Matchup with the Mountain Hawks

THE GAME: A perfect 6-0 to start the season, Stanford hosts Lehigh on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 1 p.m. Greg Mescall and Zena Keita have the call on ACCNX and Tim Swartz will handle radio on GoStanford.com, the Stanford Athletics app and Learfield’s Varsity Network.

THE RUNDOWN: The Cardinal has had 23 individual double-digit scoring efforts in its six wins, a total tied for ninth nationally ... Stanford has held all of its six opponents to fewer than 60 points, its longest stretch since 2021-22 ... Stanford is 17th in the country in both field goal percentage defense (.313) and scoring defense (49.7) ... The Cardinal has two freshmen averaging at least 9.0 points per game in Hailee Swain and Lara Somfai, tied for the national lead with 10 other schools ... Somfai is tied for fifth nationally with three double-doubles and one of only two freshmen with that many ... She is fifth nationally in defensive rebound percentage (.376) ... Chloe Clardy is one of 43 players in the country averaging 12.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals, but is the only one to do it coming off the bench ... Nunu Agara has had back-to-back double-doubles and is one of seven major conference players averaging 13.3 points and 9.5 rebounds ... With two road wins on its first trip of the season, Stanford has matched its road win total from all last year ... The Cardinal is near the top of the ACC in returning production, welcoming back 54.2 percent of its scoring, 49.7 percent of its rebounding, and 57.4 percent of its assists ... Stanford has the fewest transfers on its roster among all 68 Power 4 programs (1).

VS. LEHIGH: Thursday will be Stanford’s first game against Lehigh and its first against a Patriot League opponent since beating American 71-49 on Nov. 24, 2018. Alanna Smith, the WNBA Co-Defensive Player of the Year, led the charge in that one with 25 points and eight rebounds. It’s a homecoming for Lehigh junior Gracyn Lovette (San Rafael) and sophomores Belle Bramer (Los Gatos) and Keshia Vitalicio (Concord). Vitalicio transferred to Carondelet in 2021-22 when Talana Lepolo was a senior.

GETTING DEFENSIVE »

• Stanford’s defense had gotten off to a good start this season, holding its six opponents to an average of 49.7 points on 31.3 percent shooting. The Cardinal is currently 17th in the country in field goal percentage defense (.313) and 17th in scoring defense (49.7).
• Stanford has limited all of its six opponents to fewer than 60 points, its longest such stretch holding six consecutive opponents under 60 points since Feb. 24 - March 28, 2022. The Cardinal hasn’t held seven consecutive opponents to fewer than 60 points since Feb. 19-March 21, 2021 on the way to its third NCAA championship.
• Last season through games as of Nov. 20, Stanford was 158th in field goal percentage defense (.387) and 131st in scoring defense (60.2) and had played three of the same opponents (Washington State, Gonzaga, UC Davis).
• In this year’s opener against UNC Greensboro, the Cardinal limited the Spartans to just 42 points its fewest allowed since a 98-38 win over Morgan State on Dec. 31, 2023.
• Stanford held UC Davis to 22.4 percent shooting (13-of-58) on Nov. 20, the lowest for a Stanford opponent since Hawai’i shot 22.4 percent (13-of-58) on Nov. 8, 2023.
• The Cardinal also grabbed 56 rebounds against the Aggies, its most since grabbing 58 in the aforementioned game against Hawai’i.
• Stanford finished 261st nationally in field goal percentage defense (.421) and 286th in scoring defense (69.3) last season. Prior to 2024-25 and in available NCAA records dating to 2001-02, the Cardinal had never finished outside the top 50 in field goal percentage defense and had been outside the top 100 in scoring defense just twice.
• Those 23 seasons (2001-02 through 2023-24) included 12 years of a top-10 field goal percentage defense and two top-10 scoring defenses. 

BALANCED ATTACK »

• Stanford’s offense hasn’t relied on just one person in the early going. The Cardinal has had 23 individual double-digit scoring efforts across its six wins with only one 20-point performance.
• In its first three games, the Cardinal had at least five double-digit scorers in every one, including six against Santa Clara.
• The Cardinal’s 23 double-digit scorers this year are tied for ninth nationally in games against DI opponents. LSU leads the country with 33 such performances, Oklahoma State has 27, Texas Tech and Texas 25, and Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia and Maryland 24.

THE FOUR-EST »

• Stanford’s junior class was huge in the Cardinal’s 65-52 road win at Gonzaga on Nov. 16.
• Nunu Agara, Chloe Clardy, Courtney Ogden and Mary Ashley Stevenson combined to score 54 points on 56.8 percent shooting (21-of-37) and 26 rebounds in the victory.
• Stanford erased a 12-point, first quarter deficit to collect its fifth-ever victory over Gonzaga in Spokane and the first by double digits in almost exactly a decade. The Cardinal won 65-48 on Nov. 15, 2015 behind 23 points and 13 rebounds from current assistant coach Erica McCall.
• In Sunday’s win, Nunu Agara put together her 10th career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Stanford’s first road double-double against Gonzaga since McCall’s 10 years ago.
• Chloe Clardy had 20 points off the bench, the 13th-best single-game total by a DI player off the bench in a road game this season.

AS GOOD AS ADVERTISED »

• Stanford’s freshmen McDonald’s All-Americans have been as good as advertised to start the season
• In the Nov. 6 win over Santa Clara, Lara Somfai had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Alexandra Eschmeyer went for 11 points, 12 boards and a game-high four blocks. In available records dating to 2002-03, it was the first time Stanford had two freshmen with double-doubles in the same game.
• The only other Cardinal freshmen to match Eschmeyer’s line over that same span were Cameron Brink at Washington State on Jan. 27, 2021 (12 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks) and Kaylee Johnson against Washington on Feb. 2, 2015 (11 points, 17 rebounds, four blocks).
• Stanford is one of two schools to have multiple freshmen with double-doubles in the same game this season along with Santa Clara’s Tyler Gildersleeve-Stiles (11 pts, 10 rebs) and Delainey Miller (10 pts, 10 rebs) against Wyoming on Nov. 14.
• The Cardinal is the first Power 4 team to do it since Colorado’s Grace Oliver (16 pts, 14 rebs) and Erin Powell (11 pts, 11 rebs) against Houston on Feb. 15, 2025 and the first ACC team since Notre Dame’s Sonia Citron (13 pts, 12 rebs) and Olivia Miles (17 pts, 10 rebs) on Jan. 28, 2022 against Syracuse.
• Hailee Swain and Somfai have been in Stanford’s starting lineup alongside upperclassmen Nunu Agara, Talana Lepolo and Courtney Ogden.
• When Swain and Somfai started against UNC Greensboro on Nov. 3, it was the first time the Cardinal had started two freshmen in a season opener since November 17, 2000 at Saint Mary’s when Nicole Powell and Susan King were in the starting lineup.
• The Cardinal has two freshmen averaging at least 9.0 points per game in Swain and Somfai, tied for the national lead with 10 other schools (San Francisco, Presbyterian, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Illinois, LSU, UMBC, Mississippi State, SIU Edwardsville, Cal State Fullerton).
• Alexandra Eschmeyer is one of six players 6-feet-5 and taller that has made multiple 3-pointers (2-of-5), along with NC State’s Tilda Trygger (6-of-14), Kentucky’s Clara Strack (5-of-18), Virginia’s Adeang Ring (2-of-10), Seattle’s Andjela Bigovic (2-of-9) and Georgia Tech’s Ariadna Termis (2-of-13).

UPPERCLASSMEN LEAD THE WAY »

• Talana Lepolo, who missed all but five games last season due to injury, led all scorers with 16 points against Santa Clara on Nov. 6 and was 4-of-6 from behind the arc. Her 16 points were her most since scoring a career-high 20 at California on Dec. 29, 2023. A career 37.5 percent 3-point shooter coming into the season (63-of-168), she is 8-of-13 from behind the arc this year (.615).
• Chloe Clardy is one of 43 players in the country averaging 12.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals, but is the only one to do it coming off the bench.
• Nunu Agara has had back-to-back double-doubles and is one of seven major conference players averaging 13.3 points and 9.5 rebounds (Raegen Beers - Oklahoma, Clara Strack - Kentucky, Bonnie Deas - Arkansas, Fatima Diakhete - Pitt, Zania Socka-Nguemen - Indiana, Kilah Freelon - Virginia Tech).
• Agara had a career-high 16 rebounds to go with 16 points in Thursday’s win over UC Davis, the first Cardinal with 16 points and 16 rebounds in a game since Kiki Iriafen in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Iowa State on March 24, 2024 (41 points, 16 rebounds).

ACC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK »

• Lara Somfai collected Stanford’s first ACC weekly honor since joining the league when she was named ACC Rookie of the Week on Nov. 10.
• Somfai averaged a double-double in Stanford’s three wins to open the season against UNC Greensboro (87-42), Santa Clara (79-58) and Cal Poly (90-55). The 6-foot-3 forward put up 14.3 points and 10.3 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game.
• Currently, she is one of two freshmen in the country averaging 11.2 points and 8.3 rebounds along with Arkansas’ Bonnie Deas (14.2 pts, 9.7 rebs).
• Somfai is fifth nationally in defensive rebound percentage at 37.6 percent, a metric that shows how often a player collects available defensive boards. Ahead of her are College of Charleston’s Grace Ezebilo (40.0), Texas A&M’s Fatmata Janneh (38.7), Michigan State’s Kennedy Blair (38.0) and Gonzaga’s Lauren Whittaker (37.6).
• Somfai is tied for fifth nationally with three double-doubles and one of only two freshmen with that many (Bonnie Deas – Arkansas). Against Santa Clara and Cal Poly, she became the first Stanford freshman with double-doubles in back-to-back games since Ashten Prechtel in 2019-20.
• When she went for 14 points, 10 rebounds and three steals against Cal Poly on Nov. 9, Somfai became the first major conference freshman to do that since UConn’s Sarah Strong against Villanova on March 9, 2025 (20 pts, 16 rebs, 3 stls) and the first ACC freshman to do it since Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo against Virginia Tech on Feb. 29, 2024 (23 pts, 12 rebs, 3 stls).

ROAD WINS  »

• With two road wins on its first trip of the season, Stanford has already matched its road win total from all last year. The Cardinal went 14-4 at home in 2024-25, including 14-1 against unranked opponents, but only managed two road wins at Wake Forest on Jan. 16 and at Virginia Tech on Feb. 20.
• Stanford was 2-9 in true road games. The Cardinal’s only other sub-.500 road record over the previous 37 seasons was in 2000-01 (6-8).
• In home games in 2024-25, Stanford scored 79.4 points per game on 48.5 percent shooting, including 39.5 perfect from deep. In its 13 road and neutral games away from Maples, the Cardinal averaged 63.5 points on 39.1 percent shooting and 31.0 percent on 3-pointers. 

RETURNING PRODUCTION »

• Stanford is near the top of the ACC in returning production, welcoming back 54.2 percent of its scoring (1,221 of 2,255 points), 49.7 percent of its rebounding (583 of 1,172 rebounds), 57.4 percent of its assists (251 of 437 assists) and 56.9 percent of its minutes played (3,585 of 6,300 minutes) from a season ago.
• The Cardinal is third in the ACC in returning points (Duke - 67.7%, Virginia 61.6%, Virginia Tech 54.7%), second in returning rebounds (Duke - 64.1%), third in returning assists (Virginia - 70.7%, Virginia Tech - 68.5%, Duke - 63.0%), and third in returning minutes (Duke - 68.1%, Virginia Tech - 57.6%). 

CARDINAL CONTINUITY »

• The Cardinal only has one transfer on its roster in junior Mary Ashley Stevenson, who is in her second year on The Farm after playing one season at Purdue.
• Stanford has the fewest transfers on its roster among all 68 Power 4 programs. NC State, Washington and Oklahoma each have two.
• Among Power 4 schools, Stanford and Washington tied for the least amount of portal movement this offseason (total number of transfers in + transfers out). The Cardinal had two outgoing transfers in senior Tess Heal (Kansas State) and graduate student Jzaniya Harriel (SMU). The Huskies, which had zero outgoing transfers, welcomed two incoming transfers in Avery Howell (USC) and Yulia Grabovskaia (Michigan).

FIRST CLASS »

• In addition to Stanford’s returning core, the team added the nation’s No. 3 recruiting class according to es­pnW HoopGurlz.
• Kate Paye’s first signing class as head coach included three five-star talents (Hailee Swain, Lara Somfai, Alexandra Eschmeyer) and two four-stars (Nora Ezike, Carly Amborn) according to espnW HoopGurlz, and four ranked in that publication’s top 100.

Player	HoopGurlz Rank	Stars	Ht./Pos.
Hailee Swain	8	⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️	5-11 • G
Lara Somfai	12	⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️	6-4 • F
Alexandra Eschmeyer	21	⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️	6-5 • F
Nora Ezike	85	⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️	6-2 • F
Carly Amborn	--	⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️	6-2 • G/F

• Stanford’s three five-star signees tied for the national lead with Tennessee and LSU and the program’s most since it had four in the Class of 2019 (Haley Jones, Ashten Prechtel, Fran Belibi, Hannah Jump).
• Of the 24 women selected to be McDonald’s All Americans, Stanford (Eschmeyer, Somfai, Swain) and Ten­nessee had the most players suiting up next fall with three commits each. Stanford’s three McDonald’s All Americans were almost as many as the rest of the ACC combined (4).

PRESEASON ACC PROGNOSTICATIONS »

• The Cardinal was picked to finish sixth in the ACC in a vote of the league’s 18 head coaches and Blue Ribbon Panel.
• Stanford totaled 1,041 points from 70 voters to finish sixth in the predicted order of finish. Duke topped the poll with 1,525 points and 40 first-place votes, NC State was second with 1,487 points and 25 first-place votes, North Carolina was third with 1,374 points and one first-place vote, Louisville was fourth with 1,276 points and two first-place votes, and Notre Dame was fifth with 1,255 points and the final two first-place votes.
• An All-ACC second team selection last season, Nunu Agara was voted to the 10-person Preseason All-ACC Team. She was Stanford’s leading scorer (15.8 ppg) and rebounder (7.6 rpg) a season ago and is the ACC’s third-leading returning scorer (Hannah Hidalgo – Notre Dame; Kymora Johnson - Virginia) and its second-lead­ing returning rebounder (Jessica Peterson - Miami).
• Hailee Swain and Lara Somfai landed on the six-person Preseason All-Freshman Team and Stanford was the only school with multiple players on the list. Both five-star talents, Swain was rated as the No. 8 player in the country in the Class of 2025 according to ESPN HoopGurlz and Somfai was ranked 12th. Among numerous prep honors, the pair were McDonald’s All-Americans, Jordan Brand Classic All-Americans and appeared at the Nike Hoop Summit – Swain for USA Basketball and Somfai on the World Roster.

WATCH LISTS »

• Nunu Agara is one of 50 players under consideration for the 2026 Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year and one of 20 on the watch list for the 2026 Katrina McClain Award, which recognizes the top power forward in women’s college basketball.
• She scored in double figures in 21 games last season, had six 20-point efforts and tied for eighth in the ACC with nine double-doubles.
• Agara increased her scoring average by 10.4 points and her rebounding average by 4.7 boards over her freshman year and was one of seven major conference underclassmen to average 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
• She had 29 points and 13 rebounds in an overtime loss at No. 5 LSU on Dec. 5, 2024 and shot 75.0 percent from the floor (12-of-16), becoming 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.
• Kennedy Umeh is on the watch list for the 2026 Lisa Leslie Award, which recognizes the top center in women’s college basketball.
• Stanford has had two take home the Naismith Player of the Year honors, Jennifer Azzi in 1990 and Kate Starbird in 1997. Two seasons ago, Cameron Brink was the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
• Stanford has had a pair of Naismith Starting 5 winners previously. In 2024, Kiki Iriafen won the Katrina McClain Award and Cameron Brink won the Lisa Leslie Award (center).
• Lara Somfai and Hailee Swain are both on the preseason watch list for the USBWA Tamika Catchings Award, which recognizes the national freshman player of the year. 

SUPERB STAFF »

• Stanford boasts a roster of coaches that features four WNBA veterans, more than any other program in the country, in Kate Paye, Katy Steding, Erica McCall and Jeanette Pohlen. All are Stanford graduates.
• Paye played 79 games for Minnesota and Seattle from 2000-02, Steding 55 games for Sacramento and Seattle in 2000 and 2001, Pohlen 148 games for Indiana from 2011-2017, and McCall 122 games for Indiana, Atlanta, Minnesota and Washington from 2017-21. 

SAMUELSON RETURNS TO STANFORD »

• Karlie Samuelson, a 2017 honorable mention All-American who led the Cardinal to two Final Fours, has returned to her alma mater as an intern for the 2025-26 season.
• Back with the program while she rehabs from a left foot injury sustained in June, Samuelson has played for six franchises across seven WNBA seasons since her graduation from Stanford with a degree in human biology in in 2017. Over 121 career games, the 6-0 guard has averaged 5.3 points and 2.0 rebounds while shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 39.2 from deep.
• Samuelson is the fifth Stanford alumna and WNBA veteran on staff this season, joining four Cardinal coaches in Kate Paye, Katy Steding, Erica McCall and Jeanette Pohlen.
• She averaged career highs in points (12.4), rebounds (3.4) and assists (2.7) and personal bests in field goal percentage (.482) and 3-point field goal percentage (.485) in leading the Cardinal to the 2017 Final Four as a senior.

AP TOP 25 »

• Stanford was outside the preseason AP Top 25 for the second consecutive year, the first time that’s happened since 1985-86 and 1986-87.
• The Cardinal appeared on three ballots in the latest rankings - Khristina Williams (iHeartRadio) at No. 22, Mitchell Northam (WUNC) at No. 24., Alex Simon (SF Gate) at No. 25, and Kelly Gramlich (ACC Network) at No. 25.
• Stanford has not been ranked since Nov. 11, 2024, a stretch of 22 consecutive polls that is the program’s longest stretch since it made its debut in the rankings on Nov. 23, 1987.
• When Stanford was ranked last season 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 Cardinal is the second-most ranked team of all-time and has appeared in 646 of 888 all-time AP polls over 50 seasons (Tennessee - 797).

SEASON OF CHANGE »

• After making 36 consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 1988-2024, Stanford was not an at-large selection to the field in 2024-25 and appeared in the WBIT for the first time.
• Stanford was 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).
• The Cardinal was 50th in the final NET rankings after the completion of the NCAA Tournament.
• With a 16-15 overall record, Stanford posted a winning record for the 38th consecutive season, the fifth-longest active streak in the country.
• The Cardinal’s 16 wins were its fewest since 1986-87 (14) and its 8-10 conference mark was its first sub-.500 league record since the same year (8-10).
• Stanford played in a different league for the first time since Tara VanDerveer’s first Cardinal squad played in the Pac-West in 1985-86.

ALUMNI SUPPORT PROGRAM AHEAD OF SEASON »

• Stanford women’s basketball received a generous gift from longtime program supporters Celia Oakley, MS ‘85, PhD ‘91, and her husband, Craig Barratt, MS ‘87, PhD ‘92, the two endowing an assistant coaching position to bolster the program’s ability to recruit, develop, and retain top coaching talent.
• Erica McCall is the inaugural holder of the Celia Oakley and Craig Barratt Women’s Basketball Assistant Coachship.
• Oakley and Barratt are among the program’s most dedicated supporters. Oakley earned her undergraduate degree at Cal and her master’s and PhD in engineering at Stanford. A lifelong sports fan and athlete, she served on the Stanford Athletics Board until 2021 and currently serves on the Stanford Women’s Basketball Board of Advisors.
• Oakley spent the last decade developing electric personal aerial vehicles at Pivotal Aero, most recently as the Chief Information Officer. She helped guide the company through product development to human flight. Prior to joining Pivotal, Oakley was a member of the Stanford Racing Team, which created Stanley, the world’s first successful self-driving car, which won the DARPA Grand Challenge.
• Barratt also earned his master’s and PhD in engineering at Stanford and serves as a director at several technology companies, in addition to being an advisor of the Stanford Center for Digital Health.
• Five of Stanford’s six coaching positions are endowed.

HOME OF CHAMPIONS »

• Stanford has won at least one NCAA team title in each of the past 49 years (dating back to the 1976-77 campaign), the longest streak in NCAA history.
• Stanford leads the NCAA with 137 team titles, including two national team championships during the 2024-25 campaign - women’s water polo and women’s rowing, increasing its overall total to 173.
• Stanford is one of six programs with at least one national championship in football, baseball, and men’s basketball, and the only school with at least one in football, baseball, men’s and women’s basketball.
• From 1995-2019, Stanford won 25 straight Division I Learfield Sports Directors’ Cups. The Cardinal enters the 2025-26 year with 26 of the 31 total Directors’ Cups, most recently capturing the award during the 2022-23 season.