RALEIGH, N.C. – Nunu Agara had 16 points and Lara Somfai 16 rebounds, but a cold-shooting Cardinal dropped its first ACC road game at NC State on Thursday 74-46.
The result snapped Stanford’s four-game winning streak and dropped the Cardinal to 12-3 overall and 1-1 in conference.
Stanford was within striking distance until late in the third quarter. Following a Courtney Ogden jumper with 2:13 on the clock in the third, Stanford would score just three points on free throws over the next 10 minutes and didn’t hit another field goal until a Nora Ezike layup with 1:56 to go in the game. The Cardinal missed 15 straight shots, and the run was 23-3 NC State.
Stanford had a mid-second quarter lead when Agara hit bucket to put her team up 24-23, but the Wolfpack took a 32-26 lead into the break. NC State grabbed its first double-digit lead, 38-28, early in the third on a Tilda Trygger layup, forcing a Cardinal timeout.
Ezike, Alexandra Eschmeyer and Harper Peterson came off the bench to make baskets in the last two minutes and push Stanford’s field goal percentage to an even 30.0 (18-of-60). The Cardinal hasn’t been under 30.0 percent from the floor since March 30, 2019 against Missouri State in the Sweet 16 (.250).
Ogden joined Agara in double figures, scoring 12 points. In her last five games, Ogden is averaging 16.8 points on 55.7 percent shooting.
Somfai pulled down 16 boards and is now averaging 10.0 per game this season. She has 10+ in each of her last three games – 11 against Oregon, 18 against Cornell, and today’s 16.
Stanford’s road trip continues Sunday at No. 16 North Carolina. Tipoff is at 10 a.m. PT on ESPN.