STANFORD, Calif. – Nunu Agara had 26 points and 16 rebounds and Stanford secured its 20th win of the season with an 80-76 victory over LMU in the first round of the WBIT.
Agara scored her 26 on 10-of-16 shooting and became the program’s 47th 1,000-point scorer when she put back an offensive rebound with 1:45 to go in the fourth quarter. She finished the game with 1,005 career points. Agara’s 16 rebounds tied a career high.
Stanford went on a 13-0 run across the first and second quarters and grew a lead as large as 19 when Hailee Swain made a fastbreak layup with 3:47 to go in the first half. But LMU closed the period on a 9-0 run, outscored the Cardinal 21-13 in the third quarter and trailed by two, 53-51, heading into the fourth.
In the final frame, LMU made a free throw to start the scoring, but wouldn’t hit a field goal until nearly five minutes were gone. Stanford went on a 9-0 push over a three-minute stretch early in the quarter to extend the lead back to double figures, 62-52. Swain started it with a pair of fastbreak layups and Agara finished it with a bucket inside and three free throws.
Stanford outscored the Lions 23-4 on the break and 50-24 in the paint. The Cardinal shot 57.1 percent (32-of-56).
Courtney Ogden scored 19 on 7-of-12 shooting, Hailee Swain added 18 on 9-of-14 and Chloe Clardy made three 3-pointers and put in 14. In her last four games, Swain is averaging 17.3 points on 60.4 percent shooting.
LMU’s 3-point shooting kept them in it. The Lions made four of their last six from behind the arc in the game’s final 2:30 and made 10 3-pointers in the game. Ivana Krajina led her team with 21 points and Jess Lawson had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Alexandra Eschmeyer had five blocks for Stanford, including three in the fourth quarter. Her 41 blocks this season are the sixth most in school history by a freshman.
Stanford will host Quinnipiac in the second round on Sunday, March 22 at 2 p.m. The Bobcats beat George Mason, 71-64, to advance.