SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Lara Somfai scored a career-high 17 points and Nunu Agara had a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double, but Stanford fell on the road at Syracuse on Sunday afternoon, 69-58.
The Orange were in control for most of the game, leading for more than 35 minutes. Stanford got within five late in the third quarter when Shay Ijiwoye flew in from the 3-point line to rebound a Cardinal miss and put it back for two. But that would be Stanford’s last basket until Talana Lepolo dropped in a runner as the quarter buzzer sounded to pull her team within eight, 49-41, with one period left.
Syracuse extended its lead in the fourth as the Cardinal went more than 2:30 before its first point. Ijiwoye got Stanford within single digits, 63-54, on another layup with 2:09 left, but the Cardinal made just one of its final eight baskets to close the game.
Stanford had a 9-0 run midway through the first quarter that was punctuated by Lara Somfai drilling a 3-pointer from the left corner while being fouled. She’d make the free throw to complete the four-point play and put the Cardinal up 13-10. Stanford’s last lead came at 15-14 on a Somfai jumper with 3:15 on the clock in the opening quarter.
Stanford had 22 turnovers, which Syracuse turned into 24 points. The Orange was 19-of-24 at the line, led by a 12-for-12 efforts from Dominique Darius, who scored a game-high 26. The Cardinal attempted just eight free throws.
Somfai’s 17 points surpassed her previous best of 15. Agara’s double-double was her fifth of the season and 14th of her career.
Stanford returns to the Bay Area and next plays at Cal on Sunday, Jan. 25 at 3 p.m. PT on ACC Network.