Stanford women's basketball falls just short against No. 5 LSU

Time to rest, regroup and focus for the next one.

Feb 10, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; The Stanford Cardinal logo on the video board before the game between the Stanford Cardinal and the USC Trojans at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images / Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

Sometimes, no matter how hard you fight, you still come up short. It was a dominant outing for the Stanford Cardinal on Thursday night in Baton Rouge when they took on the LSU Tigers in the ACC-SEC Challenge, but despite a valiant effort all around, particularly in what was a career night for sophomore forward Nunu Agara, the Cardinal came up short, falling 94-88 in overtime.

Scoring 29 points while also recording 13 rebounds, Agara was the star of the show all night for Stanford, at one point helping the Cardinal be in total control of the game and lead for around 38 minutes against the No. 5 ranked Tigers. However, the Tigers then started to score in large bunches to force overtime and hand Stanford its second loss of the season.

The Cardinal got off to a fast start, getting out to a big 16-5 lead in the first quarter, forcing LSU to quickly burn a timeout and talk things over. By the end of the first quarter, Stanford had made 13 out of their first 20 shots and were out to a 28-15 lead. But in the second quarter, the Tigers started to show why they are ranked so highly, outscoring the Cardinal 22-11 and by the time the halftime break had begun, the Cardinal lead was cut down to 39-37.

Stanford came back out firing once the third quarter began, with Jzaniya Harriel starting things off with a big three pointer followed by layups from both Brooke Demetre and Agara, ultimately resulting in the Cardinal pulling away once more, this time taking a 48-39 lead. Possessing one of the largest leads that they would have the rest of the night, LSU head coach Kim Mulkey called another timeout to give the Tigers a chance to regroup.

Late in the game, with around 23 seconds to go in regulation, a pair of big three pointers made by Harriel put the Cardinal up 80-75 and put them in prime position to pull off the upset. However, LSU’s Kailyn Gilbert hit a three-pointer with 17 seconds to go to put the Tigers within two and after they forced Harriel to turn over the ball on the inbound pass, LSU’s Mikaylah Williams, who led the Tigers with 32 points, hit a jump shot to tie it up and force overtime.

In overtime, the Tigers started to dominate, outscoring the Cardinal 14-8. Taking an 88-86 lead and holding that with 38 seconds left, Williams hit a deep three that essentially was a dagger shot, ultimately putting the game out of reach. While the Tigers were able to win, they only led in regulation for a grand total of 15 seconds after Williams hit a three pointer, but a three from Stanford’s Elena Bosgana the very next possession quickly squashed LSU’s lead.

Agara’s game was a historic one as according to Sports Reference, she is the first Division I basketball player to have 29 points and 13 rebounds in a road game against an AP top-five team since 2021-22, when former Baylor star NaLyssa Smith scored 30 points and had 15 rebounds against then ranked No. 3 Maryland.

Aside from Agara, other notables for Stanford include Demetre (19 points, four rebounds, three assists), Bosgana (16 points, four rebounds, two assists) and Harriel (15 points, five rebounds, assist).

The Cardinal will have a lot of time to regroup after this loss, not taking the floor again until Dec. 13 when ACC play opens up. They will take a trip to Berkeley to take on the Cal Golden Bears. Tip off is slated for 7:00 p.m. (PT) and will air on ACC Network Extra.