LAS VEGAS – Nunu Agara led all scorers with 22 points and Chloe Clardy added 16, but Stanford was unable to complete a comeback against FGCU on the first night of the Resorts World Classic on Friday, suffering its first loss of the season to the Eagles, 66-62.
FGCU grew a lead as large as 13 late in the third quarter when Karina Gordon hit 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions and then Maca Retamales made a layup to make it 52-39. Stanford would close the period on a 9-2 run to pull within six heading into the fourth, but the Eagles scored the first five in the final frame to halt the Cardinal’s momentum.
Stanford got within three on a Clardy 3-pointer with seven seconds to go, but Gordon hit the first of her two free throws at the other end to make it a two-possession game and ice it for FGCU.
Agara had 20+ points for the second consecutive game and led everyone on the glass with nine rebounds. Clardy tied a career high with five steals to go with her 16 points.
Stanford, which came into the night eighth in the country in field goal percentage defense (.311), struggled to contain FGCU until it was too late. The Eagles shot 50 percent in the first quarter (7-of-14), 46.2 percent in the second (6-of-13) and 68.8 percent in the third (11-of-16) before going 3-of-13 in the fourth (.231).
One game after shooting 66.7 percent in a win over Lehigh, the third-best mark in program history, the Cardinal went a season-worst 21-of-59 from the floor (.356).
Stanford closes out the tournament when it plays Colorado State tomorrow evening at 5 p.m.