2025-26 Stanford Women's Basketball Team2025-26 Stanford Women's Basketball Team
Women's Basketball

2025-26 Season In Review

Stanford closed out the 2025-26 season with a 21-14 overall record, including an 8-10 conference mark in its second season in the ACC

STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford women's basketball closed out the 2025-26 season with a 21-14 overall record, including an 8-10 conference mark in its second season in the ACC.

IN SHORT

  • After making 36 consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 1988-2024, Stanford was in the WBIT for the second consecutive season and advanced to the quarterfinals.
  • 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.
  • With its first-round victory in the WBIT over LMU, Stanford reached 20 wins for the 36th time in program history. The Cardinal posted a winning record for the 39th consecutive season.

THE PERCENTAGES

  • Stanford was 10th in the country in free throw percentage (.789), the second-best mark in program history (.808 – 2003-04).
    • The Cardinal went a perfect 15-for-15 from the line in a Nov. 23 win over Lehigh, tying a program record for makes without a miss.
  • Stanford shot 66.7 percent from the floor (38-of-57) against Lehigh, the third-best mark in program history.
    • The Cardinal hot 67.3 percent against Oregon State on Feb. 20, 2010, and 67.2 percent against Eastern Michigan on Dec. 29, 1989. 
  • Stanford's defense limited each of its first 14 opponents to fewer than 70 points, the longest stretch to open a season since 2021-22 (15).
    • The Cardinal improved to 128th nationally in field goal percentage defense (.391) and 152nd in scoring defense (63.2). Last year, Stanford finished 261st nationally in field goal percentage defense (.421) and 286th in scoring defense (69.3).

SOME BIG WINS

  • 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 was 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, 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.

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 are 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 didn't rely on just one person. The Cardinal had 127 individual double-digit scoring efforts across its 35 games with only 19 20-point performances.
    • Stanford’s 127 double-digit scoring efforts were 16th nationally, while its 19 20-point performances were tied for 93rd in the country.
    • In the last 20 years, just four Stanford teams had more double-digit scoring games – 2008-09 (130), 2023-24 (131), 2009-10 (134), 2010-11 (138).
  • The Cardinal had five players in double figures scoring in Nunu Agara (15.3), Courtney Ogden (12.9), Chloe Clardy (12.0), 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 was one of 12 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.

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 final seven games, including the ACC Tournament and WBIT, the Cardinal shot 48.2 percent from the floor, 33.1 percent from 3-point range, averaged 78.1 points per game, and with 107 assists against 84 turnovers (1.27 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).

START 'EM YOUNG

  • When Nunu Agara was unavailable in the middle of conference play, 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:
  • The Cardinal's 75 total starts from freshmen this season (Swain - 35; Somfai - 32; Eschmeyer 8) were the fifth-most nationally behind Middle Tennessee (107), San Francisco (98), Saint Louis (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.
  • Hailee Swain's 35 starts tied with Chiney Ogwumike (2010-11) for second in program history by a freshman. Somfai's 32 starts tied with Sonja Henning (1987-88) for eighth. They are the first Stanford freshman duo to each start 30 games in the same season.
  • Stanford’s freshmen were as good as advertised. The group accounted for 928 of the Cardinal’s 2,469 points, or 37.6 percent. They scored the most for a Stanford freshman class since 1987-88 when Sonja Henning (347), Trish Stevens (329), Tammy Svoboda (155), Celeste Lavoie (129) and Ann Adkins (38) combined for 998 points.
  • The Cardinal was 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.
  • Swain (357 points) and Somfai (344 points) were the first pair of Stanford freshmen to each total more than 300 points in the same season since 1987-88 (Sonja Henning, Trisha Stevens).

OGDEN ON FIRE

  • A 43.5 percent shooter as a freshman and sophomore, Courtney Ogden made 51.3 percent this season (181-of-353). She was 51st nationally and seventh in the ACC in field goal percentage.
  • In her final 25 games, the junior averaged 15.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 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 had eight 20-point performances and in her last 25.
  • 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 was one of 78 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.

AGARA AGAIN

  • Nunu Agara became Stanford's 47th 1,000-point scorer in the WBIT win over LMU and ended the season with 1,030 career points.
  • Stanford’s leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, Agara was one of six Power 4 players to average 15.3 points and 8.7 rebounds along with NC State's Khamil Pierre, Miami's Ra Shaya Kyle, Kentucky's Clara Strack, Oklahoma's Raegan Beers and Syracuse's Uche Izoje.
  • She was 10th in the ACC in scoring, seventh in rebounding, 10th in field goal percentage (.465) and seventh in double-doubles (8).
  • 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. Agara was one of five players in the country this season to be perfect from the floor when attempting at least 10 field goals.
  • A career 81.6 percent free throw shooter (239-of-293), Agara is seventh in school history in that category. She led all ACC post players at the line this season, shooting 79.8 percent (99-of-124).

SUPERB SEASON FOR SOMFAI

  • Lara Somfai averaged 10.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game this season, one of six freshmen in the country with those numbers.
    • She was fifth in the ACC in rebounding. No ACC freshman had averaged 9.0 rebounds for an entire season since North Carolina's Janelle Bailey in 2017-18 (9.1). She finished second in progam history in freshman rebounding behind 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 was ninth 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 was 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.
  • Somfai finished with 344 points, 291 rebounds, 49 assists, 22 blocks and 24 steals, becoming just the 15th freshman in NCAA history to total those numbers 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.

SWAIN LATELY

  • 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 final six games, Swain averaged 13.5 points on 47.8 percent shooting (33-of-69), including 35.0 percent from 3-point range (7-of-20).
    • In the season's first 29 games, she averaged 9.5 points on 37.6 percent shooting (114-of-303) and made 20.6 percent from behind the arc (13-of-63).
  • Swain scored in double figures 23 times this season, the most for a Stanford freshman since Chiney Ogwumike in 2010-11 (also 23).

ESCHMEYER'S EMERGENCE

  • Alexandra Eschmeyer scored 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.
  • She had five blocks, including three in the fourth quarter, against LMU on March 19. Her 43 blocks this season are the sixth most in school history by a freshman.

SUPER SUB

  • Chloe Clardy was one of 44 players in the country to average 12.0 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 was one of three ACC players with those averages along with Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) and Kymora Johnson (Virginia).

AWARDS AND ACCOLADES

Name Honors
Nunu Agara All-ACC Second Team
ACC Player of the Week (Nov. 24)
All-ACC Academic Team
Shay Ijiwoye All-ACC Academic Team
Courtney Ogden ACC Co-Player of the Week (Dec. 15)
All-ACC Academic Team
Lara Somfai ACC All-Freshman Team
USBWA National Freshman of the Week (Nov. 25)
4x ACC Rookie of the Week (Nov. 10; Dec. 15; Dec. 29; Feb. 9)
Mary Ashley Stevenson All-ACC Academic Team
Hailee Swain ACC All-Freshman Team