On Thursday, January 2nd at 5:00 PM PT on ACC Network, Stanford women’s basketball will take on the SMU Mustangs on the road in their first game of 2025. Stanford comes in at 8-4 overall and 0-1 in the ACC while SMU comes in at 8-5 overall and 0-1 in the ACC.

Last time out: Stanford got demolished by No. 11 Ohio State at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Friday, December 20th by a final score of 84-59. It was one-way traffic for the Buckeyes.

RECAP: Stanford WBB gets waxed against No. 11 Ohio State

The Mustangs have struggled against power four competition this season losing to Arizona State, Minnesota, Missouri, and Florida State (ACC). Their lone power conference win is against Texas Tech at home by four points (61-57). While other SMU teams have adjusted well to the ACC and power conference level, the women’s basketball team is clearly still finding their footing.

The top player for the Mustangs is junior guard Nya Robertson, who is averaging 20.1 points per game on 35.3% shooting from the field, 31.7% shooting from 3-point range, and 83.1% shooting from the foul line. Senior forward Chantae Embry (12.6 points & 7.1 rebounds) and senior center Jessica Peterson (10.8 points & 12.2 points) are also scoring in double figures.

As a team, the Mustangs average 70.1 points per game on 39.6% shooting from the field, 27.7% shooting from 3-point range, and 75.1% shooting from the foul line. They average 44.6 rebounds, 13.2 assists, 7.7 steals, 3.9 blocks, and 15.0 turnovers per game. They also average a +7.5 rebound margin and a +0.2 turnover margin per game. Their opponents average 63.5 points per game on 37.0% shooting from the field, 30.0% shooting from 3-point range, and 72.1% shooting from the foul line.

Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is simply see the ball go through the basket. Their shots were not falling against Ohio State and coming off a long break, they’re going to want to see some shots fall early in this one. If they can see the ball go through the basket at a good rate for the first five minutes of the game, that’ll really help them settle into this game.

The second thing Stanford needs to do is keep creating good looks from 3-point range. They got shooters on the team like Elena Bosgana, Jzaniya Harriel, Brooke Demetre, and Tess Heal. If they can keep getting each other good looks, the law of averages says they’ll fall. When things get dicey is when they’re not taking good shots.

Finally, Stanford needs to get Nunu Agara going inside. She’s averaging 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. On the road, your stars need to deliver and she’s their star. If Agara at least is at her average or above, Stanford will have a chance to win. If not, they could easily lose this one.

Prediction: Stanford desperately needs to get back in the win column after the horrible outing against Ohio State. Thankfully, SMU is about as good of an opponent for them to face as any if they want to get things going in the right direction. Even with it being on the road, I got Stanford winning by a final score of 75-64.

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