 |
| 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.
