Losing streak hits four as Louisville, Notre Dame prevail

The sophomores, from left, forward Harper Peterson, guard Shay Ijiowye and center Kennedy Umeh, were honored at the Louisville game and posed for selfies afterward. (iconsportwire) 

 

The Stanford women’s basketball team extended its losing streak to four games after falling 84-66 to Louisville on Jan. 29 and 78-66 to Notre Dame on Feb. 1, both at home.

The team’s record is now 14-8 overall and 4-6 ACC.

“Stanford has now lost four consecutive games the same season for the first time since January and February 1987. The Cardinal has also lost its last three at home for the first time since 1985-86,” Stanford Athletics reported.

In the two home games, two starters – senior point guard Talana Lepolo and junior forward Nunu Agara, the team’s leading scorer – were absent.

Two more players, center Kennedy Umeh and forward Harper Peterson, both sophomores, were there but not in uniform.

Thus Stanford had only 11 available players.

Filling in for Nunu, freshman forward Alex Eschmeyer got her first two collegiate starts. Junior guard Chloe Clardy once again filled in for Talana, as she had in the Cal game on Jan. 25.

Louisville leads the entire game

In the Louisville game on Jan. 29, Stanford lagged right from the opening buzzer and went on to lose 84-66.

Louisville made a 3-pointer in its first possession and went on to stay ahead the entire game.

Nevertheless, the Stanford players didn’t back down. They outscored Louisville by a point in the third quarter and nearly equaled the visitors in the fourth, but they couldn’t overcome Louisville’s 18-point dominance in the first half, and that was Louisville’s advantage at the end.

Stanford was hampered by its 22 turnovers, which led to 26 Louisville points. Assists were lacking with only six.

Also a problem were missed layups and Louisville’s aggressive defense.

Four Stanford players were in double figures, led by junior forward Courtney Ogden with 16. She was followed by Chloe and sophomore guard Shay Ijiwoye with 15 each. Freshman guard Hailee Swain scored 12 points.

Six Stanford 3’s were produced by Shay and Hailee with two each. Courtney and freshman forward Lara Somfai had the other two.

The crowd of nearly 2,600 included the cheerleaders, Dollies, Tree and band, whose leader often conducted from an inflatable dragon.

Team doesn’t quit, but loses to Notre Dame

Before the 78-88 loss to Notre Dame on Feb. 1, a video showed Nadia Fingall, ’20, encouraging Stanford from Spain.

The video board also showed a photo of retired head coach Tara VanDerveer’s mother, Rita, who died Jan. 8 at the age of 99. She was honored by a moment of silence.

Since it was the annual Breast Cancer Awareness game, Stanford players wore pink and fans were given pink bucket hats.

Later during the third quarter, junior forward Mary Ashley Stevenson’s mother, Ashley, visiting from New York City, was introduced and honored as a survivor of breast cancer.

When the game started, Stanford won the tip but turned the ball over, allowing Notre Dame to score. Courtney countered by stealing the ball, scoring, being fouled and making the free throw.

She went on to lead the team with a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Also in double figures were Chloe with 16, Alex with 13, and Hailee with 10.

Stanford kept the score close during the first three quarters, but Notre Dame outscored the Cardinal by six points in the fourth to seal the win.

Turnovers were close with 13 by Stanford and 12 by Notre Dame, but Notre Dame scored four more points than Stanford from those miscues. Notre Dame also outrebounded Stanford.

While Stanford has a relatively young team with five freshmen and only three seniors on the roster, Notre Dame is more experienced with five graduate students, three seniors and only one freshman.

Notre Dame also has seemingly unstoppable junior guard Hannah Hildalgo, who scored 37 points before fouling out with less than a minute to go.

The crowd of more than 4,100 included several dozen Notre Dame fans.

Next up, the team travels cross country again to play Pittsburgh at 3 p.m. Feb. 5 and Georgia Tech at 11 a.m. Feb. 8. Both games will be televised by ACC.

In other WBB news, associate head coach Tempie Brown has a new title and responsibilities in addition to coaching.

She has been named the team’s general manager. Her “new responsibilities will include management of name, image and likeness (NIL) and revenue strategy, roster and scholarship optimization, and operational and infrastructure alignment. The role will work closely with campus leaders across Stanford departments,” Stanford Athletics reported.