On Sunday, Stanford women’s basketball fell to Clemson on the road in overtime by a final score of 65-61. Clemson guard Loyal McQueen led the way for the Tigers with 26 points and six assists while forward Raven Thompson had 17 points. Stanford forward Nunu Agara was the top performer for the Cardinal with 18 points and 11 rebounds while guard Elena Bosgana had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Clemson improves to 10-5 overall and 3-1 in the ACC while Stanford falls to 8-6 overall and 0-3 in the ACC.

BOX SCORE: Stanford at Clemson-Sunday, January 5th

This game was tight from the jump as Clemson led 16-14 at the end of the 1st quarter. Loyal McQueen was up to six points for Clemson while Elena Bosgana had six points for Stanford. Clemson was shooting 6-13 from the field while Stanford was shooting 6-16.

At halftime, Stanford had a narrow 30-28 lead. Bosgana had 11 points and five rebounds to lead the Cardinal while Brooke Demetre had nine points and six rebounds. McQueen was leading the Tigers with nine points.

At the end of the 3rd quarter, Stanford led 44-42. Nunu Agara was up to 10 points for the Cardinal while Courtney Ogden was starting to get rolling a bit with seven points. McQueen was up to 15 points for the Tigers. Stanford was shooting slightly better from beyond the arc at 4-12 while Clemson was shooting 2-13.

With 8:29 to go, Clemson led 47-44. The Tigers were on a 5-0 run to start the 4th quarter as Stanford called for time. Over the next few minutes, Clemson would be able to take the lead 51-48 as there was just 3:52 to go. Both teams were having a tough time scoring, but the Tigers had a narrow lead.

Bosgana would hit a crucial 3-pointer to tie the game up 56-56 and with 11 seconds left, Stanford had the ball with a chance to win the game with the final possession. However, Stanford was unable to get one more point, sending the game into overtime.

With 1:49 to go in overtime, Stanford led 61-57 after Demetre went 1-2 at the foul line. Agara (18 points) and Bosgana (15 points) had really been carrying the Cardinal. Anya Poole would then get fouled for Clemson, giving the Tigers a chance to make a couple of free throws. Poole made both, making it 61-59 with 1:34 to go in overtime. From there, it was the Loyal McQueen show as she made a jumper to tie it up 61-61 before getting to the foul line twice, making four straight free throws. That made it a 65-61 lead for the Tigers with nine seconds to go. Demetre would attempt a 3-point shot to get within one point, but it didn’t drop. Clemson would get the rebound and that would be ball game. 65-61 Clemson won in overtime.

For Clemson, this is a nice win. Even though Stanford is struggling as of now, they’re still a team capable of hanging with anyone on any given night. To get a win in overtime against a Stanford team that is hungry and due for a win has to feel good. Even more impressively, this win gets Clemson a sweep of the two Bay Area ACC schools as they defeated a ranked Cal team earlier in the week. Clemson is starting to find their groove and looks like a team that is capable of making some noise in the ACC.

As for Stanford, it’s one heart break after another. They get close and just can’t seem to find a way to win. What will be interesting to see is if this frustrating trend will continue for Stanford or if it will eventually click for them at some point. The season is still early, but they have some things to figure out.

Up next for Stanford is a home game against Florida State on Thursday, January 9th at 7:00 PM PT on ACCNX.

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