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| The 2024-25 team. (Stanford Athletics) |
Fans of Stanford women’s basketball are a spoiled lot.
Just four years ago the team won a national
championship. This season, though, was an entirely different story.
A series of changes led to just a 16-15 record, no
NCAA tournament for the first time since 1967 and a heart-wrenching loss in the
first round of the WBIT tournament.
As for the changes – First, legendary head coach Tara
VanDerveer retired, handing the reins over to her longtime assistant, Kate
Paye.
Next, the Pac-12 Conference imploded, so Stanford
moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference, necessitating tens of thousands of
miles in travel and frequent three-hour time differences.
Then there was the loss of last year’s most prolific
scorers. Hannah Jump and Cameron Brink graduated, and Kiki Iriafen transferred
to USC. On top of that, junior point guard Talana Lepolo missed almost all of
the season because of injury.
On the other hand, three promising freshmen arrived
along with two transfers.
The team also had two new staff members: Victoria
Saucedo, sports performance coach; and Heather Oesterle, assistant coach.
Players faced their first competition by playing
against and defeating three Italian teams during a 10-day trip to Italy
starting Aug. 18.
Fans got their first look at the team during the
annual Cardinal-White scrimmage Oct. 26, Stanford’s homecoming.
They got an even better look when the team played its
first five games at home.
Home
wins kick off competition
First, there was the 91-70 exhibition win over Cal
State LA on Oct. 30.
Starters were senior guard Elena Bosgana, senior
forward Brooke Demetre, red shirt junior guard Jzaniya Harriel, junior guard
Tess Heal (one of the transfers) and sophomore forward Nunu Agara.
Some of the first players off the bench were
sophomores: forwards Courtney Ogden and Mary Ashley Stevenson (the other
transfer), and guard Chloe Clardy.
Nunu led the team with 25 points and 13 rebounds.
The night before the exhibition, Buck Cardinal Club
members gathered at the Hall of Champions for a chance to meet the team and
hear from Kate.
Kate recorded her first regular season win as head
coach when the team defeated LeMoyne College 107-43 on Nov. 4.
In another first, the team set a program record of 18
3’s, led by Jzaniya with six. She also led the team with 24 points.
The starters were Elena, Brooke, Jzaniya, Nunu and
Talana.
Washington State was the next to fall, 94-65 on Nov.
7, followed by Gonzaga, 89-58 on Nov. 10. That win vaulted previously unranked
Stanford to No. 24 in AP’s Nov. 11 weekly poll.
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| Tata with alums and coaches at the unveiling of Tara VanDerveer Court. (SF Chronicle) |
The crowd of 3,865 at the Gonzaga game saw not only a
victory but also the unveiling of Tara VanDerveer Court in honor of the
then-winningest basketball coach of all.
A reception in the Hall of Champions followed the
game. During her remarks, Tara praised Kate. She also noted that she’s working
part-time in the office of athletic director Bernard Muir.
This initial home stand ended with another win: 69-56
over UC Davis on Nov. 13.
First
road trip results in first loss
The first road trip brought the season’s first loss:
79-66 against Indiana on Nov. 17
Back at home, though, the team logged three more wins:
91-49 over Morgan State on Nov. 22, 81-45 over Cal Poly on Nov. 25 and 84-54
over UC San Diego on Nov. 29. Talana missed the Cal Poly game and all the rest
to come.
UC San Diego is coached by Tara’s younger sister,
Heidi. Since the game came the day after Thanksgiving, the two teams celebrated
Thanksgiving with dinner together in the Hall of Champions.
Traveling to Louisiana State on Dec. 5 and playing in
front of more than 10,000 people, the team went toe-to-toe against the
then-undefeated and ranked No. 5 hosts. It held a lead until the fourth
quarter’s final second when LSU scored two points to tie at 80-80.
Going into overtime, Stanford lost 94-88. Nunu led the
charge with 29 points and 13 rebounds. According to Sports Reference, she was
the first D1 player with these stats in a true road game against a top 5 AP
opponent since Nov. 21, 2021.
Back in the Bay Area, the Cardinal went to Cal and
lost 83-63 on Dec. 13, just after the end of finals. Brooke led the team with
18 points.
On Dec. 16, though, the team returned to Maples and
beat UT San Antonio 62-57.
Stanford was clinging to a 60-57 lead with only a few
seconds left. UTSA inbounded the ball, but Jzaniya stole the ball, ran down the
court and scored the game-clinching buzzer-beater. She finished with 12 points,
behind Elena’s 13.
Undefeated and then-No. 11 Ohio State was too hot to
handle, handing Stanford a 84-59 loss on Dec.
20 during the Invisilign Bay Area Women’s Classic at Chase Center in San
Francisco.
Next: 2025
