On Thursday, Stanford women’s basketball defeated Wake Forest on the road by a final score of 74-71. Stanford guard Tess Heal (24 points) and forward Nunu Agara (23 points & 7 rebounds) led the way for the Cardinal while Wake Forest guard Elise Williams (19 points, 5 rebounds, & 4 assists) was the top performer for the Demon Deacons. Stanford improves to 10-7 overall and 2-4 in the ACC while Wake Forest falls to 7-10 overall and 0-6 in the ACC.

BOX SCORE: Stanford at Wake Forest-Thursday, January 16th

Stanford got off to a strong start, leading 19-9 at the end of the 1st quarter. Tess Heal was up to 11 points for the Cardinal on 4-5 shooting from the field and 3-3 shooting from 3-point range. She was coming on strong.

With 4:57 to go in the 2nd quarter, Stanford led 29-21. Stanford was shooting 6-9 from 3-point range and out-rebounding Wake Forest 16-10. Stanford would finish the quarter strong to lead 41-29 at halftime. Nunu Agara was up to nine points and five rebounds for the Cardinal while Heal was up to 15 points. The Cardinal were cooking with gas.

Stanford carried their momentum into the 3rd quarter, leading 52-36 with 4:46 to go in the quarter. Heal had another 3-pointer. She was balling out. All things continued to go Stanford’s way.

At the end of the 3rd quarter, Stanford led 58-42. Heal was up to 24 points on 9-11 shooting from the field and 6-7 shooting from 3-point range. She was going off. Agara was also in a nice flow with 13 points and seven rebounds.

Wake Forest would start to get back in the game as Stanford led 60-51 with 5:11 to go. The Deacons were on a 7-0 run over the last 2:42. Elise Williams was up to 16 points, doing her part to help her team pull off a comeback. Stanford needed to finish strong.

Stanford did not finish strong but did hang on for the win by a final score of 74-71. Stanford fouled a 3-point shooter at the very end to make it a three point game after being up by six. The clock was truly Stanford’s friend as had this game gone on for even a couple more minutes, Wake Forest would have likely won.

For Stanford, this is the definition of an ugly win. They should have won this game by double digits and instead gave Wake Forest every opportunity to win all the way until the very end. Wake Forest is the worst team in the ACC. You have to be able to close the door against a team like that as opposed to letting them hang around.

That all said, it’s still a win and that’s something that Stanford can feel happy about. Tess Heal and Nunu Agara were both fantastic in this one and while they nearly blew a massive lead, Stanford should still get credit for building up a big lead in the first place. When you get up by as much as Stanford did, odds are good you win the game.

Up next for Stanford is a road game at No. 16 Duke on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 10:00 AM PT on ESPN2.

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