Postseason Against the Pilots

THE GAME: Making its first-ever WBIT appearance, Stanford (16-14) begins its postseason when it hosts Portland (29-4) on Thursday, March 20 at 7 p.m. Greg Mescall and Zena Keita have the call on ESPN+, while Tim Swartz will handle the radio broadcast on GoStanford.com and the Stanford Athletics app.

THE RUNDOWN: Stanford is 14-3 at home this season, including 14-0 against unranked opponents ... The Cardinal is 43-5 all-time in postseason games in Maples Pavilion ... Chloe Clardy is Stanford's leading scorer over the past 15 games (13.1 ppg), after averaging 7.0 points per game in the season's first 15 ... In just the past seven games, she has 33 assists and nine turnovers (3.7 A/TO ratio) ... In the past five games, Courtney Ogden is averaging a team-best 15.8 points on 56.9 percent shooting (33-of-58), 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists ... Stanford was a perfect 15-for-15 from the line in the Jan. 30 win over Pitt, a program record for makes without a miss ...  The Cardinal is 20th in the nation in 3-point percentage (.366) ... Over the past 13 games, underclassmen have combined to score 550 of Stanford’s 880 points (62.5 percent) ... Tess Heal is the only player in the country shooting 50.0 percent from the field (.512), 50.0 percent from 3-point range (.500) and 85.0 percent at the free throw line (.861) ... Stanford’s 2025 recruiting class is ranked No. 3 nationally by espnW HoopGurlz ... On Jan. 27, it was announced that signees Alex Eschmeyer, Lara Somfai and Hailee Swain will participate in the 2025 McDonald’s All American Game ... Of the 24 women selected, Stanford and Tennessee have the most players suiting up next fall with three commits each.

SETTING THE STAGE »

• After making 36 consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 1988-2024, Stanford will be appearing in the WBIT for the first time. The Cardinal's 36 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances are tied with UConn for the second-most all-time (Tennessee - 43).
• Stanford finished 49th in the NET rankings ahead of Selection Sunday, the fourth-highest rated program to not make the NCAA Tournament (No. 39 Minnesota, No. 46 Virginia Tech; No. 48 UNLV).
• Stanford's all-time postseason record is 102-34, including a 43-5 mark in Maples Pavilion.
• The Cardinal is 632-103 (.860) all-time at Maples Pavilion, including 216-23 (.904) since the start of the 2010-11 season.
• Stanford is 4-0 all-time against Portland. The first meeting came at the Gonzaga Invitational in Spokane, Wash. on Dec. 7, 1985, 79-52, in what was Tara VanDerveer’s third win as Cardinal head coach. The two schools renewed the series of late, with Stanford winning at home on Nov. 16, 2021, 77-55, at the Chiles Center on Nov. 13, 2022, 87-47, and last season in Maples Pavilion on Dec. 15, 81-51.
• In that most recent meeting, Nunu Agara and Brooke Demetre each had 10 points, while Elena Bosgana had eight points and 10 rebounds, the first double-digit rebound game of her career.
• Stanford has won 12 consecutive home games against WCC opponents, its last loss coming to Gonzaga on Nov. 18, 2016, 68-63.
• Most familiar with Portland is junior transfer Tess Heal, who played in five career games against the Pilots while at Santa Clara. Heal has averaged 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game against Portland, shooting 45.1 percent from the floor (37-of-82) and 45.5 percent on 3-pointers (5-of-11).

STRONG END TO REGULAR SEASON »

• Stanford closed the regular season by winning five of its final six games over the last three weeks.
• It was the Cardinal's best six-game stretch since going 5-1 from Nov. 10 (Gonzaga) through Nov. 29 (UC San Diego).
• The strong finish came on the heels of a rough two months in which Stanford went 4-11 from Dec. 5 (LSU) to Feb. 9 (Louisville), the program's worst 15-game stretch since the final 15 games of the 1985-86 season when it closed 4-11.
• In its final six games regular-season games, the Cardinal shot 49.7 percent from the floor, 40.8 percent from 3-point range, and averaged 79.3 points per game, with 115 assists against 80 turnovers (1.44 A/TO ratio). During its preceding 15-game swoon, Stanford shot 40.2 percent from the field, 30.9 percent from behind the arc, averaged 65.6 points, and had 163 assists against 252 turnovers (0.65 A/TO ratio).
• Stanford's win over Georgia Tech in the regular-season finale on March 2 secured a winning season for the Cardinal, the program's 37th in a row.
• In its last game in Maples Pavilion, Stanford shot 61.4 percent (35-of-57) in beating the Yellow Jackets, its best since shooting 63.5 percent in an 80-60 win over UCLA on Feb. 4, 2024. The fifth-best shooting performance by an ACC team this season, it was the highest field goal percentage for any ACC team in a league game, bettering the 61.0 percent (39-of-64) NC State shot in its win over Duke on Feb. 3.

HOME/ROAD »

• The Cardinal went 14-3 at home this season, including 14-0 against unranked opponents.
• Stanford has only two road wins this season at Wake Forest on Jan. 16 and at Virginia Tech on Feb. 20.
• The Cardinal was the third-to-last Power 4 program to secure a victory away from its home court this season (road or neutral), ahead of Rutgers and Houston. The Cougars did not have a road or neutral-site win this season.
• Stanford is 2-9 in true road games this season. The Cardinal’s only other sub-.500 road record over the past 37 seasons was in 2000-01 (6-8).
• In home games, Stanford scored 80.1 points per game on 49.0 percent shooting, including 40.2 perfect from deep. In its 13 road and neutral games away from Maples, the Cardinal averages 63.5 points on 39.1 percent shooting and 31.0 percent on 3-pointers.

CHLOE IS CRUSHING IT »

• Chloe Clardy scored a career-high 30, including 21 after halftime, in Stanford’s win over Virginia Tech on Feb. 20. She also added five assists and three steals and became the first Stanford guard with 30+ points and 5+ assists in a game since current assistant coach Jeanette Pohlen had 31 and six in the Cardinal’s 71-59 upset of No. 1 UConn on Dec. 30, 2010.
• It was the first 30-point, five-assist, three-steal game for the Cardinal in over a decade. Chiney Ogwumike was the last to do it when she had 31 points, six assists and three steals in a win over Oregon State on Jan. 5, 2014.
• In the season’s first 15 games, Clardy averaged 7.0 points on 40.7 percent shooting and 2.1 assists. She’s been Stanford’s leading scorer in the last 15 games and is averaging 13.1 points on 44.5 percent shooting, including 36.8 percent from deep, and 3.1 assists.
• In just the past seven games she has 33 assists and nine turnovers (3.7 A/TO ratio).
• Clardy went for 14 points, 12 assists, zero turnovers and five steals to lead Stanford to a 79-58 victory over visiting Syracuse on Feb. 13.
• Her 12 assists were the most by a Cardinal since Marta Sniezek had 13 in the Pac-12 Tournament against Washington on March 4, 2016 and tied for sixth in Stanford single-game history. The only players with more are Sniezek, Jennifer Azzi (twice) and Sonja Henning (twice).
• The sophomore didn’t turn the ball over once and, in records dating back to 2002-03, became the fourth in program history to have double-digit assists without a turnover, joining Sniezek in the game against UW, Talana Lepolo against San Diego State on Nov. 7, 2022 (11 assists, 0 turnovers) and Jeanette Pohlen on Jan. 22, 2011 against USC (12 assists, 0 turnovers).
• Clardy’s performance is one of four against a DI opponent this season with at least 12 assists and no turnovers. Boston College’s Kaylah Ivey has done it twice, on Nov. 20 against New Hampshire (12 assists, 0 turnovers) and Jan. 16 against Miami (16 assists, 0 turnovers). College of Charleston's Taylor Barbot did it on March 8 against Hampton (12 assists, 0 turnovers).
• Clardy is one of two major conference players with a 14-point, 12-assist, five-steal game this season along with Wisconsin's Ronnie Porter against Penn State on Feb. 16 (18 points, 12 assists, five steals).
• In readily available records dating back to 2002-03, she’s the only Stanford player to have that line and just the second ACC player to do it in a league contest along with North Carolina’s Cetera DeGraffenreid against Virginia on Feb. 15, 2010 (21 points, 12 assists, six steals).

YOUTH MOVEMENT »

• Stanford made a change to its starting lineup against Clemson on Jan. 5, with freshman Shay Ijiwoye and sophomore Chloe Clardy earning their first career starts in the backcourt. Along with sophomore Nunu Agara in the front court, it was the first time Stanford had started three underclassmen since Feb. 7, 2020, when sophomores Lacie and Lexie Hull and freshman Ashten Prechtel joined senior Nadia Fingall and junior Kiana Williams in the first five in a game against UCLA.
• Those three have started nine of the past 17, with another sophomore, Mary Ashley Stevenson, taking Agara’s place in the starting lineup in the past eight.
• It is Stanford’s longest stretch starting three underclassmen (17 games) since 2018-19, when sophomore Kiana Williams and freshman Lacie Hull started the final 24 with either sophomore Maya Dodson or sophomore Alyssa Jerome, and alongside senior Alanna Smith and junior DiJonai Carrington.
• Over the past 13 games, Stanford’s freshmen and sophomores have combined to score 550 of Stanford’s 880 points (62.5 percent) and grab 233 of its 439 rebounds (53.1 percent).

DILIGENT DEVELOPMENT »

• An All-ACC Second Team selection, Nunu Agara has taken a massive leap and after averaging 5.4 points and 2.9 rebounds as a freshman, she’s putting up 15.5 points (+10.1) and 7.4 rebounds (+4.5) per game as a sophomore.
• Agara is one of seven major conference underclassmen averaging 15 points and seven rebounds along with Iowa State sophomore Audi Crooks (23.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg), Vanderbilt sophomore Khamil Pierre (20.5 ppg, 9.7 rpg), Oklahoma State sophomore Stailee Heard (16.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg), Iowa State sophomore Addy Brown (15.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg), Kentucky sophomore Clara Strack (15.2 ppg, 9.7 rpg) and UConn freshman Sarah Strong (16.0 ppg, 8.4 rpg).
• Agara took a hard fall with 5:01 on the clock in the first quarter of Stanford’s loss at Notre Dame on Feb. 6. She missed the majority of Stanford’s final eight regular-season games, playing only 11 minutes and 53 seconds and not scoring.
• She came off the bench to play 17 minutes in Stanford's ACC Tournament loss to Clemson on March 5, scoring eight points.
• Agara had 29 points and 13 rebounds in Stanford’s overtime loss at No. 5 LSU on Dec. 5 and shot 75.0 percent from the floor (12-of-16). According to Sports Reference, she is the fifth DI player since 2002-03 to have 29 points and 13 rebounds in a true road game against an AP top five opponent and the only one to do it on better than 60.0 percent shooting.

HEAL IS UNREAL »

• Tess Heal had her breakout game at Stanford’s win over Wake Forest on Jan. 16, scoring a season-high 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including 6-of-8 from deep.
• A career 31.5 percent 3-point shooter at Santa Clara, she is 34-of-68 this year (.500).
• She is the only player in the country shooting 50.0 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from 3-point range and 85.0 percent at the free throw line.
• Shooting 51.2 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent on 3-pointers, Heal is the only guard in the country making more than 50 percent overall and from distance.
• Heal popped off for another 23 points and five 3-pointers in the Feb. 16 win over Boston College.
• She has come off the bench in Stanford’s last 17 games and is averaging 8.5 points on 53.1 percent shooting (52-of-98), including 47.7 percent from deep (21-of-44).
• Her 8.8 points per game as a sub in ACC contests were fifth best in the league behind Duke’s Toby Fournier (15.7 ppg), Georgia Tech’s Dani Carnegie (12.4 ppg), Duke’s Oluchi Okananwa (10.5 ppg) and Clemson’s Hannah Kohn (8.9 ppg).
• Heal finished third in ACC Sixth Player of the Year voting with 52 points behind Carnegie (372 points) and Okananwa (324 points).

BOSGANA’S BIG DAY »

• Elena Bosgana scored a career-high 26 points and didn’t miss from the floor to lead Stanford to an 84-54 win over visiting UC San Diego on Nov. 29.
• Bosgana poured in her 26 on a perfect 10-of-10 shooting, including 5-of-5 from deep, tying the school record for single-game field goal percentage (min. 10 attempts). Kim Kupferer was 11-of-11 from the floor in a game against Pacific on Jan. 24, 1981.
• The senior also had six rebounds, three assists and four steals in her 30 minutes. The only “blemish” in her otherwise perfect game was a missed free throw in the third quarter.
• According to Sports Reference, Bosgana is just the sixth DI player since 2002-03 to be perfect from the floor when attempting at least 10 total field goals and five 3-pointers and first since South Dakota State’s Tagyn Larson on Feb. 13, 2019 against Omaha (11-of-11, 5-of-5).
• She also became the fourth Stanford player to be perfect on 3-pointers with at least five attempts, joining Jennifer Azzi (7-of-7 vs. Eastern Michigan on Dec. 29, 1989), Joslyn Tinkle (5-of-5 vs. Michigan on March 26, 2013) and Lauren St. Clair (5-of-5 vs. UCLA on Feb. 3, 2000).
• Against Florida State on Jan. 9, Bosgana had her second consecutive double-double with 21 points, 15 rebounds and six assists. She is one of just four players in the country this season with those numbers in a game. Gonzaga’s Yvonne Ejim had 26 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists in a win over New Mexico on Nov. 24, Ohio State's Ajae Petty had 23 points, 15 rebounds and six assists in a win over Michigan State on Feb. 26 and Georgia Southern's Leah Johnson had 24 points, 15 rebounds and six assists in a win over Louisiana-Monroe on March 5.

FIRST CLASS »

• Kate Paye’s first signing class as head coach 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.
• On Jan. 27, it was announced that Eschmeyer, Somfai and Swain will participate in the 2025 McDonald’s All American Game on April 1 in Brooklyn.
• Of the 24 women selected to be McDonald’s All Americans, Stanford and Tennessee have the most players suiting up next fall with three commits each.
• Stanford’s three McDonald’s All Americans are almost as many as the rest of the ACC combined (4).
• This is the fourth time Stanford has had three McDonald’s All Americans in the same class, along with 2019 (Fran Belibi, Haley Jones, Ashten Prechtel), 2016 (DiJonai Carrington, Nadia Fingall, Anna Wilson) and 2007 (Ashley Cimino, Kayla Pedersen, Jeanette Pohlen).
• Eschemyer and Swain are also on the USA Basketball roster for the 26th Nike Hoop Summit on April 12 in Portland, Ore.

NEW CHAPTER »

• A two-time WBCA Assistant Coach of the Year during 17 seasons on Tara VanDerveer’s staff, Kate Paye leads Stanford into its inaugural ACC campaign after being hired to lead her alma mater on April 16.
• The 51-year-old Paye has been part of two of Stanford’s three national championships – as a player on the 1992 team and an associate head coach for the 2021 squad.
• Since Paye’s return in 2007-08, the Cardinal has gone 543-101(.843) and won the 2021 national championship, advancing to two other title games, nine Final Fours and the Sweet Sixteen all but one year.

STAFF CONTINUITY »

• Every member of VanDerveer’s staff returned to help Paye navigate her first season as head coach.
• On April 23, Tempie Brown was elevated to the position of Harry K. and Ida S. Berland Associate Head Women’s Basketball Coach, previously held by Paye.
• One day later, Stanford All-American and WNBA champion Jeanette Pohlen was added to Paye’s staff as an assistant coach. Pohlen moved to the bench after spending the past two seasons as Director of Player Development.
• Finally on April 25, Heather Oesterle was added as the inaugural Tara VanDerveer Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach, a newly endowed position to celebrate the program’s matriarch.
• Stanford boasts a roster of coaches that features four WNBA veterans in Paye, Pohlen, Katy Steding and Erica McCall. All four are Stanford graduates.