Recap: Stanford Women’s Basketball falls short against Virginia
On Sunday, Stanford women’s fell to Virginia at home by a final score of 75-69. Virginia guard Kymora Johnson leads the way for the Cavaliers with 25 points, five rebounds, and four assists while forward Caitlin Weimar (12 points & 8 rebounds) and guard Gabby White (11 points & 9 rebounds) also scored in double figures. Stanford junior forward Nunu Agara was the top player for the Cardinal with 21 points and five rebounds, making her return after being out since the Cal game. Virginia improves to 18-8 overall and 10-5 in the ACC while Stanford falls to 16-11 overall and 5-9 in the ACC.
VIDEO: Stanford Women’s Basketball Postgame Press Conference-Virginia
BOX SCORE: Virginia at Stanford-Sunday, February 15th
“We’re disappointed with the outcome of that game,” Stanford head coach Kate Paye said in her opening post-game remarks. “I thought our team battled. It was great to have Nunu back. You know, we got down 10, our team battled back, took the lead very late in the game, and we gave ourselves an opportunity. Again, for another game, kind of one kind of bad quarter really hurts us and I thought that was our second quarter where our defense really let us down. Virginia is very good team. Number 21 Johnson is very difficult to guard. I thought we had great effort on her. Chloe, Hailee, Shay, some team defense. Really, the difference in the game were the free throws. We actually made more field goals than they did, but they were at the line 32 times and the rebounding. The shot where they went ahead, it just was kind of a loose ball. You know, they came up with more loose balls than we did and 21 knocked down her three. So, our team’s gonna stick with it. We’re gonna double down on each other, in our self-belief, and our confidence. We’re gonna go on the road and work really hard to get a sweep.”
Stanford jumped out to a 12-7 lead with 3:00 to go in the 1st quarter as Agara scored their first five points. She was in a nice rhythm early, showing no signs of rust.
Stanford would lead 13-11 at the end of the 1st quarter. Nunu Agara led the Cardinal with six points and two rebounds, while Hailee Swain added four points and two rebounds. Stanford was shooting 5-of-16 from the field, while Virginia was 5-of-18. Gabby White was leading the Cavaliers with five points.
Virginia led Stanford 23–17 with 4:29 remaining in the 2nd quarter. The Cavaliers went on a 7–0 run over the previous 1:51 and a 12–2 run over the last 4:29. Kymora Johnson had five points, joining Gabby White for Virginia. Stanford struggled from beyond the arc, shooting just 1-of-9 from three-point range and needing more perimeter shots to fall.
Virginia took a 36–28 lead into halftime. White heated up for the Cavaliers with 10 points and three rebounds, while Johnson scored seven points. Agara had nine points and three rebounds for Stanford, and Swain contributed six points and five rebounds. Virginia was outscoring Stanford 19–4 off the bench.
Stanford tied the game at 45–45 with 4:47 remaining in the 3rd quarter. Agara came alive with 17 points and four rebounds as Stanford outscored Virginia 17–9 in the quarter to that point. Having Agara back proved huge, as she attacked the rim and consistently got to the foul line.
Virginia led Stanford 59–51 at the end of the 3rd quarter. Stanford needed to make a push in the fourth, as Agara’s 17 points were not enough on their own. The Cardinal’s 3-of-15 shooting from 3-point range continued to hurt them.
Virginia’s lead was cut to 61–58 with 6:10 remaining after Stanford went on a 7–0 run over the previous 1:32. Courtney Ogden moved up to eight points after knocking down a big three-pointer, pulling the Cardinal back into the game.
The score was tied at 62–62 with 4:53 to play after a driving layup by Swain. Virginia called a timeout as Stanford built momentum.
Virginia took a 67–66 lead with 58.2 seconds remaining. Agara knocked down a pair of free throws following a flagrant foul call against Virginia, a break for the Cardinal. However, missed free throws by Swain and Agara being stripped—leading to a Virginia three-pointer—proved costly.
Virginia extended the lead to 69–66 with 32.5 seconds remaining after making two free throws. Stanford had possession, but Lara Somfai’s 3-point attempt out of the timeout did not fall, and Virginia got the ball back.
“We were looking, she had a good open look,” Paye said of Somfai’s shot. “You know, it just didn’t drop in. You know, at that stage, you know, you get a nice, clean look like that, you’re taking it.”
Virginia closed out a 75–69 win. It was a disappointing loss for the Cardinal, as missed free throws down the stretch loomed large despite several opportunities. Kymora Johnson led Virginia with 25 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while Nunu Agara finished with 21 points and five rebounds in her return for Stanford.
Starting off with Virginia, this is a huge win for them. They’re right on the NCAA tournament bubble and so to come out on top on the road against a Stanford team is in the same situation is big. If the NCAA tournament selection committee has to pick between Stanford and Virginia, this game would likely be the tiebreaker.
As for Stanford, this is a major disappointment. They had plenty of chances to win and weren’t able to close it out. Had they made their free throws down the stretch, they just might have escaped with a win. Instead, they’re now staring down a situation where they are at best right on the bubble if not slightly behind. They’re going to have to finish strong down the stretch to secure a place in the tournament.
The best news of the day for Stanford was definitely getting Nunu Agara back. She played very well in her return, showing why she is such a huge part of what they do. She showed little signs of rust. If they are able to keep her healthy and avoid any more significant injuries, they should still feel hopeful about their chances to get their card to the dance.
“I felt like I was rusty in this game, too,” Agara admitted. “No, it felt, it just felt good to be back with my teammates. I mean, yeah, I was out for a couple games and that sucked one, but two, just yeah, I missed the group. I missed my sisters and so it was just really good to just get back out there and play the game I love.”
“Yeah, it was great. As I said, it’s great to have Nunu back,” Paye said. “She lifts, gives energy to everybody, and kind of improves our rotation and our depth, which have been a struggle for the past couple weeks in the stretch of games that we’ve been going through. We did get off to a great start. Then our transition defense let us down a little bit early in the first quarter and we started kind of playing one-on-one a little bit too much, taking quick shots. But we, you know, battled back and really, that second quarter is really the one that set us back. I thought we competed in the second half, gave ourselves an opportunity. You know, I thought Hailee Swain had an excellent game. You know, looking to attack the basket and we just need a little bit more from everybody.”
Up next for Stanford is a road game at Miami on Thursday, February 19th. Tipoff is set for 5:00 PM PT on ACC Network.
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