Stanford Women's Basketball Storm Back Late Against SMU, Fall Short

Jason Burke | Jan 3, 2025

Dec 1, 2022; Stanford, California, USA; A detailed view of the Stanford logo on the seats before the game between the Stanford Cardinal and the UCLA Bruins at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images / Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

Stanford women's basketball currently holds an 8-5 record, including an 0-2 start to conference play. It's not exactly where the program hoped to be, but given the transition from Tara VanDerveer to new coach Kate Paye and Stanford's jump to the ACC, some setbacks were expected. With ACC play in full swing, now is the time that the Cardinal will have to pick things up.

After an extended break due to the holiday season, Stanford traveled to Dallas, Texas to take on SMU. The Cardinal fell behind early, trailing 24-13 after one, and they chipped away just a bit at that lead in the second, outscoring the Mustangs 14-11 in the quarter. Still, Stanford trailed 35-27 at the break.

SMU won the third quarter by a pair of points, increasing their lead to 10 with one quarter to play, and that lead largely held, with the Cardinal trailing 64-52 with just 2:37 remaining in the contest.

That is when sophomore, and early-season standout Nunu Agara turned things around for her team.

Agara hit a three to cut the deficit to nine with just under two to play, then Shay Ijiwoye dropped in a layup and senior Elena Bosgana drilled a triple to bring the Cardinal within four. Agara would add a layup of her own, getting fouled in the process and hitting the free throw to make it a one point game. In the span of 1:55 the Cardinal went on an 11-0 run and made a game out of this one.

Unfortunately, that free throw from Agara would be the last point that Stanford would put on the board, ultimately dropping this one 67-63.

In 31 minutes, Agara dropped 19 points, including 7-of-14 shooting (1-of-3 from three) and 4-of-7 from the free throw line. She added 12 rebounds, three assists, and one block to her line on the night. Seven of those rebounds were on the offensive end.

With the departure of Cameron Brink to the WNBA and Kiki Iriafen transferring to USC, Agara has stepped into her new role as a key cog for the offense in just her second season.

Bosgana was right there with her, dropping in 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting (4-of-7 from three). She produced six rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal in 38 minutes on the floor.

For Ijiwoye, a freshman, the six points she produced were a career high, and the 16 minutes she earned were her second-most of the year, trailing just the 17 she got back at the end of November in a 30 point win over UCSD. Ijiwoye also added three rebounds, two assists, and three steals, earning a +10 on her plus-minus , the highest on the team for the evening.

Stanford came into this game shooting 40.08% from deep on the year, which was ranked No. 3 in the nation. On Thursday night in Dallas, they went 9-of-24, which is slightly below their season average at 37.5%.

Stanford's next game will come on Sunday morning, also on the road, against Clemson. While the Tigers are not currently ranked, they just knocked off No. 20 California on Thursday night, 69-58. The Cardinal previously lost to Cal 83-63 on the road, so this matchup against Clemson will be a good test to see which direction Stanford will go from here.

Sunday's game tips off at 11 a.m. PST.