On Sunday, Stanford women’s basketball defeated Gonzaga by a final score of 89-58. Stanford sophomore forward Nunu Agara led the way for the Cardinal with 16 points and nine rebounds while Elena Bosgana (12 points), Jzaniya Harriel (12 points), and Chloe Clardy (11 points) also finished in double figures. This was the first game played on what is now called “Tara VanDerveer Court”, making it an historic game for the program. Stanford improves to 3-0 overall while Gonzaga falls to 1-1. Stanford is now ranked No. 24 in the AP Top 25.
VIDEO: Stanford WBB Postgame Press Conference | Gonzaga
BOX SCORE: Gonzaga at Stanford-Sunday, November 10th
“Hey everybody, thanks for coming out, this is a really special day,” Stanford head coach Kate Paye said after the game. “Obviously with the court naming ceremony. It looks awesome out there and I think our team, our staff knew that the best way we could honor Tara on a day like today is to play really well. We have tremendous respect for Gonzaga. This is a long time series and we’ve been in a lot of battles and we certainly have been on the other side of it before. But it's a game that every year, especially in the preseason, we know that it makes our team better. Win or lose, our team is very focused. We know that Gonzaga is an excellent team.
“Ejim is an excellent player and our team worked really hard to be very focused to guard her. I think holding her to, how many did she have, twelve points is huge. Nunu, Brooke, MA [Mary Ashley Stevenson], Courtney, everybody kind of tried some time on her, but it was great team defense. Chloe and kind of her guarding perimeter partners worked extremely hard. When looking at this kind of stat sheet and the way that it felt out there, I mean, I think our team, we’re a new roster and we’re starting to build and find our identity.
“Our team is extremely unselfish. We move the ball really well. We’re really excited about nineteen assists and it’s teamwork. We have a very balanced scoring, very balanced attack. And everybody is making a lot of positive contributions. So I thought MA had her probably best real game. She balled out in a scrimmage that we had, but this was a great game for MA. And the improvement that Chloe Clardy has made from last year is just phenomenal and that’s a testament to her and the time she has put in the gym in the offseason and it’s really fun to see her out there playing so well on both sides of the ball.”
Stanford destroyed Gonzaga in the 1st quarter, outscoring them 26-4. Agara was already up to seven points as Stanford was shooting 9-18 from the field, 3-4 from 3-point range, and 5-5 from the foul line. Gonzaga in contrast was shooting 2-13 from the field as they really struggled to put the ball in the basket. Being down three starters clearly was hurting the Bulldogs.
“I mean, I think it’s a huge attribute to the girls on our team who start the game,” Stevenson said. “I mean, we talk about all the time like, those are the people who set the tone and that they did an incredible job in setting a tone right off the bat. I mean, I think Nunu went to the basket, got foul on Ejim, which was someone we really focused on for this game, and I think it was just incredible to see not only how our five starters came in and just kind of dominated right from the start. We’re ready to go, but then we talk about like our bench and how excited and ready to go our bench is as well. Making sure we’re cheering on, we’re talking to them, and then for those who come off the bench, then just be ready to watch, learn from the starters and come in and contribute.”
With 4:31 to go in the 2nd quarter, Stanford continued to dominate as they were up 35-12. Agara’s seven points and six rebounds continued to lead the way for the Cardinal. Gonzaga had finally gotten some shots to fall, but they were still way behind.
At halftime, Stanford led 48-24. Bosgana was up to 10 points for the Cardinal on 2-4 shooting from 3-point range after nailing a pretty corner three. Agara was up to nine points and eight rebounds. The Cardinal were cruising.
Stanford would lead 61-26 with 4:39 to go in the 3rd quarter. The Cardinal were on a 13-0 run as Bosgana’s 12 points led the Cardinal. Gonzaga needed a hug after the way Stanford was disrespecting them.
Stanford would lead 67-33 at the end of the 3rd quarter. Agara now joined Bosgana with 12 points. Stanford was shooting 48.0% from the field and 56.3% from 3-point range. Gonzaga in contrast was shooting 27.9% from the field and 15.4% from 3-point range. The Cardinal were truly playing elite on both ends of the floor.
“I mean, we put in work to our shot,” Clardy said of their shooting. “Not every game it’s going to fall, but we still have other things that we hang our hat on and we’re gonna play hard defense every game. We’re gonna play for each other and I think we really love each other, so like playing hard for each other every game even if our shots aren’t falling.”
Stanford would lead 72-44 with 6:39 to go. Stanford had four turnovers while Gonzaga had 15 turnovers. Eight of those 15 turnovers were off steals from Stanford. The Cardinal continued to be pesky on defense.
In the end, Stanford would win by a final score of 89-58. After blowing the doors off Gonzaga in the opening quarter, it was pretty smooth sailing from there. The Zags really didn’t have much of a chance after getting down by so much.
For Stanford, this is a nice win. They’re now ranked and dominated an opponent who has historically given them trouble. Even though Gonzaga was without three starters, it still has to feel good for them to defeat Gonzaga so resoundingly. On top of that, they got to do it on the day that they unveiled Tara VanDerveer Court. It couldn’t have been a better day for the Cardinal.
“I’m so happy for Tara,” Paye said. “It’s an incredible honor and a deserved honor and I think the logo looks really cool out there with her, you know that’s how she signs her first name Tara. She’s iconic, she’s a legend, and it was really cool right before the game started to hear the announcers say for the first time ever, welcome to Tara VanDerveer Court at Maples Pavilion and it definitely gave me chills.”
Up next for Stanford is a home game against UC Davis on Wednesday, November 13th. Tipoff will be at 7:00 PM PT on ACCNX.
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