THE GAME: A convincing winner in Kate Paye’s first game as head coach, Stanford hosts a familiar foe in Washington State on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. Jenna Becerra and Joaquin Wallace have the call on ACCNX, while Tim Swartz will handle the radio broadcast on GoStanford.com, the Stanford Athletics app and Learfield’s Varsity Network.
THE RUNDOWN: Thursday’s game will be the 1,600th in Stanford women’s basketball history ... The Cardinal’s all-time record is 1,241-358 (.776) ... Stanford won Kate Paye’s first game as head coach over Le Moyne, 107-43 ... The Cardinal hit a school-record 18 3-pointers in the victory, including a 6-for-7 effort from Jzaniya Harriel as part of a career-high, 24-point performance ... Harriel needed just eight total shots to score her 24 points, which were the most for a Stanford player in an opener since Brittany McPhee had 24 at No. 5 Ohio State on Nov. 10, 2017 ... Stanford’s 64-point margin of victory tied for the fifth largest in program history and its 107 points were the most since scoring 108 against Cal Poly on Nov. 25, 2020 ... Heading into 2024-25, Stanford is looking to replace 59.8 percent of its scoring, 54.4 percent of its rebounding and 42.8 percent of its minutes played from a season ago ... The Cardinal’s leading returning scorer was Elena Bosgana (6.7) and its leading returning rebounder was Brooke Demetre (3.6) ... The Cardinal was picked seventh in the ACC preseason poll and is outside the preseason AP Top 25 for the first time since 1999-2000 ... On Sunday against Gonzaga, Stanford will host a public celebration and official unveiling of Tara VanDerveer Court.
VS. WASHINGTON STATE: Stanford is 74-0 all-time against Washington State and 35-0 against the Cougars at home. Twenty-eight of the last 31 overall wins have come by double-digits, but the two most recent matchups in Maples have been decidedly closer, with Stanford winning 61-54 on Feb. 24, 2022 and 74-65 on Jan. 5, 2024. Thursday’s game will be the second with the Cardinal and Cougars in different conferences. The first meeting on Feb. 1, 1983 was a 78-64 Stanford home victory when the Cardinal was in the Western Collegiate Athletic Association and Washington State the NorPac.
SNAPSHOT »
- Stanford returns two starters and nine letterwinners to a team that posted a 30-6 overall record a season ago and won its 27th conference championship with a 15-3 mark in the Pac-12.
- The Cardinal made its 36th consecutive NCAA postseason appearance, advancing to its 29th Sweet 16.
- Stanford finished the season ranked No. 9 in the final AP Top 25.
- Stanford has won at least 20 games for 23 straight seasons and has had double-digit conference victories for 37 consecutive years. Its 23-season streak with 20+ wins is the third-longest active stretch in the nation behind Connecticut (31) and Baylor (24).
- Heading in 2024-25, Stanford is looking replace 59.8 percent of its scoring, 54.4 percent of its rebounding and 42.8 percent of its minutes played from a season ago.
- Gone are its top three scorers in Cameron Brink (17.4), Kiki Iriafen (19.4) and Hannah Jump (10.6). Brink went No. 2 to the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Iriafen graduated from Stanford in three years and transferred home to USC, and after five years on The Farm, Jump is in camp with Great Britain Basketball for EuroBasket qualifiers.
- The Cardinal’s leading returning scorer was Elena Bosgana (6.7) and its leading returning rebounder was Brooke Demetre (3.6).
SEASON-OPENING RECAP »
- Jzaniya Harriel scored a career-high 24 points and Stanford sank a school-record 18 3-pointers to earn Kate Paye her first win as head coach of her alma mater, a 107-43 rout of Le Moyne on Monday night.
- Harriel led the barrage by sinking six of her seven 3-pointers and going 6-of-8 from the floor overall.
- Her 24 points were the most for a Stanford player in an opener since Brittany McPhee had 24 at No. 5 Ohio State on Nov. 10, 2017, and in available records dating back to 2002-03, her scoring output was the most for a Stanford player in a game with eight or fewer field goal attempts.
- Elena Bosgana had a career-high 19 points in just 15 minutes. She was 5-of-8 from the floor, 4-of-6 from deep, and had seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
- Nunu Agara hit one from deep, but did most of her damage inside, scoring 18 and leading the team with a +51 in her 26 minutes on the floor.
- Another sophomore, Chloe Clardy, was a perfect 3-of-3 from deep and scored a personal-best 15 points. As a freshman last season, Clardy was 2-of-20 on 3-pointers.
- Sophomore transfer Mary Ashley Stevenson led Stanford with 10 rebounds.
- The Cardinal’s 64-point margin of victory tied for fifth best in program history and its 107 points were the most since scoring 108 against Cal Poly on Nov. 25, 2020.
- Stanford’s 18 3-pointers broke the previous record of 16, achieved three times - vs. Idaho on Nov. 11, 2018, at UCLA on Feb. 24, 2002, and at Washington on Feb. 24, 2001.
TARA VANDERVEER COURT »
- In a move that underscores the indelible mark she left on the university and college athletics, Stanford Athletics announced in early May that the court at Maples Pavilion, on which her women’s basketball teams won 531 games, would be named in honor of the recently retired, NCAA’s all-time winningest coach.
- The public celebration and official unveiling of Tara VanDerveer Court will occur at Stanford’s home game against Gonzaga on Sunday, Nov. 10. Tipoff is scheduled for noon PT on ESPN2.