On Thursday, Stanford women’s basketball defeated Miami 86-69 at home. Stanford forward Brooke Demetre was the leading scorer for the Cardinal with 19 points and five rebounds while guard Courtney Ogden (18 points, 4 rebounds, & 4 assists), Chloe Clardy (16 points, 4 rebounds, & 6 assists) and guard Elena Bosgana (15 points & 4 rebounds) also scored in double figures. Miami sisters/guards Hanna Cavinder (19 points) and Haley Cavinder (16 points, 4 rebounds, & 7 assists) were the top performers for the Hurricanes. Stanford improves to 15-13 overall and 7-10 in the ACC while Miami falls to 14-14 overall and 4-13 in the ACC.
VIDEO: Stanford WBB Postgame Press Conference: Miami
BOX SCORE: Miami at Stanford-Thursday, February 27th
“That’s a huge win for our team, it was a great team win,” Stanford head coach Kate Paye said after the game. “Miami is a very good team. I talked to their coach Tricia Cullop, who we have tremendous respect for, before the game and I think their team maybe is similar to ours in the sense that I think we both feel like our teams are better than maybe our conference record suggests. But I’m really excited with our team. Our defense really picked it up in the second half, you know, defense, we out-rebounded them, we took care of the ball, we got much more aggressive and to have four players in double digits, Brooke really carrying the load and Elena, kinda on their senior weekend getting going for Sunday is exciting.
“I’m really, really proud and excited for Courtney Ogden. How well she’s playing. She set a career high in points on Sunday versus Virginia and then she just broke it tonight, so I’m excited for Sunday. I can’t wait to see what you do next, Courtney. This is just a great win for our team and we’re excited to turn our attention to Georgia Tech and build on it.”
Stanford was once again without star forward Nunu Agara who is still recovering from an injury she suffered at Notre Dame. It appears to be a back/tailbone injury, so it’s really an up-in-the-air situation regarding her return.
“Obviously, we want Nunu healthy, we can’t wait to have her back,” Paye said. “But, you know, teams go through things like this and it’s just an opportunity for other people to step up. I’ve been so excited about how Mary Ashley Stevenson has been playing and stepping up without Nunu out there. Courtney stepping up, playing really well, and that means when Nunu comes back and she’s healthy, our team will be the better for it.”
Stanford led 8-0 with 7:46 to go in the 1st quarter. Miami called for time. Chloe Clardy and Brooke Demetre each had a 3-pointer for the Cardinal while Elena Bosgana had two points.
At the end of the 1st quarter, Stanford led 22-21. Clardy was leading the Cardinal with 6 points on 2-2 shooting from 3-point range while Demetre had five points. Hanna Cavinder was leading the Hurricanes with 12 points.
Stanford would gain a bit more separation to lead 34-29 with 5:53 to go in the 2nd quarter. Demetre was up to nine points for Stanford while Courtney Ogden had eight points after making a nice corner 3-pointer. Stanford was on a 10-0 run over the last 1:48.
WIth 2:30 to go in the 2nd quarter, Miami had retaken the lead 40-39. Ogden was up to 11 points for Stanford on 4-8 shooting from the field and 3-4 shooting from 3-point range. She was balling out. Stanford freshman point guard Shay Ijiwoye was up to five points for Stanford on 1-1 shooting from 3-point range and 2-2 shooting from the foul line. Ijiwoye had just been called for an intentional foul on offense giving Miami the ball back with a pair of foul shots. Miami made both foul shots.
Stanford led 45-44 at halftime as Ogden led the Cardinal with 14 points while Demetre had 12 points. Hanna Cavinder was leading the Hurricanes with 15 points while Haley Cavinder was right behind her with 11 points. The two sisters were doing all they could to keep their team in the game.
Stanford got off to a strong start in the second half, leading 58-46 with 5:51 to go in the 3rd quarter. Stanford was on a 13-0 run over the last 3:30. Elena Bosgana was up to 10 points for Stanford after making her second 3-pointer of the night. Demetre and Ogden each had 14 points. The Cardinal had the momentum.
With 2:06 to go in the 3rd quarter, Stanford led 65-55 as they were outscoring Miami 20-11 in the quarter. They were hoping to finish the quarter strong.
At the end of the 3rd quarter, Stanford’s lead remained 10 points as they were up 68-58. Demetre was up to 17 points, five rebounds, and five assists for Stanford. She was having a very well-rounded game. Stanford was shooting 13-21 from 3-point range. That was making a huge difference.
With 5:00 to go in the game, Stanford led 73-64. Demetre had 19 points for the Cardinal while Ogden had 16 points. As for Miami, Hanna Cavinder (19 points) and her sister Haley (13 points) were trying to keep the Hurricanes alive.
“There’s not like a certain motivation more this week than any other game,” Demetre said. “I think we’re just playing as hard as we can. We want to do well in the ACC tournament, so we want to carry momentum going in. Last home stretch, so we really wanna play well together as the last few games here as a group. So yeah, just going hard.”
Rather than let the Hurricanes get back in the game, the Cardinal put them away for good as a spin layup by Ijiwoye put them up 81-64 with 2:53 to go. She had seven points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals for the game, once again bringing great defensive intensity.
In the end, Stanford would walk out with an 86-69 victory. Miami battled hard, but Stanford found another gear at the end and pulled away.
“It was our defense,” Paye said of the key to their strong second half. “We did make a few adjustments, you know, the twins are very good. They’re excellent players, they’re very skilled. They have a lot of really nice players on their team. I think our ability to switch defensively really helped us. They had six threes in the first half and then only one in the second half and obviously limiting them to 25 points. They did shoot overall a very good percentage. You know, they’re good. So, but at least we kind of put the clamps down on the threes and did a much better job in the second half.
“It starts with our defense. When our team is active and aggressive, and that starts with Chloe and Shay and Elena, Brooke inside, you know, Courtney’s defense. She’s got it going. When our team plays defense really well and we’re aggressive and handsy, turning people over, that helps us get out and run and I think that’s when we’re at our best and we flow better on offense.”
For Stanford, this is a nice win. They really picked things up in the second half and pulled away convincingly. To do that with Nunu Agara still sidelined makes this all the more impressive. Their ability to shoot from 3-point range was obviously a major reason why they won. When they do that well, they’re tough to stop.
Up next for Stanford is a home game against Georgia Tech on Sunday for Senior Day. That will be the final game for the regular season. Tipoff is set for 1:00 PM PT on The CW.
“I would have to say the Iowa State game last year was a pretty memorable moment, but honestly, it’s the little moments that I remember most,” Demetre said reflecting on her time on The Farm. “Whether like trips on the road, playing Uno, the day before games. Like, it’s the little things that really stick with me. We call this a sisterhood and I’m gonna remember my sisters for the rest of my life. Gonna have them in my life. But it’s all basketball aside, it’s the little things that I remember the most. Yeah.”
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