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| 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.
