Cal game goes into OT; Bears win

 

Alex defends against a Cal player. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

It’s too bad that the Stanford women’s basketball team’s game at Cal on Jan. 25 didn’t end after the first quarter.

If it had, Stanford would have won by 10 points, which just happened to be its biggest lead of the game.

Instead, the game went the full four quarters plus overtime, and Stanford lost 78-71.

Because the starting point guard, senior Talana Lepolo, wasn’t at the game, junior guard Chloe Clardy got the nod, played the full 45 minutes and scored 15 points, second-highest on the team. She got going right away by nailing a trey.

Junior forward Nunu Agara was hurt early in the fourth quarter and lay on the floor for several minutes before being helped to the locker room. She returned later but didn’t play. She scored only 6 points in just over 27 minutes.

Leading the scoring were two freshmen forwards – Lara Somfai and Alex Eschmeyer – both with 16 points. Lara also led the team in rebounds with nine and made a crucial trey to send the game into overtime. Both players were hampered by fouls, and Lara fouled out with only a few seconds left in overtime.

Another freshman, guard Hailee Swain, had 10 points. Hence, the three freshmen combined for 42 points, more than half of the team’s total.

All told, the game was tied four times, and the lead changed eight times.

Stanford had 17 turnovers to Cal’s 19, but Cal scored 5 more points than Stanford on those turnovers. Stanford also had an unusually low number of assists, only eight, while Cal had 19.

The Cardinal left the game with a 15-6 record overall and 4-4 in the ACC.

Coming up, Stanford hosts Louisville at 5 p.m. Jan. 29 and Notre Dame at 1 p.m. Feb. 1.

 

Road trip yields one win, one loss

Lara had 10 points at Boston and then scored a career-high of 17 points at Syracuse. (Stanford Athletics)

There was another split decision on the road as the Stanford women’s basketball team beat Boston College 77-52 on Jan. 15 and then lost to Syracuse 69-58 on Jan. 18, leaving its record at 15-5 overall and 4-3 in the ACC.

Lopsided win at Boston College

Junior forward Nunu Agara immediately scored six unanswered points, and the team was off and running to a 77-52 victory at Boston College on Jan. 15.

Stanford led throughout the game and was up by 42 points in the third quarter.

The Cardinal dominated the first three quarters but was outscored by 17 points in the fourth quarter when players with limited experience were on the court. Even though they were outscored, it was gratifying to see that every one of the 14 available players got into the game.

Freshman guard Hailee Swain led the scoring with 15 points. She was followed by junior forward Courtney Ogden with 13, while Nunu and freshman forward Lara Somfai had 10 each.

Close behind with 8 points each were junior guard Chloe Clardy, sophomore guard Shay Ijiwoye and junior forward Mary Ashley Stevenson, who recorded one of her better performances of the season.

While the Eagles had six 3’s, the Cardinal had only three: one each by Courtney, Chloe and sophomore forward Harper Peterson.

On the other hand, Stanford had a big edge in rebounds, 44-24. It had 14 assists and 11 turnovers, an improvement from some past games.

Two other notable numbers: the team had 52 of its points in the paint, and the bench accounted for 29 points.

22 turnovers contribute to loss at Syracuse

Syracuse turned 22 Stanford turnovers into 24 points and went on to defeat the visitors 69-58 on Jan. 18.

Syracuse led for most of the game, forcing Stanford into playing catch up. Syracuse also had greater success at the free-throw line, scoring 19 points there, while Stanford garnered only 7 points.

Stanford was better than Syracuse when it came to rebounds, 40-32; assists, 13-10; and 3’s, 5-4.

Stanford’s treys were scored by Lara and Courtney, who had two each, and by Chloe with one.

Lara led the team with a career-high 17 points, while Nunu had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. They were the only Cardinal players in double figures. Chloe came close with 9 points.

Stanford led for only a bit more than three minutes, while the Orange was on top almost 36 minutes.

Now the team will have a two-week reprieve from cross-country, cross-time zone trips. Instead, it will make the short journey across the bay to face Cal at 3 p.m. Jan. 25.

It then hosts Louisville at 5 p.m. Jan. 29 and Notre Dame at 1 p.m. Feb. 1.

The Cal and Notre Dame games will be shown on ACC. ESPN will show the Louisville game.

 

 

 

 

Another split with teams from North Carolina

Nunu's 27 points helped in defeating Wake Forest.

 After splitting its two games in North Carolina the previous week, the Stanford women’s basketball team did the same at home by defeating Wake Forest 55-43 on Jan. 8 and losing to Duke 67-60 on Jan. 11. Both teams call North Carolina home.

Not a great game, but it’s a win and we’ll take it

There’s no sugar coating it. Neither team played well when Stanford beat its Wake Forest visitors 55-43 on Jan. 8.

Both teams shot just under 30 percent for the game. Both often shot in desperation as the shot clock ran down. Both had nearly the same number of turnovers: 15 for Wake Forest, 14 for Stanford.

But Stanford had something, or someone, that Wake Forest didn’t: junior forward Nunu Agara. She poured in 27 points, nearly half of her team’s total output.

Neither team scored during the first three minutes of the game. Nunu broke into the scoring column first and then second – an early harbinger of her value to the team.

Freshman guard Hailee Swain was the only Cardinal in double scoring figures with 10 points. Freshman forward Alex Eschmeyer also was in double figures, snaring 11 of the team’s 51 rebounds, and blocking six shots. (Wake Forest had 32 rebounds.)

Alex is in good company. According to Stanford Athletics, her “six blocks were the most for a Stanford player since Cameron Brink (’24) had seven in the 2024 Sweet 16 against NC State and the most for a Cardinal freshman since Brink had six in the 2021 Final Four against South Carolina.

“She’s the first Stanford freshman with 11 rebounds and six blocks in available records dating back to 2002-03 and the only freshman in the country to have those numbers in a game this season.”

Senior guard Talana Lepolo scored only 4 points, all of them from free throws during the game’s final minute. Even though victory was out of reach for the Demon Deacons, they fouled deliberately, most of the time targeting Talana as she tried to bring the ball up.

Eight 3’s helped Wake Forest stay in the game. Stanford had five, courtesy of Hailee with two, while Nunu, junior forward Courtney Ogden and sophomore guard Shay Ijiwoye had one each.

Stanford led throughout the game. The high was 17 points in the third quarter. Otherwise the team held an advantage of 11 or so points for much of the game.

Lara goes for another block against Duke.

Turnovers lead to undoing against Duke

The Duke game, which was a 67-60 loss on Jan. 11, began well with Nunu stealing the ball and racing to 2 points, igniting the crowd of just over 3,900, most of them Stanford fans but a smattering of blue-clad Duke fans.

The second quarter, though, was marred by Stanford’s turnover total rising to 11, while Duke had only three.

Freshman forward Lara Somfai did get a buzzer-beater, but Stanford still lagged 31-28 at the half.

The third quarter was highlighted by the introduction of incoming freshman Jordyn Wheeler.

Stanford racked up another turnover in the fourth quarter when it couldn’t inbound the ball in time.

Junior guard Chloe Clardy appeared to be hurt after a fall and walked slowly to the bench. However, she re-entered the game a couple of minutes later.

For the game, Stanford committed 19 turnovers that led to 21 Duke points. By comparison, Duke had only eight turnovers that gave Stanford 12 points.

Stanford had more rebounds, 43-38. Otherwise, most of the other stats for both teams were similar.

The game had three ties and five lead changes.

Nunu led the team with her double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds.

The only other Cardinal players in double figures were Courtney and Chloe, both with 11 points, while Alex had 10 and continued her shot-blocking run with four of the team’s nine.

These two home games left the team with a 14-4 record overall and 3-2 in the ACC.

It’s back on the road again with the Cardinal visiting Boston College at 3 p.m. Jan. 15 and Syracuse at 11 a.m. Jan. 18. Both games will be shown on ACCN.

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Mixed results on first cross-county trip

 

From left: Stavi Papadaki, Carly Amborn and Harper Peterson cheer their teammates during the North Carolina game. (Stanford Athletics)

After suffering a 74-46 loss at North Carolina State on Jan. 1, the Stanford women’s basketball team rebounded with a 77-71 overtime win at No. 16 North Carolina on Jan. 4.

Thus the team upped its season record to 13-3 and its ACC record to 2-1.

Inauspicious start to 2026

There’s no way to put a positive spin on it. North Carolina State handed the Cardinal its worst loss of the season to date – 74-46 – as the team scored its fewest points of the season to start 2026.

Playing in front of a partisan crowd of 5,500, the team made only 30 percent of its shots. At the 7:41 point in the third quarter, for example, the team had scored only 2 points, while NC State had scored 6.

Turnovers were a problem – 21 by Stanford, compared with 12 by NC State. However, NC State had 19 fouls, Stanford 11.

After missing the Cornell game because of illness, junior guard Chloe Clardy didn’t make the cross-country trip. Sophomore center Kennedy Umeh also was missing, as she has been for much of the season.

Two junior forwards were the only Cardinal players to score in double figures – Nunu Agara with 16 points and Courtney Ogden with 12. Freshman forward Lara Somfai had 16 rebounds.

Each team had only four 3’s. Stanford’s came from Lara, Courtney, freshman guard Hailee Swain and sophomore forward Harper Peterson.

Signature win on the road

The story was much different when Stanford bested No. 16 North Carolina 77-71 in overtime Jan. 4.

Although Courtney scored 21 points to lead the team, other players made significant contributions.

For example, senior guard Talana Lepolo scored only 4 points, but they all came from crucial free throws in overtime. She also had a team- and game-high seven assists.

Sophomore guard Shay Ijiwoye also had only 4 points, but she had five rebounds, some at critical points.

Freshman forward Lara Somfai was second on the team with 13 points despite being hampered by four fouls.

Chloe returned to action after missing the previous two games while in the concussion protocol, according to the TV announcers. She added 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds off the bench.

Freshman forward Alex Eschmeyer, despite playing just over seven minutes, contributed 10 points.

The game saw seven lead changes and seven ties as UNC led for nearly 31 minutes. The Tar Heels were ahead after each of the first three quarters, but Stanford scored more in the fourth quarter and overtime to seal the win.

Nunu, usually the team’s leading scorer, played just over 18 minutes and scored only 6 points. She was constrained by fouls, collecting her fourth early in the fourth quarter and fouling out about three minutes later.

Three-point shooting helped the Cardinal cause with a total of eight treys. Lara had three, and Chloe had two. Courtney, Hailee and Alex had one each.

Turnovers were a big problem as Stanford’s 22 yielded 16 points for UNC. During the first quarter, TV commentator Deb Antonelli observed, “When Stanford’s not turning over the ball, they look pretty good.”

When it came to rebounding, Stanford did look pretty good with 40 rebounds, compared with UNC’s 28.

The team could savor its win during the 2,800-mile flight back to the Bay Area in time for the start of winter quarter classes Jan. 5.

Action resumes in Maples when Wake Forest visits at 7 p.m. Jan. 8 and Duke at 2 p.m. Jan. 11. Both games will be televised by ACC.