THE GAME: A convincing winner in Kate Paye’s first two games as head coach, Stanford hosts a familiar foe in Gonzaga on Sunday, Nov. 10 at noon. Betth Mowins and Carolyn Peck have the call on ESPN2, while Kevin Danna will handle the radio broadcast on GoStanford.com, the Stanford Athletics app and Learfield’s Varsity Network.
THE RUNDOWN: The Cardinal is coming off of a 94-65 win over Washington State in what was the 1,600th game in Stanford women’s basketball history ... Stanford’s all-time record is 1,242-358 (.776) ... The Cardinal hit a school-record 18 3-pointers in the season opener against Le Moyne and went 14-of-20 (.700) in Thursday’s win over the Cougs ... Stanford has combined to shoot 59.3 percent from deep (32-of-54) in its first two games ... Nine different players have hit a 3-pointer and there are five who had made at least four ... Through Thursday’s games, Stanford is fourth nationally in 3-pointers per game (16.0) and second in 3-point percentage (.593), behind only Eastern Washington (.625) ... 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 has 41 assists against just 15 turnovers this season ... It is fifth nationally in both assist-to-turnover ratio (2.73) and turnovers per game (7.5) ... 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 ... Prior to Sunday’s game, Stanford will host a public celebration and official unveiling of Tara VanDerveer Court.
VS. GONZAGA: Stanford is 12-3 all-time against Gonzaga and 7-1 against the Bulldogs at home. Gonzaga’s only win in Maples came on Nov. 18, 2016, 68-63. Current Cardinal assistant coach Erica McCall had 17 points and 11 rebounds in that defeat. Stanford and Gonzaga have played in nonconference in 12 of the 15 seasons since 2009-10, only missing 2014-15, 2017-18 and 2020-21. In last season’s loss in Spokane, sophomores Nunu Agara, Chloe Clardy and Courtney Ogden combined for 35 points on 14-of-18 shooting (.778). Agara was a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor in 19 minutes.
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 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).
SHARE THE BALL, KNOCK DOWN SHOTS »
- One game after hitting a school-record 18 3-pointers against Le Moyne, the Cardinal went 14-of-20 (.700) in Thursday’s win over Washington State.
- Stanford has combined to shoot 59.3 percent from deep (32-of-54) in its first two games. Nine different players have hit a 3-pointer and there are five who had made at least four.
- Through Thursday’s games, Stanford is fourth nationally in 3-pointers per game (16.0) and second in 3-point percentage (.593), behind only Eastern Washington (.625).
- Against the Cougars and in available records dating to 2002-03, Stanford’s 3-point percentage 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).
- The Cardinal also has 41 assists against just 15 turnovers this season. It is fifth nationally in both assist-to-turnover ratio (2.73) and turnovers per game (7.5).
- Among teams that have played multiple games through Thursday, Stanford’s 46.5 average margin of victory is tied for second nationally with Utah. McNesse has beaten a pair of non-DI opponents - Southeastern Baptist and College of Biblical Studies by an average of 75.0 points.
RECORD OPENER »
- 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.
- 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.
LAST WE MET »
- Stanford lost its first game of last season in front of a sold-out crowd at Gonzaga on Dec. 3, 96-78.
- It was the Cardinal’s largest margin of defeat since losing to No. 3 Oregon by 33 at the Pac-12 Tournament on March 8, 2020, 89-56.
- Stanford hadn’t surrendered that many points since giving up 102 to Oklahoma in a 102-98 overtime loss at the No. 22 Sooners on Dec. 27, 2000 and hadn’t given up that many points in regulation since a 98-62 loss at No. 2 Tennessee on Dec. 19, 1998.
- Gonzaga’s 53.5 field goal percentage (38-of-71) was the best by a Stanford opponent since the aforementioned Pac-12 Tournament loss to Oregon (.564; 31-of-55).
- The Cardinal shot 56.6 percent (30-of-53) in defeat, the program’s first loss when shooting better than 50 percent since Dec. 22, 2005 at Washington. Stanford made 30-of-59 (.508) in a 77-72 loss against the Huskies.
TARA VANDERVEER COURT »
- The public celebration and unveiling of Tara VanDerveer Court will occur prior to tipoff on Sunday.
- In a move that underscores the indelible mark she left on the university and college athletics, Stanford 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.