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| 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.
Stanford Athletics photos
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