had two and Tess had one.

GT clogged the 3-point line, but Stanford compensated with mid-range shots and nifty backdoor cuts. Thus Stanford had 52 points in the paint, aided in large part by 18 assists.

The Senior Day ceremony after the game started by honoring the team managers and male practice players.

Elena (left), Jzaniya and Brooke with their Senior Day flowers . (Stanford Athletics)

Following a video featuring outstanding plays by the three seniors, they were introduced one by one alphabetically, starting with Elena. She was saluted by her Greek teammate, junior guard Stavi Papadaki.

Kate called Elena courageous for coming to Stanford without ever having been to the United States, let alone Stanford, because of strict COVID restrictions. She is on Greece’s senior national team and will play with it this summer.

Like her classmates, Elena thanked the fans, staff and teammates for their support.

Tara VanDerveer, who recruited the seniors and coached them for three years until retiring as head coach last season, joined Kate in honoring them.

Talana did the honors in saluting Brooke, whom Kate called mature and unselfish. Brooke’s parents also spoke.

Chloe credited guard Jzaniya Harriel, who redshirted her junior year, with joy and positivity. Jzaniya’s sister said she might go to law school.

On to the ACC tournament

With these two home victories, the team finished with a 16-13 record overall and 8-10 in the ACC. Ranked #11 in the conference, the team will face #14 Clemson at 3:30 p.m. March 5 at the ACC tournament in Greensboro, N.C. The game will be shown on the ACC Network.

Clemson hosted and won the teams’ previous meeting 65-61 in overtime Jan. 5.