Cardinal Welcomes LMU for WBIT Opener

THE GAME: Stanford opens the WBIT by hosting Loyola Marymount on Thursday, March 19 at 7 p.m. Jenna Beccera and Joaquin Wallace have the call on ESPN+ and Tim Swartz will handle radio on GoStanford.com, the Stanford Athletics app and Learfield’s Varsity Network.

THE RUNDOWN: The Cardinal is 43-6 all-time in postseason games in Maples Pavilion ... One more victory would give Stanford its 36th 20-win season in program history ... The Cardinal has five players averaging at least 10.0 points per game and has finished a season with five in double figures just five times previously, most recently in 2008-09 ... Stanford's 69 total starts from freshmen this season are the fifth-most nationally ... Cardinal freshmen have combined for 874 points this season, the program's most since 1994-95 ... Lara Somfai and Hailee Swain are the first pair of Stanford freshmen to each total more than 300 points in the same season since 1987-88 ... Lara Somfai's seven double-doubles are the most for a Stanford freshman since Chiney Ogwumike had 11 in 2010-11 ... In the last three games, Hailee Swain is averaging 17.0 points on 58.8 percent shooting, including 50.0 percent from 3-point range ... Courtney Ogden is averaging 14.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steals in the last 22 games ... Nunu Agara is one of seven Power 4 players averaging 15.1 points and 8.5 rebounds ... Chloe Clardy is one of 48 players in the country averaging 11.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 steals, but is one of only two to do it coming primarily off the bench.

VS. LMU: Stanford is 2-0 all-time against LMU, but the two haven't played in 19 seasons. The first meeting was an 83-38 Cardinal victory in Honolulu, Hawai’i on Dec. 4, 1987 behind 19 points and seven assists from Jennifer Azzi. Stanford hosted the Lions in the Preseason WNIT on Nov. 9, 2006, winning 88-61. Brooke Smith had 26 points and nine rebounds, Kristen Newlin had a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double and Candice Wiggins added 16 points and seven assists for the No. 4 Cardinal.

SETTING THE STAGE »

• After making 36 consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 1988-2024, Stanford will be appearing in the WBIT for the second consecutive season. The Cardinal's 36 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances are the third-most all-time (Tennessee - 44; UConn - 37).
• Stanford finished 44th in the NET rankings ahead of Selection Sunday, the second-highest rated program to not make the NCAA Tournament (No. 43 Mississippi State).
• Stanford's three Quad 1 wins were also the second most among teams not selected for the NCAA Tournament. Kansas State, also in the WBIT, had four.
• Stanford's all-time postseason record, including both the NCAA Tournament and the WBIT, is 102-35, including a 43-6 mark in Maples Pavilion.
• The Cardinal was 3-0 against the WCC this season, beating Gonzaga (65-52), Washington State (54-46) and Santa Clara (79-58).
• Stanford made its WBIT debut last season and lost in overtime in the first round to Portland, 69-68. Nunu Agara led the Cardinal with 21 points and 12 rebounds in defeat.
• That snapped a 12-game home winning streak against WCC opponents. Stanford's last such loss had come against Gonzaga on Nov. 18, 2016, 68-63.
• One more victory would give Stanford its 36th 20-win season in program history.
• Stanford is 11-6 at home this season, its most home losses since going 9-6 in 1986-87.

OPENING TIP »

• Stanford picked up its second ranked win of the season on Jan. 4, knocking off then-No. 16 North Carolina on the road in overtime, 77-71. It was the Cardinal's first Top 25 win on the road since a 67-63 result at No. 11 Oregon State on Feb. 29, 2024.
• Coupled with a 67-62 home win over then-No. 22 Washington on Dec. 19, the Cardinal is 2-2 against the AP Top 25 this season. Prior to the victory over the Huskies, Stanford had lost 10 consecutive games against ranked opponents.
• Stanford (2-2), Duke (4-5), Louisville (4-5) and Notre Dame (3-5) are the only ACC schools with multiple victories against the AP Top 25.
• Stanford, Louisville and Syracuse were the only ACC schools with multiple nonconference wins against Power 4 opponents this season. The Cardinal had two Big Ten victories on its resume (Washington, Oregon), Louisville beat Colorado and Tennessee, and Syracuse beat Utah and Auburn.
• The Cardinal is 12th nationally in free throw percentage (.783).
• The school record for single-season free throw percentage is 80.8 in 2003-04.

ACC AWARDS »

• Nunu Agara, Lara Somfai and Hailee Swain were recognized by the conference when ACC postseason honors voted on by the league’s head coaches were announced March 3. Agara was voted to the All-ACC Second Team for the second consecutive season, while Somfai and Swain made the six-member All-Freshman Team.
• Somfai and Swain and the first pair of Stanford teammates to land on a league’s all-freshman team since Jayne Appel and J.J. Hones were on the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team in 2006-07. It’s the first time the ACC has had multiple all-freshman performers from the same team since Florida State’s O’Mariah Gordon and Makayla Timpson in 2021-22.

BALANCED ATTACK »

• Stanford’s offense hasn’t relied on just one person this season. The Cardinal has had 114 individual double-digit scoring efforts across its 32 games with only 17 20-point performances.
• Stanford’s 114 double-digit scoring efforts are 23rd nationally, while its 16 20-point performances are tied for 105th in the country.
• The Cardinal has five players in double figures scoring in Nunu Agara (15.1), Courtney Ogden (12.4), Chloe Clardy (11.5), Lara Somfai (10.8) and Hailee Swain (10.2).
• The last time Stanford finished a season with five players scoring at least 10.0 points per game was in 2008-09 with Jayne Appel (16.1), Kayla Pedersen (10.8), Jeanette Pohlen (10.7), Nneka Ogwumike (10.6) and JJ Hones (10.5). It also happened in 1996-97, 1991-92, 1989-90 and 1987-88.
• The Cardinal is one of 13 schools to have five players averaging at least 10.0 points per game and one of seven from a Power 4 conference along with Oklahoma, Kentucky, Michigan State, South Carolina, Oklahoma State and Minnesota.

START 'EM YOUNG »

• When Nunu Agara was unavailable, Alexandra Eschmeyer started five consecutive games alongside fellow freshmen Hailee Swain and Lara Somfai, and juniors Chloe Clardy and Courtney Ogden.
• Prior to the game against Louisville on Jan. 29, Eschmeyer's first start, Stanford had only started three freshmen in the same game three times in available records dating back to 1985-86:
  • January 18, 1992 vs. UCLA - Rachel Hemmer, Anita Kaplan, Tanda Rucker
  • March 5, 1988 at USC - Sonja Henning, Trisha Stevens, Celeste Lavoie
  • March 5, 1987 vs. Oregon - Jennifer Azzi, Katy Steding, Stacy Parson
• The Cardinal's 69 total starts from freshmen this season (Somfai - 32; Swain - 32; Eschmeyer 5) are the fifth-most nationally behind Middle Tennessee (99), Saint Louis (92), San Francisco (92) and Akron (77). In readily available records over the past 17 seasons, the previous Stanford high for freshmen starts in a year was 41 in 2013-14.
• Lara Somfai and Hailee Swain are currently tied with Sonja Henning (1987-88) for seventh in program history in starts by a freshman (32). They are the first Stanford freshman duo to each start 30 games in the same season.
• Stanford’s freshmen have been as good as advertised. The group has accounted for 874 of the Cardinal’s 2,246 points, or 38.9 percent. They’ve scored the most for a Stanford freshman class since 1994-95 when Naomi Mulitauaopele (240), Kristin Folkl (227), Heather Owen (177), Olympia Scott (141), Vanessa Nygaard (94) and Regan Freuen (29) combined for 908 points.
• The Cardinal is the only Power 4 program with multiple freshmen averaging 10.0 points per game in Lara Somfai (10.8) and Hailee Swain (10.2) and one of just eight teams nationally along with Saint Louis, Louisiana, Creighton, E. Michigan, No. Kentucky, SIU Edwardsville and Middle Tennessee.
• Somfai (344 points) and Swain (327 points) are the first pair of Stanford freshmen to each total more than 300 points in the same season since 1987-88 (Sonja Henning, Trisha Stevens).

STRONG END TO REGULAR SEASON »

• Stanford closed the regular season by winning its last three games, its first three-game winning streak since winning four in a row in mid to late-December against Cal, Washington, Oregon and Cornell.
• The stretch culminated with a Quad 2, 85-50 win over Clemson (NET 41). The Tigers came in leading the ACC in scoring defense allowing just 58 points per game and hadn't given up more than 73 all season.
• Coupled with an 87-57 victory over SMU to start the homestand, it was Stanford's first back-to-back, 30-point wins in conference since beating Arizona State 80-50 on Jan. 26, 2024 and Arizona 96-64 on Jan. 28, 2024 when the schools were Pac-12 members.
• The strong finish came on the heels of a rough month in which Stanford went 1-8 from Jan. 18 (Syracuse) to Feb. 19 (Miami).
• In the last four games, including the ACC Tournament, the Cardinal is shooting 49.6 percent from the floor, 37.0 percent from 3-point range, averaging 81.3 points per game, and with 72 assists against 48 turnovers (1.50 A/TO ratio).
• During its preceding nine-game swoon, Stanford shot 37.7 percent from the field, 26.2 percent from behind the arc, averaged 65.1 points, and had 92 assists against 130 turnovers (0.71 A/TO ratio).
• Stanford's win at Florida State on Feb. 22 secured a winning season for the Cardinal, the program's 39th in a row. It also snapped its second four-game losing streak of the season. Prior to this year, Stanford had not lost four consecutive games in the same season for the first time since January and February 1987.
• Stanford has played its last 12 games without senior starting point guard Talana Lepolo and missed junior starting forward Nunu Agara for a five-game stretch in early February. Lepolo and Agara have combined for 139 career starts. The rest of the team has combined for 158 starts at Stanford.

SWAIN LATELY »

• Freshman Hailee Swain scored a career-high 20 in the regular-season finale against Clemson, the first 20-point performance for a Stanford freshman since Cameron Brink had 24 in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament against Oregon State on March 5, 2021.
• She followed that up with 17 points on a career-high four 3-pointers in the ACC Tournament against Miami, nearly becoming the first Stanford freshman with back-to-back 20-point games since Candice Wiggins did it in three straight in 2004-05 against Arizona on Feb. 3 (20), Ariona State on Feb. 5 (20) and Cal on Feb. 11 (24).
• In the last three games, Swain is averaging 17.0 points on 58.8 percent shooting (20-of-34), including 50.0 percent from 3-point range (7-of-14).
• In the season's first 29 games, Swain averaged 9.5 points on 37.6 percent shooting (114-of-303) and made 20.6 percent from behind the arc (13-of-63).

OGDEN ON FIRE »

• A 43.5 percent shooter as a freshman and sophomore, Courtney Ogden is making 51.0 percent this season (160-of-314). She is 54th nationally and seventh in the ACC in field goal percentage.
• In her last 22 games, the junior is averaging 14.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steals. In the season's first 10 games she averaged 7.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 0.8 steals.
• She had zero 20-point games in her first 72 career outings and now has seven 20-point performances and in her last 22.
• Against Notre Dame on Feb. 1, Ogden registered her first career double-double with 23 points and 10 boards, and she had another 23 points and a career-high eight assists at Pitt.
• Ogden is the first Stanford player with 23 points and eight assists since Kiana Williams had 25 and eight against UCLA on Feb. 7, 2020.
• On Jan. 15 at Boston College, she had 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists, the first Stanford player with that line in a road game since Cameron Brink had 14 points, 12 rebounds and six assists at Utah on Feb. 25, 2023.
• She was named ACC Co-Player of the Week on Dec. 15 after scoring a career-high 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting to go with seven rebounds, two assists and one block in the Cardinal’s 78-69 win to open ACC play against Cal.
• Her efficient performance is one of 75 in the country this season in which a player has scored 25 points on at least 80.0 percent shooting, but one of only 19 to come against a Power 4 opponent. 

SUPERB SEASON FOR SOMFAI »

• Freshman Lara Somfai is averaging 10.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game this season, one of six freshmen in the country with those numbers.
• She is fifth in the ACC in rebounding. No ACC freshman has averaged 9.0 rebounds for an entire season since North Carolina's Janelle Bailey in 2017-18 (9.1). The Stanford record for freshman rebounding average is held by Kaylee Johnson in 2014-15 (9.6).
• Her four conference Rookie of the Week awards are the most in program history. Haley Jones was a three-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week in 2019-20 and Kaylee Johnson was a three-time winner in 2014-15. The Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award began in 2012-13.
• Somfai is also tied for sixth in the ACC in double-doubles (7) and has the most double-doubles for a Stanford freshman since Chiney Ogwumike had a school freshman record 11 in 2010-11.
• Against Pitt on Feb. 5, Somfai went for 15 points, 23 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and three blocks, becoming just the second player in NCAA history with those numbers in available records dating back to 2002-03 and the only freshman. Illinois-Chicago’s Ruvanna Campbell had the exact same line against Northern Illinois on Nov. 17, 2014.
• Somfai’s 23 boards are an ACC freshman record, the most by a major conference freshman in the country this season, and the most for an ACC player since Sarah Imovbioh (Virginia) had 24 against Ohio State on Nov. 14, 2014. Her rebounding total is tied for third in Stanford history, trailing only 24-rebound performances from Cameron Brink at Oregon State on Feb. 29, 2024 and Chiney Ogwumike against Oregon on Feb. 24, 2013.
• Somfai followed that up with a career-high 19 points, nine rebounds, six assists and one block at Georgia Tech. She’s the only freshman with that line in a game this season and the first ACC freshman to do it since Hannah Hidalgo in Dec. 2023.
• A well-rounded player, Somfai has 344 points, 291 rebounds, 49 assists, 22 blocks and 24 steals. She is tracking to become just the 12th freshman in NCAA history to total 350 points, 300 rebounds, 50 assists, 20 blocks and 20 steals and the first Power 4 freshman to do it since Stanford's Kayla Pedersen in 2007-08. The first name on the list is USC's Cheryl Miller in 1982-83. The most recent is UConn's Sarah Strong in 2024-25. 

AGARA AGAIN »

• With 979 career points, Nunu Agara is 21 points shy from becoming Stanford's 47th 1,000-point scorer.
• Stanford’s leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, Agara is one of seven Power 4 players averaging 15.1 points and 8.5 rebounds along with NC State's Khamil Pierre, Miami's Ra Shaya Kyle, UCLA's Lauren Betts, Kentucky's Clara Strack, Oklahoma's Raegan Beers and Syracuse's Uche Izoje.
• She is 12th in the ACC in scoring, eighth in rebounding, and 10th in field goal percentage (.459).
• Agara was voted ACC Player of the Week on Nov. 24 after averaging a double-double of 20.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in Stanford’s wins against UC Davis (70-45) and Lehigh (98-43). She shot 75.0 percent from the floor across the two games, making 15 of her 20 field goal attempts. It was Stanford’s first conference player of the week since Cameron Brink won Pac-12 Player of the Week on March 4, 2024.
• Against Lehigh on Nov. 23, Agara poured in 24 points on a perfect 10-of-10 shooting, tying the school record for single-game field goal percentage. Just last year, Elena Bosgana was 10-of-10 from the floor in a win over UC San Diego on Nov. 29. Kim Kupferer was 11-of-11 from the floor in a game against Pacific on Jan. 24, 1981. Agara is one of five players in the country this season to be perfect from the floor when attempting at least 10 field goals (Clara Silva - TCU; Grace Oliver - Wake Forest; Ja'Kahla Craft - Seton Hall; Tatum West - Northern Colorado).
• A career 82.0 percent free throw shooter (228-of-278), Agara is seventh in school history in that category. She leads all ACC post players at the line this season, shooting 80.7 percent (88-of-109).

SUBER SUB »

• Chloe Clardy is one of 48 players in the country averaging 11.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 steals, but one of only two to do it coming off primarily off the bench (MiLaysia Fulwiley - LSU).
• She is one of three ACC players with those averages along with Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) and Kymora Johnson (Virginia).

ESCHMEYER'S EMERGENCE »

• Freshman Alexandra Eschmeyer scored a career-high 16 points and had seven rebounds and four blocks in the Jan. 25 game at Cal, becoming the first Cardinal freshman with 16 points, seven rebounds and four blocks in a game since Cameron Brink against Oregon State on March 5, 2021 (24p, 11r, 4b) and just the fourth since 2002-03, joining Brink, Kayla Pedersen and Jayne Appel.
• Eschmeyer had 11 rebounds and a career-high six blocks in the victory over Wake Forest on Jan. 8.
• Her six blocks against Wake Forest were the most for a Stanford player since Cameron Brink had seven in the 2024 Sweet 16 against NC State and the most for a Cardinal freshman since Brink had six in the 2021 Final Four against South Carolina. She’s the first Stanford freshman with 11 rebounds and six blocks in available records dating back to 2002-03 and one of four freshmen in the country to have those numbers in a game this season along with Maddison Krug (Lafayette), Alyssa Koerkenmeier (Saint Louis) and Avril Smith (Omaha).
• The only other Stanford players with 11 rebounds and six blocks in records dating back to 2002-03 include Cameron Brink (nine times), Alanna Smith (two times), Chiney Ogwumike and Jayne Appel.

RETURNING PRODUCTION »

• Stanford was 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).
• The Cardinal was fourth in the ACC in returning points (Duke - 67.7%, Virginia 61.6%, Virginia Tech 54.7%), second in returning rebounds (Duke - 64.1%), fourth 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).

UNMATCHED 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.
• While not a coach, 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.

FIRST CLASS »

• Kate Paye’s first signing class as head coach was rated No. 3 nationally and 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

• 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).

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 schools 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.