THE GAME: Unbeaten in Maples Pavilion, Stanford wraps up a three-game homestand when it hosts UC San Diego on Friday, Nov. 29 at 2 p.m. Tim Swartz and Mary Murphy have the call on ACCNX, while Kevin Danna will handle the radio broadcast on GoStanford.com, the Stanford Athletics app and Learfield’s Varsity Network.
THE RUNDOWN: Stanford is fifth in the nation in 3-point percentage (68-of-153; .444) ... One game after hitting a school-record 18 3-pointers against Le Moyne, the Cardinal went 14-of-20 (.700) in a win over Washington State and knocked down another 13 against Gonzaga on Nov. 10 ... Jzaniya Harriel is sixth in the country in 3-point percentage (.593; 16-of-27) ... Stanford also has 117 assists against just 70 turnovers this season ... The Cardinal is ninth in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.67) and is sixth nationally in fewest turnovers per game, averaging just 10.0 ... Nunu Agara is one of seven Power 4 conference players in the country averaging 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 block, and one of only three underclassmen (JuJu Watkins, USC; Addy Brown, Iowa St.) ... When Stanford was ranked on Nov. 11, Kate Paye became the 16th person to both play on and be a head coach for an AP-ranked team at the same school ... Heading into 2024-25, Stanford was looking to replace 59.8 percent of its scoring and 54.4 percent of its rebounding ... The Cardinal was picked seventh in the ACC preseason poll and was outside the preseason AP Top 25 for the first time since 1999-2000 ... Stanford’s 2025 recruiting class, signed Nov. 13, is ranked No. 3 nationally by espnW HoopGurlz.
VS. UC SAN DIEGO: Friday will mark the first regular-season meeting between Stanford and UC San Diego. The Cardinal hosted the Tritons, coached by Tara VanDerveer’s younger sister Heidi, for three early-November exhibitions in 2014 (W, 74-51), 2016 (W, 85-41) and 2017 (W, 60-46). Prior to 2014, the VanDerveer sisters had only faced each other once, when Heidi was an assistant at San Francisco in 2004. The Tritons have completed a four-year transition to NCAA Division I and all UC San Diego sports are now eligible for Big West and NCAA postseason play in 2024-25.
TREE-POINT BARRAGE »
- Stanford was incredible from 3-point range over the first three games of the season. One game after hitting a school-record 18 3-pointers against Le Moyne, the Cardinal went 14-of-20 (.700) in a win over Washington State and knocked down another 13 against Gonzaga on Nov. 10.
- Stanford has combined to shoot 44.4 percent from deep (68-of-153) in its first seven games. Ten different players have hit a 3-pointer, and there are four who have made at least eight.
- The Cardinal is fifth in the nation in 3-point percentage. That is all despite going only 13-of-50 (.260) across games against UC Davis, Indiana and Cal Poly.
- Stanford’s 68 3-pointers in its first seven games are the program’s most since 2018-19 (72).
- Louisiana leads the country in 3-point percentage (.486), but has only played three games and made 17 (17-of-35).
- Individually, Jzaniya Harriel is sixth in the country in 3-point percentage (.593; 16-of-27). Last season, she was 32-of-81 from deep (.395) in 34 games. This year, she’s 16-of-27 from behind the arc and 5-of-20 (.250) on two-pointers. In her career, 71.6 percent of her makes have been from deep. She’s a career 42.4 percent 3-point shooter (53-of-125), but 28.0 percent on twos (21-of-75).
- Chloe Clardy is 8-of-18 (.444) this year, just one year after going 2-of-20 (.100) during her debut season. Tess Heal, a career 31.5 percent 3-point shooter coming into her first season at Stanford is 7-of-11 this year (.636).
- Against Washington State and in available records dating to 2002-03, Stanford’s 3-point percentage (.700) was its best when attempting at least 20, eclipsing a 13-of-20 (.650) effort at Washington State on Jan. 2, 2004. The Cardinal became the 15th DI team to hit at least 70.0 percent on 20+ attempts over the last 23 seasons, and first since South Dakota went 19-of-27 (.704) in a win over Midland Lutheran on Nov. 7, 2022. A team hadn’t done it against a DI opponent since Valparaiso at Southern Illinois on Feb. 27, 2021. Valpo was 15-of-20 (.750).
SHARE IT, TAKE CARE OF IT »
- The Cardinal also has 117 assists against just 70 turnovers this season. It is ninth in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.67) and is sixth nationally in fewest turnovers per game, averaging just 10.0. That is despite 18 assists and 26 turnovers in two games against UC Davis and Indiana.
SOME LINES FROM LAST FRIDAY »
- In last Friday’s win over Morgan State, Kennedy Umeh came off the bench in the second half had collected her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in just 11 minutes while Elena Bosgana was just as efficient, scoring 10 points to go with six rebounds and six assists in 14 minutes.
- According to Sports Reference, Bosgana is just the third DI player with 10 points, six rebounds and six assists in 14 minutes or less since 2002-03 and the only one from a power conference program. Umeh is only the seventh power conference player with a double-double in 11 minutes or less over the same span, and first since Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke against Purdue on Dec. 29, 2022 (11 points, 10 rebounds, 11 minutes).
AP POLL »
- One week after reappearing in the Associated Press Top 25 at No. 24, Stanford fell out of the rankings following its loss at Indiana.
- When Stanford was ranked on Nov. 11, Kate Paye became the 16th person to both play on and be a head coach for an AP-ranked team at the same school (H/T Mel Greenberg).
- The other 15, in alphabetical order: Adia Barnes (Arizona), Amanda Butler (Florida), Pokey Chatman (LSU), Cynthia Cooper-Dyke (USC), Kellie Harper (Tennessee), Michelle Clark-Heard (Western Kentucky), Niele Ivey (Notre Dame), Carolyn Kieger (Marquette), Linda Lappe (Colorado), Wendy Larry (Old Dominion), Cheryl Miller (USC), Carol Ross (Ole Miss), Bev Smith (Oregon), Holly Warlick (Tennessee) and Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota).
- The Cardinal was picked seventh in the ACC preseason poll and was outside the preseason AP Top 25 for the first time since 1999-2000. Since appearing in its first rankings on Nov. 23, 1987, Stanford had appeared in the preseason Top 25 each season except one (1999-00).
- Prior to this year’s preseason poll released on Oct. 15, Stanford had been ranked in 123 consecutive AP polls since Jan. 29, 2018, which was the third-longest active streak in the country.
- The Cardinal is the second-most ranked team of all-time and has appeared in 646 of 868 all-time AP polls over 49 seasons (Tennessee - 778).
FIRST CLASS »
- On Nov. 13, Kate Paye announced her first signing class as head coach and it’s a good one.
- The Cardinal’s five-person class includes three five-star talents and two four-stars according to espnW HoopGurlz, and four ranked in that publication’s top 100.
| Player | HoopGurlz Rank | Stars | Ht./Pos. |
| Hailee Swain | 9 | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 5-11 • G |
| Lara Somfai | 16 | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 6-4 • F |
| Alex Eschmeyer | 31 | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 6-5 • F |
| Nora Ezike | 84 | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 6-2 • F |
| Carly Amborn | -- | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 6-2 • G/F |
- The class began with Swain’s commitment in July 2022 and culminated with Somfai’s announcement the morning of Nov. 13. The group is rated No. 3 by espnW HoopGurlz.
- Stanford’s three five-star signees are second to LSU (4) and the program’s most since it had four in the Class of 2019 (Haley Jones, Ashten Prechtel, Fran Belibi, Hannah Jump). That group won a national championship as sophomores.