Team ends 2025 with win over Cornell

 

Lara was named ACC Rookie of the Week after securing a career-high 19 rebounds. (Stanford Athletics)

The Stanford women’s basketball team ended the calendar year and closed out its nonconference schedule by hosting and dominating Cornell 82-50 on Dec. 28.

The outcome seemed apparent to the crowd of almost 3,400 right from the start. Cornell didn’t make its first basket until about 6 ½ minutes to go in the first quarter. By then Stanford had already scored 8 points. Stanford led throughout the game.

When the final buzzer sounded, all 13 available Cardinal players had seen some action.

Junior forward Nunu Agara led a quartet of double-digit scorers with 19 points. She was followed by junior forward Courtney Ogden with 15 and by sophomore guard Shay Ijiwoye and freshman guard Hailee Swain with 12 each.

Freshman forward Lara Somfai snared 18 of the team’s 43 rebounds and came close to a double-double with 9 points.

Cornell’s score was boosted by its nine 3-pointers, six of them by one player, who had a total of 24 points.

Stanford had four 3’s: two by Courtney and one each by senior guard Talana Lepolo and freshman guard Carly Amborn.

The first quarter was highlighted by two fast break scores by Shay, who came up with another shortly thereafter. She then made a buzzer beater to end the quarter.

Pesky defense led to 17 steals. They contributed to Cornell’s 21 turnovers, while Stanford had 12.

Junior guard Chloe Clardy was not at the game. No reason was given. Sophomore center Kennedy Umeh again was not in uniform.

Freshman forward Nora Ezike returned to action after missing much of the season. She played only three minutes late in the fourth quarter but made two baskets in a row, much to the delight of her teammates. These baskets were the first of her career.

The team also was delighted when Carly hit her 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, her first this season.

The Cardinal will take its 12-2 record on the road by crossing the country to face ACC rivals North Carolina State at 11 a.m. PST New Year’s Day and North Carolina at 10 a.m. PST Jan. 4. The NC State game will be streamed on ACC. ESPN will televise the North Carolina game.

Then it’s a quick trip back to campus for the start of winter quarter classes on Jan. 5.

 

 

Happy holidays with two more wins

 

The team celebrates after defeating Oregon. (Supryia Limaye/ISI Photos)

Heading into the Christmas break, the Stanford women’s basketball team racked up two more wins, upping its record to 11-2.

Washington fell 67-62 on Dec. 19, followed by Oregon 64-53 on Dec. 21.

No Nunu, no problem against Washington

Well, maybe a few, but Stanford came out on top, defeating No. 22-ranked Washington 67-62 at home on Dec. 19.

Despite being short-handed – Nunu was out along with freshman forward Nora Ezike and sophomore center Kennedy Umeh, minus the sling on her right arm – all eight of the players who got into the game scored. Four of them were in double figures.

They were led by freshman forward Lara Somfai with 14 points. She was followed by freshman guard Hailee Swain with 13, junior forward Courtney Ogden with 12 and junior guard Chloe Clardy with 11.

Junior forward Mary Ashley Stevenson replaced Nunu in the starting lineup. She was joined by Lara, Hailee, Courtney and senior guard Talana Lepolo.

Stanford led the game for just over six minutes. The lead changed nine times, and the score was tied seven times.

The fourth quarter was decisive as Stanford outscored Washington by 13 points after trailing by eight points at the end of the third quarter.

One fourth-quarter highlight came with just under five minutes to go. Sophomore guard Shay Ijiwoye was driving to the basket when she was fouled and sent sprawling to the floor.

An official review ruled the foul a flagrant one. That meant that the Stanford coaches could choose any player to try two free throws and that Stanford would get the ball afterward.

Talana stepped up to the line and made both free throws, giving Stanford a 2-point lead.

Some deliberate fouls by Washington gave Stanford more free throws that helped to secure the win. For the game, Stanford made 14 of 18 free throws, compared with Washington’s four of five.

Washington capitalized from the three-point line by sinking eight treys, while Stanford had only three – two by Chloe and one by Talana.

Washington also outrebounded Stanford 36-29 but had more turnovers, 16 vs. 10.

Prior to tipoff, new Stanford president John Levin was introduced. Then the video board featured Bri Roberson, ’17, recalling when Stanford beat Washington 72-68 there on Jan. 29, 2017, before a crowd of some 10,000, according to my records.

During the third quarter, the camera zoomed in on Krista Rappahahn Birnie,’06, a Stanford Medicine pediatrician, with her husband and children.

Cardinal drop Ducks

Although her scoring was limited to 5 points, Nunu returned to action and snared 11 rebounds as the team defeated Oregon 64-53 in the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic in San Francisco’s Chase Center on Dec. 21.

Kennedy and Nora were still unavailable, but 10 players got into the game, reflecting a team effort in the win.

Four players scored in the double digits, led by Courtney with 20. She was followed by Lara with 14, Chloe with 11 and Hailee with 10.

Stanford led for more than 36 minutes in a game that saw only three lead changes and two ties.

Still, the game didn’t seem firmly in Stanford’s hands until the fourth quarter, when the Cardinal outscored the Ducks by 8 points, 20-12.

It was a somewhat sloppy game with both teams committing 16 turnovers, but Stanford had more assists and steals. Three-point shooting was mediocre with four by Stanford: Lara with two and Courtney and Chloe with one each.

What’s on tap

After a quick Christmas break, Stanford closes out its pre-conference schedule by hosting Cornell at 1 p.m. Dec. 28.

Then it’s across the country for a New Year’s Day date with North Carolina State at 11 a.m., followed by North Carolina at 10 a.m. Jan. 4. 

Both games will be streamed on ACC, while the North Carolina game also will be shown on ESPN.

The team will have to hustle back to campus for the start of winter quarter classes on Jan. 5.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Courtney leads team to victory over Cal

 

Courtney shoots on her way to 25 points. (Bob Drebin/ISI Photos)

Buoyed by junior forward Courtney Ogden’s career-high 25 points, the Stanford women’s basketball team defeated cross-bay rival Cal 78-69 on Dec. 14 in Maples.

She was joined in the double-digit ranks by two fellow juniors, guard Chloe Clardy with 13 and forward Nunu Agara with 12. Freshman forward Lara Somfai had her fourth double-double of the year with 12 points and 13 rebounds along with a career-high three blocks.

For their efforts, Courtney was named ACC Co-Player of the Week while Lara was voted ACC Rookie of the Week for games played between Dec. 8 and 14, according to Stanford Athletics.

Nevertheless, victory didn’t come easily. It was a rough-and-tumble affair with seven lead changes and six ties. Each team had just over 17 minutes with the lead, but Stanford’s 26-14 advantage in the fourth quarter clinched the game.

The Cardinal showed improvement from some earlier games with eight 3’s and only six turnovers to go with 13 assists.

The 3’s came courtesy of Chloe with three, Lara with two and one each from Courtney, freshman guard Hailee Swain and senior guard Talana Lepolo.

The crowd of 2,957 included a busload of Cal fans who were given yellow leis as they got off the bus. Few Stanford students were in evidence because the fall quarter had ended two days earlier.

Sophomore center Kennedy Umeh’s right arm was still in a sling, but everyone else was available.

During one timeout, the video board featured a pep talk by Lindy La Roque, ’12, who’s now head coach at UNLV. The video showed one of her most memorable plays when she fell but passed the ball to a teammate who scored.

Later, Fran Belibi, ’23, also gave a pep talk as the video showed one of her signature dunks.

With classes and finals in the rear view mirror, the team has time off from academics to focus on practice and the next two games: Washington at home at 7 p.m. Dec. 19 and Oregon in Chase Center, San Francisco, at 3 p.m. Dec. 21.

Then there’s a quick Christmas break before the team hosts Cornell at 1 p.m. Dec. 28.

 

 

 

Last-minute hopes dissolve as Tennessee wins 65-62

 Renewing a former long-standing rivalry, the Stanford women’s basketball team hosted No. 19–ranked Tennessee but lost 65-62 on Dec. 4.

Analysts could cite numerous reasons for the loss.

Chief among them were Stanford’s season-worst 30 turnovers, compared with 16 by the Vols.

Then there was Tennessee’s stifling, physical defense and its full-court pressure on Stanford’s inbound plays. Just getting the ball past the center-court line took great effort.

Some in the crowd of nearly 5,000 might also point to the officiating, which they might say didn’t help Stanford.

With a starting lineup of senior guard Talana Lepolo, junior forwards Nunu Agara and Courtney Ogden along with two freshmen, forward Lara Somfai and guard Hailee Swain, Stanford enjoyed a 16-14 lead after the first quarter. Then, Tennessee outscored the Cardinal in the next three quarters.

Still, it was a back-and-forth game with six ties and five lead changes.

Although Stanford trailed 62-57 with just over three minutes to go in the fourth quarter, it still had hope.

With just under a minute to go, Nunu scored a 3-pointer to make the score 62-60 in Tennessee’s favor.

Lara could have tied the game but missed two free throws. Instead, Nunu rebounded and scored to secure the tie with just over 12 seconds left.

Tennessee scored again with 6.7 seconds left, giving Stanford the ball. But when Lara committed her fourth foul with 5 seconds left, Tennessee made a free throw for one more point. Game over.

Both Nunu and Hailee scored 14 points to lead the team. Nunu also had 11 rebounds for a double-double. Junior guard Chloe Clardy added 12 points while Lara had 10.

Courtney was limited by fouls and fouled out with just over eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

Tennessee’s coach employed a platoon-style substitution strategy, frequently changing all five players.

Stanford had 14 available players. Sophomore center Kennedy Umeh, who had a sling on her right arm, was unavailable.

The crowd included some Tennessee fans, while Stanford students packed the lower north section.

Among those students was the women’s gymnastic team, the reigning 2024 ACC champion, which led Conga on the Court after the first quarter.

A camera panning the stands during the second quarter showed new football coach Tavita Pritchard with his family.

Shortly thereafter, the football team paraded onto the court showing off the Axe trophy, which it had regained by recently defeating Cal in the 128^th Big Game.

The crowd had a chance to cheer the 2025 ACC champion women’s volleyball team during the third quarter.

And then there was a quick glimpse of SWBB great Jayne Appel-Marinelli, ’10, with her family during the fourth quarter.

The team has a break from competition to focus on academics with classes ending Dec. 5 and finals through Dec. 12.

Competition resumes at 1 p.m. Dec. 14 when Cal visits, followed by Washington at 7 p.m. Dec. 19. Both games will be streamed on ACCNX. The team will play Oregon at 1 p.m. Dec. 21 in San Francisco’s Chase Center. ESPN will televise this game.

 

Las Vegas trip leaves team at 8-1

 After Florida Gulf Coast dealt the Stanford women’s basketball team its first loss of the season, 66-62 on Nov. 28, the Cardinal bounced back to do the same against Colorado State, 62-60, on Nov. 29.

Therefore, score 62 points one day, you lose; score 62 points the next day, you win.

Both games were part of the Resorts World Las Vegas Classic.

Starters for both games were senior guard Talana Lepolo, freshman guard Hailee Swain, junior forward Courtney Ogden, junior forward Nunu Agara and freshman forward Lara Somfai.

FGCU controlled most of the Nov, 28 game, which saw five lead changes and six ties.

When Stanford was down 8 points with just over three minutes to go, it started fouling in hopes of regaining the ball and the advantage, but the strategy didn’t work.

Nunu led the team with 22 points. Junior guard Chloe Clardy with 16 points was her only teammate in double figures.

Despite the loss, Stanford controlled the boards and was 16-18 on free throws, but committed 18 turnovers to FGCU’s 16.

The team’s four 3’s came from Nunu, Lara, Courtney and Chloe.

Big comeback fuels win

A similar scenario seemed to be playing out Nov. 9 against Colorado State, but this time some last-minute heroics saved the day.

The team was down 53-45 with just under seven minutes to go before going on a 13-0 spurt over the next 5:02.

Courtney “had a mini 7-0 spurt right in the middle, and when she hit a 3-pointer to put the Cardinal up 54-53 and force a Ram timeout with 3:10 to go, Stanford had its first lead in nearly 10 minutes,” Stanford Athletics reported.

With two-tenths of a second left, Chloe hit a driving layup to ice the win.

As with FGCU, Stanford trailed most of the game in a seesaw battle with seven lead changes and eight ties.

Nunu led the team with 18 points followed by Courtney with 15.

Lara, who earlier in the week had been named National Freshman of the Week, had nine points and a career-high 16 rebounds, “the best single-game rebounding performance for a Cardinal freshman since Kaylee Johnson had 17 against Washington on Feb. 2, 2015,” Stanford Athletics reported.

Nunu, Courtney, Talana and freshman guard Carly Amborn accounted for the team’s four 3’s.

Next up: Stanford hosts longtime rival Tennessee at 6:15 p.m. Dec. 3. The game will air on ESPN2.

The last day of classes is Dec. 5 followed by a week of finals before the winter quarter starts Jan. 5.