STANFORD, Calif. – A pair of freshmen had double-doubles, three upperclassmen joined them in double figures, and Stanford used a strong second half to beat Santa Clara in Maples Pavilion on Thursday night, 79-58.
Lara Somfai had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Alexandra Eschmeyer went for 11 points, 12 boards and a game-high four blocks. Senior Talana Lepolo, who missed all but five games last season due to injury, led all scorers with 16 points and was 4-of-6 from behind the arc. Nunu Agara was almost a third with a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds, and Chloe Clardy added 12 points off the bench.
Stanford was up just six at halftime, 33-27, and trailed 36-35 with 7:23 remaining in the third, but outscored Santa Clara 44-22 over the game’s final 17:23. The defining run came late in the third, when the Cardinal went on a 16-2 spurt to close the period and turn a 39-38 edge into a 55-40 lead.
Stanford scored 12 points during the run on 3-pointers, including one from Clardy and two from Lepolo, and it ended with Eschmeyer sinking a triple from the right corner in front of the Cardinal bench while being fouled that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Santa Clara cut it to 10 midway through the fourth, but Stanford again answered, closing the game on a 15-4 blast that featured two Clardy 3-pointers and another from Lepolo.
After shooting just 33.3 percent from the floor in the first half and 20.0 percent on 3-pointers, the Cardinal was able to adjust in the second, hitting at a 50.0 percent clip (16-of-32) and making 9-of-12 (.750) from downtown. Stanford had 12 assists and only five second-half turnovers, after having just three assists and nine turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
In available records dating to 2002-03, it’s the first time Stanford has 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).
Lepolo’s 16 points were her most since scoring a career-high 20 at California on Dec. 29, 2023. Thursday was the first time Stanford has had six double-digit scorers in a game since Dec. 31, 2023 against Morgan State.
The Cardinal ends its busy opening week of action when it hosts Cal Poly on Sunday, November 9 at 1 p.m.