Cal edges past home team despite strong comeback

Shay battles for the ball. (Scott Strazzante/SF Chronicle)

 

The Stanford women’s basketball team mounted a strong comeback, but it wasn’t quite enough as the visiting Cal team won 75-72 on Jan. 23.

Still, it represented a significant improvement from the Dec. 13 shellacking the team suffered at Cal, which won 83-63.

The game at Maples looked as if it might turn out the same when Cal held a 19-point lead about halfway through the third quarter.

However, Stanford ramped up its defense, using a full-court press to force Cal turnovers that led to Stanford baskets, cutting the deficit to 13 points by the end of that quarter. This defense also forced the shot clock to wind down when Cal had possession, leading to some desperation shots.

Stanford outscored Cal by 10 points in the fourth quarter and edged ever closer to a win, but it wasn’t to be.

In addition to the tougher defense later in the game, there were other bright spots, such as sophomore guard Chloe Clardy’s game-high and career-high 22 points.

And freshman guard Shay Ijiwoye continued to improve, scoring eight points and chipping in with three assists and three steals while committing only two turnovers. However, she fouled out late in the fourth quarter.

That foul came with less than three minutes left to play and Stanford just two points behind. A Cal player went to the foul line. Shay and a Cal player both fell, and the Cal player was temporarily hurt (but returned later). After refs had reviewed the play, they called a flagrant foul on Shay.  Thus Cal got two made foul shots, possession and another basket, ending the comeback.

As usual, sophomore forward Nunu Agara was a key factor with her 19 points, six of them from her two 3’s late in the game. Sophomore guard Courtney Ogden and senior guard Elena Bosgana each had one.

Elena’s trey was the first score by either team, lending some hope to the evening.

Overall, Cal had 18 turnovers to Stanford’s 17. The referees whistled Cal for 23 fouls and Stanford for 21. Both numbers led to some dissatisfaction among the nearly 4,600 fans, including a vocal Cal contingent.

Cal’s fouls included a technical on head coach Charmin Smith late in the third quarter.

Redshirt junior guard Jzaniya Harriel was back with the team after missing the two games in North Carolina. She played less than a minute and was on the exercise bike when the team returned from the halftime break. There was no report on her status.

The team gets to stay home another week with Pittsburgh scheduled to visit at 7 p.m. Jan. 30 and North Carolina visiting at noon Feb. 2. ACCNX will stream the Pittsburgh game. The North Carolina game will be available on CW.

 

 

Mixed results in North Carolina

 

Nunu and Brooke are in sync against Wake Forest. (Stanford Athletics)

The Stanford women’s basketball team spent nearly a week in North Carolina and left with its first-ever ACC road win, 74-71, over Wake Forest on Jan. 16, followed by a 49-74 loss to Duke on Jan. 19.

The margin against Wake Forest was much wider for the first three quarters. Stanford had a 19-point advantage once during the third quarter, which ended with the visitors up 58-42 before a relatively sparse crowd of just over 900.

Wake Forest dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring Stanford 29-16, but it wasn’t enough to secure a win for the home team.

This game was highlighted by junior guard Tess Heal’s 24 points, thanks in part to her six 3’s, four of them in the first quarter.

Thus she accounted for half of the team’s 12 3’s. Sophomore guard Chloe Clardy had two, as did senior forward Brooke Demetre. Sophomore forward Nunu Agara and senior guard Elena Bosgana added one each.

Nunu was right behind Tess with 23 points. They were the only two Stanford players in double figures.

Stanford dominated Wake Forest in most statistical categories such as rebounds (37-24) and assists (16-9).

However, Wake Forest had 11 steals, while Stanford had four. Wake Forest’s steals contributed to Stanford’s 17 turnovers, a costly issue.

One item of note is that freshman center Kennedy Umeh entered the game during the third quarter. It was her first game action for quite some time. She played just over two minutes and had a rebound as well as a turnover.

Blue Devils dominate Cardinal 74-49

Stanford trailed by only four points against Duke after the first quarter, but Duke poured in 25 points to Stanford’s seven in the second. Stanford actually outscored Duke in the third, but Duke took over and came out ahead by 25 points for the game.

Nunu was the only Stanford player in double figures with 15 points plus 10 rebounds.

Of note is that two freshmen helped out. Guard Shay Ijiwoye had eight points as a starter, and Kennedy came off the bench to add six points and four rebounds.

On the other hand, Tess, who had led the way against Wake Forest, was scoreless in just over nine minutes off the bench.

The team’s only four 3’s came from Shay, Chloe, Brooke and sophomore guard Courtney Ogden.

And then there were the turnovers – 20, half of them from Duke steals– while Duke had only nine turnovers.

The crowd of more than 4,700 included athletic director Bernard Muir and retired head coach Tara VanDerveer.

The team gets to stay home for a week, hosting Cal at 7 p.m. PT Jan. 23. ACCNX will stream the game.

 

Mixed results in two home games

 

Happy players and coaches celebrate the FSC win. (John Lozano/ISI Photos)

The Stanford women’s basketball team made a happy, welcome return to Maples by defeating Florida State 89-84 on Jan. 9, thus notching its first-ever ACC win.

The results weren’t quite as happy three days later on Jan. 12, when the team hosted North Carolina State and lost 81-67.

FSU came into the meeting with a 13-2 record overall and 3-0 in the ACC, while Stanford was 8-5 and 0-3, respectively.

Playing in front of more than 2,600 fans, the Cardinal apparently weren’t impressed with the Seminoles’ record and led for most of the game.  The home team led by as much as 17 points in the second quarter, but the visitors kept chipping away – not by enough to win, though.

Head coach Kate Paye stayed with the recently revised starting lineup: senior guard Elena Bosgana, senior forward Brooke Demetre, sophomore forward Nunu Agara, sophomore guard Chloe Clardy and freshman guard Shay Ijiwoye.

Brooke led the four players in double figures with 24 points. She was followed by Elena with 21 points, plus a game-leading 15 rebounds.

Also in double figures were Nunu with 17 and junior guard Tess Heal with 14.

Both teams tallied 10 3’s. Brooke was responsible for Stanford’s total with five 3’s. The others came from Elena and Tess with two each and Nunu with one.

Although free throws again were a problem overall – 13 of 21 -- that wasn’t the case in the first half, when the team was perfect in that department.

Turnovers also were a sore spot again with 18 compared with FSU’s six. On the other hand, Stanford had the advantage in rebounds, 52-35.

NC State hands team a loss

The starting lineup was the same against NC State, but the scoring output was somewhat different. Chloe led the team with 17 points, her career high, Kate said after the game. She was followed by Nunu and Elena with 14 each.

The team’s seven 3’s came from Chloe with three, Shay with two, and Nunu and Brooke with one each.

Things looked good after the first quarter when Stanford led 18-12.

However, the wheels came off during the second and third quarters, giving NC State a 25-point lead, 68-43. At that point, some of the more than 3,700 people at the game headed for the exits.

Stanford refused to go away, though, outscoring NC State 24-13 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the previous deficits.

In some ways, too, the turnover story was the same as in some past games. Stanford amassed 18 miscues, while NC State had 12.

On the other hand, Stanford had a slight advantage in rebounds, 38-36.

NC State won with better shooting, 47.1 percent vs. 41.5 percent. Both teams made all of their free throws.

After the game, associate head coach Tempie Brown introduced three of the sophomores: Nunu, Chloe and guard Mary Ashley Stevenson.

Joining them, Kate said she and the coaches knew this would be a tough game, but “I think we’ve made progress this weekend.”

She praised her coaching staff and several players, including Shay, whom she called the Energizer Bunny.

Coming up next, the team travels to the East Coast and across three time zones to face Wake Forest at 3 p.m. PT Jan. 16 and Duke at 10 a.m. PT Jan. 19, both in North Carolina.

The team travels by charter on planes that have Wi-Fi, giving players a chance to keep up with their classes, Kate said.

ACCNX will stream the Wake Forest game. The Duke game will be televised on ESPN/ESPN2.

New year opens with two road loses

The Stanford women’s basketball team’s first cross-country ACC games found it losing to Southern Methodist University 63-67 on Jan. 2 in Dallas and to Clemson in overtime 61-65 on Jan. 5 in South Carolina.

Head coach Kate Paye reconfigured the starting lineup against Clemson. Freshman guard Shay Ijiwoye and sophomore guard Chloe Clardy replaced redshirt junior guard Jzaniya Harriel and junior guard Tess Heal at the tipoff.

Shay played just over 28 minutes and recorded three points and three steals before fouling out in overtime. Chloe also fouled out in OT after playing just over 24 minutes and scoring four points.

Sophomore forward Nunu Agara, a starter, led the team with 18 points and 11 rebounds. She gave everyone a scare late in the second quarter when she seemed to hurt a knee and had to be helped off the court.

However, much to everyone’s relief, she returned about halfway through the third quarter and seemed to have suffered no ill effects.

The other two starters, senior guard Elena Bosgana and senior forward Brooke Demetre, scored 15 and 10 points, respectively. They also were responsible for the team’s five 3’s, with two by Elena and three by Brooke.

It was a tight game throughout, with 12 lead changes and 14 ties.

Even though Stanford had fewer fouls, 19-22, Clemson did better at the free-throw line, making 18 of 25 while Stanford made 10 of 19 – a big contributor to its loss, which seen by just over 2,400 fans.

Stanford can’t get ahead against SMU

It seemed as if Stanford was playing catch-up throughout the SMU game. When I logged into the TV broadcast on my computer, only a few minutes had elapsed, yet the Mustangs were up by about 12 points.

As the game continued, it seemed as if SMU would have a double-digit lead that Stanford would cut to single digits, but never pull ahead.

The final few minutes offered hope for a win. Here’s the report from CardinalSportsReport:

“Stanford would continue to scrap and play with fight, forcing some turnovers … They were rewarded with an 11-0 run to make it a 64-63 game with 42.6 to go. …”

An SMU basket “made it 66-63 with under 14 seconds to go as Stanford had a chance to even things up. … A 3-point shot … was a bit wide. SMU would get the rebound.” An SMU free throw made it 67-63, the final score.

SMU outscored Stanford in the first and third quarters, but Stanford won the other two quarters, but not by enough in this game seen by more than 1,400.

Elena led the team with 20 points, followed by Nunu with 19.

Four of the team’s nine 3’s were by Elena. The others came from Nunu, Shay, Tess and Chloe.

Shay played just over 16 minutes, her longest stint to date, and added 6 points.

Each team had 41 rebounds and was fairly close in other stats. Each team missed five free throws. Had Stanford been more successful at the line, the final outcome would have been different.

Coming up next, the team hosts Florida State at 7 p.m. Jan. 9 (to be seen on ACCNX) and North Carolina State at noon Jan. 12 (shown by ESPN).

In the meantime, the team is back on campus for the start of winter quarter.

 

 

Ohio State overwhelms Cardinal

 

Jzaniya tries to shoot while closely guarded. (Karen Hickey/ISI :Photos)

Undefeated and then-#11 Ohio State was too hot to handle, so the Stanford women’s basketball team lost 59-84 on Dec. 20 during the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic at Chase Center in San Francisco.

OSU’s full-court press was tough to surmount, as was its overall defense and speed.

Hence, Stanford managed to make only 39 percent of its shots overall and 12.5 percent of its 3’s, or two of 16. The first came from junior guard Tess Heal, the second from senior forward Brooke Demetre.

Sophomore forward Nunu Agara led the team with a double-double, 17 points and 10 rebounds. Tess with 10 points was the only other Cardinal in double figures.

Turnovers – 19 – were a big problem, leading to 17 OSU points in front of the crowd of more than 3,700 in the home arena of the Golden State Warriors.

One stat in which Stanford exceeded OSU was in rebounds, 40-36. Otherwise, OSU dominated throughout the game.

With this game behind them, the players then took off for their holiday destinations.

They’ll be back in action for an ACC road trip to SMU at 5 p.m. PT Jan. 2, shown on ACCN, and Clemson at 11 a.m. PT Jan. 5, shown on the CW Network.

Winter quarter classes start Jan. 6.

After falling to Cal, team returns to winning column

 

More than 1,500 school kids cheer the team to victory against UTSA. (Karen Hickey/ISI Photos)

After enduring a 63-83 loss at Cal, the Stanford women’s basketball team returned home to defeat UT San Antonio 62-57 on Dec. 16.

Stanford led throughout the game except for early in the third quarter, when UTSA briefly had a 2-point lead that senior forward Brooke Demetre quickly erased with a 3-pointer.

The Cardinal had its biggest lead, 15 points, about halfway through the fourth quarter, but the Road Runners kept chipping away. “It wasn’t pretty, but it was gritty,” head coach Kate Paye said at the post-game Behind the Bench.

Stanford was clinging to a 60-57 lead with 13.5 seconds left and UTSA with the ball. However, referees stopped action because the clock hadn’t advanced when ball went into play

After checking, they took about three seconds off the clock. UTSA then inbounded the ball, but redshirt junior guard Jzaniya Harriel stole the ball, ran down the court and scored a buzzer-beater, icing the victory.

Ironically, she had opened the game with a 3-pointer, thus bookending the win.

Finishing with 12 points, she was one of three Cardinal players in double figures. Senior guard Elena Bosgana was the high-scorer with 13 points plus a team-high 11 rebounds. Brooke, who fouled out late in the fourth quarter, had 11 points.

Sophomore guard Nunu Agara, usually among the high scorers, was bottled by the UTSA defense and scored only 9 points.

Stanford had eight 3’s, with three each by Brooke and Jzaniya and two by junior guard Tess Heal.

The crowd of 4,600 included more than 1,500 students from area schools. They filled most of the upper areas and cheered mightily for the home team.

Cal prevails over Stanford

Friday the 13^th is reputed to be unlucky.

That certainly was the case for the Stanford women’s basketball team, which lost 63-83 at Cal on Friday, Dec. 13, just after the end of finals.

It was the first meeting of the longtime rivals as part of the ACC following the demise of the Pac-12.

Part of the reason for the Cardinal’s undoing was the Bears’ success beyond the arc – a school record 18 3’s resulting in 54 points, more than half of their final score.

Stanford had what has become its typical 3-point success with nine, not enough to counteract its opponent.

Also hurting the team were 12 turnovers to Cal’s nine. Cal also had more rebounds, assists and blocks.

Among the five starters –Nunu, Elena, Brooke, Jzaniya and Tess – only Brooke with a team-leading 18 points and Nunu with 13 were in double figures. Sophomore guard Chloe Clardy had 10 off the bench.

The 3’s came from Brooke with four, Elena with three and one each by Nunu and Chloe in this game attended by more than 3,100.

Next up for the team is Ohio State at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 20 at Chase Center in San Francisco. It will be televised on FS1.

This will be followed by a short holiday break that ends with an ACC road trip to SMU at 5 p.m. PT Jan. 2, shown on ACCN, and Clemson at 11 a.m. PT Jan. 5, shown on CW Network. Winter quarter classes start Jan. 6.

 

 

Cardinal lose to LSU in OT after leading most of the way

 

Brooke defends against an LSU layup. (Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images)        

Playing in front of more than 10,000 fans, most of them rooting for the host, Louisiana State University, the Stanford women’s basketball team went toe-to-toe with the undefeated and then-ranked No. 5 LSU on Dec. 5 only to lose 94-88 in overtime.

Except for the first 15 seconds, when LSU hit a three-pointer, Stanford surged ahead and led 28-15 at the end of the first quarter. The team held a lead until the fourth quarter’s final seconds, when LSU scored two points to tie at 80-80.

Sophomore forward Nunu Agara led the charge with 29 points and 13 rebounds. According to Sports Reference, Nunu is the first DI player to have 29 points and 13 rebounds in a true road game against an AP top-five opponent since Nov. 21, 2021.

Three of her teammates scored in double digits with 19 by senior guard Brooke Demetre, 16 by senior guard Elena Bosgana and 15 by redshirt junior guard Jzaniya Harriel.

The four top scorers were again joined in the starting lineup by junior guard Tess Heal, filling in for junior guard Talana Lepolo, who reportedly has knee and ankle problems. The TV announcer said she didn’t make the trip to Baton Rouge.

Her absence left 13 available players, with eight getting into the game.

Stanford out-rebounded LSU, but 15 turnovers led to 14 LSU points. It also hurt that Brooke was bothered by leg cramps in the final moments.

The visitors made nine 3’s, with three each by Brooke and Jzaniya, two by Nunu and one by Elena.

Among those cheering for Stanford was Nneka Ogwumike, ’12, who plays professionally with the WNBA’s Seattle Storm. She was wearing a Stanford sweatshirt.

The next game is at 7 p.m. Dec. 13 at Cal, just an easy drive across the bay. This will be the team’s first ACC contest.

The team stays home to host UT San Antonio at noon Dec. 16, and then takes a bus to Chase Center in San Francisco to play Ohio State at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 20 before the holiday break.

ACCNX will stream the Cal and UTSA games, while FS1 will carry the Ohio State game.

Another lopsided home win; Tritons fall

 

Elena brings the ball upcourt on her way to a record performance. (Stanford Athletics)

Stanford women’s basketball completed its three-game home stand with another lopsided win, 84-54, over the UC San Diego Tritons on Nov. 29.

Senior guard Elena Bosgana led the charge with a career-high 26 points on 10-for-10 shooting, tying the school record for single-game field goal percentage, Stanford Athletics reported. Her performance included 5-5 from beyond the arc, along with six rebounds, three assists and four steals.

Sophomore forward Nunu Agara was right behind her with 22 points, including another two of the team’s nine threes.

Both of the others were provided by junior guard Tess Heal with two, leading to 13 points. Senior guard Brooke Demetre was the other Cardinal in double figures with 12.

Attendance was reported at just over 3,000 with contingents of UCSD fans behind its bench and in an upper northeast section.

Few students were there because the school was on Thanksgiving break. Thus no band, Tree, etc.

The game started with Nunu, Elena, Brooke, redshirt junior guard Jzaniya Harriel and Tess, who was again filling in for unavailable junior guard Talana Lepolo.

Four more players got into the action during the first quarter as the team surged to a 32-4 lead. Still others joined in during the second quarter, in which junior guard Stavi Papadaki intercepted the ball and raced across the court to score. This action was selected as the Pepsi Refreshing Moment of the Game.

By the end of the second quarter, 12 of the 13 available players had gotten in, and Stanford led 48-16. All 13 eventually got in.

The story changed in the third and fourth quarters as UCSD tightened its defense and sharpened its shooting to outscore Stanford by one point in each quarter. Stanford’s turnovers from its sloppy passes and UCSD’s steals marred its performance.

In all, the team had an uncharacteristic 25 turnovers. That won’t work against tougher opponents.

At the Behind the Bench, recently retired head coach Tara VanDerveer praised her younger sister, Heidi, UCSD’s head coach.

Speaking about the game, Heidi said, “I knew what we were getting into,” especially in the first quarter. “Stanford showed us the pace we have to play with.”

It helps when teams play well, Tara said, adding that UCSD “competed well in three quarters.”

Since the game came the day after Thanksgiving, Heidi said that the two teams had Thanksgiving dinner together in the Stanford Hall of Champions.

The team takes to the road to play Louisiana State at 6 p.m. PT on Dec. 5 and cross-bay rival Cal at 7 p.m. PT Dec. 13 to start ACC competition.  ESPN2 will televise the LSU game. The Cal game will be streamed on ACCNX.

 

Team posts two more wins after loss to IU

 Returning from its first road trip and first loss of the season, the Stanford women’s basketball team righted the ship with two wins.

The first was a 91-49 blowout over Morgan State on Nov. 22, the second an 81-45 defeat of Cal Poly on Nov. 25.

For the record, the 79-66 loss came to Indiana University three time zones away on Nov. 17. Playing in front of more than 10,000 fans, the team lost its three-point touch, making only two.

The story was different against Morgan State as four players teamed up for 10 3’s, with three each by senior forward Brooke Demetre and redshirt junior guard Jzaniya Harriel.

Played in front of more than 2,500 on a rainy, rainy night, the game featured several firsts. One of them saw junior guard Tess Heal getting her first start, filling in for unavailable junior guard Talana Lepolo. She finished with a game-high 14 points.

Another was that freshman center Kennedy Umeh had her first double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, all in less than 11 minutes.

Finally, junior guard Lauren Green, who rarely gets to play, scored her first-ever collegiate basket, much to the delight of her teammates and the fans.

Tess started again against Cal Poly and went on to score 14 points, behind Brooke’s 17 and sophomore forward Nunu Agara’s 15.

Brooke accounted for half of the team’s six 3’s while senior guard Elena Bosgana had two and Tess one.

In this game attended by more than 2,700, Stanford dominated the first quarter, but Cal Poly matched its points output, 18, in the second. Nevertheless, Stanford surged ahead in the final quarters, leading to the 81-45 victory.

Next up is UC San Diego, coached by Tara VanDerveer’s sister Heidi, at 2 p.m. Nov. 29. ACCNX will stream the game.

Aggies try but can't stifle Cardinal

 

                        Junior guard Tess Heal gets one of her two blocks. (Stanford Athletics)

After the euphoria of three lopsided wins fueled by a barrage of 3-pointers, the Stanford women’s basketball team returned to earth but still defeated UC Davis 69-56 on Nov. 13 at home.

Because of the Aggies’ defense, 3’s were harder to come by, only five.

Sophomore forward Courtney Ogden contributed two. The others came from senior guards Elena Bosgana and Brooke Demetre plus redshirt junior guard Jzaniya Harriel.

Scoring was led by sophomore forward Nunu Agara with 25 points plus 10 rebounds for a double-double, the first of her career.

Courtney with 16 and Brooke with 11 also were in double figures.

The starting lineup was the same as in past games with Nunu, Elena, Brooke, Jzaniya and junior guard Talana Lepolo.

All 14 players were available, but with the game so tight throughout that only 10 played.

Witnessed by 2,499 fans, the game started inauspiciously with a turnover, the first of 16, on Stanford’s first possession.

When the first quarter ended, the score was 17-11 in Stanford’s favor. More than halfway through the second quarter, though, Stanford had added only 2 points to its total, while Davis scored another 5 points. At the half, Stanford was up 29-21.

Davis actually outscored the host team in the third quarter, which ended with Stanford up by only 2 points, 49-47. Stanford could have been behind by then, but Courtney buried a buzzer-beating 3.

In the fourth quarter, Stanford had an 11-point advantage to win the game.

After this four-game home stand, the team ventures on its first road trip, visiting Indiana University at 11 a.m. PST Nov. 17.