Recruiting Class Shines as Stanford Women's Basketball Cruises to Victory at Maples

Feb 26, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; General view of the basketball during the first half between the Stanford Cardinal and the Boston College Eagles at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

Stanford women's basketball is off to a 1-0 start to the season following an 87-42 win at home against UNC Greensboro. The result isn't a huge surprise, as early-season matchups are typically a bit of a tune-up, but UNCG went 25-7 last season and actually made the tournament as a 16 seed, getting eliminated by USC in the first round.

This is a game that we look at from a little further away and see what has changed for the Cardinal year-over-year.

The most obvious difference is the inclusion of the freshman recruits, in particular Hailee Swain, Lara Somfai and Alex Eschmeyer, with Swain and Somfai in the starting five. The Cardinal were feeding Somfai early in this one, as she produced the first six Stanford points of the game. She would end up leading the team in points with 15 in 19 minutes of action. She also collected 8 rebounds along the way.

The next two highest scorers in the game were the other two freshmen, Swain and Eschmeyer, who finished with 12 and 13. Swain went 6-of-10 from the floor, bringing in a pair of rebounds and dishing four assists in 29 minutes.

Eschmeyer shot 4-of-8 (1/2 from three) and 4-of-4 from the line, grabbing five boards and one steal in her 21 minutes.

While the freshmen were the key standouts in this game, the trio of Nunu Agara, Chloe Clardy and Talana Lepolo were also big in their own ways.

First off, Lepolo last took the court with her teammates in a game back on November 17 of last season. She was back in the mix, leading the offense, with her, Swain, and Clardy each collecting four assists out of the guard spots. Lepolo took one shot, hit it, and nailed both free throws she attempted. It was a great return to the lineup for her, as she facilitated the offense in this one.

Agara is expected to take a huge step forward this season as a junior, but watching her in this one was a different experience than it was last year. In 2024-25, Agara was expected to carry the load of the offense and ended up averaging 15.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Last night she ended up with 10 points and six boards in 22 minutes, but was extremely efficient with her production.

Agara went 3-of-6 from the field, including 1-of-1 from three and 3-of-3 from the free throw line.

Chloe Clardy was one of the biggest offensive weapons the Cardinal had down the stretch last season, especially once Agara was missing time. While she didn't get a starting nod in this one, Clardy's shooting was on point. The junior guard ended up scoring 12 points in 27 minutes on 5-of-7 shooting (2-of-3 from three).

The efficiency from all three of Lepolo, Agara and Clardy in this game is impressive, and it also gives the younger players a chance to learn on the job a bit more. It's going to be interesting to see this offense unfold as the games begin getting a little tighter, with the expectation being that the veterans will carry the program.

Junior Mary Ashley Stevenson played 16 minutes, putting up seven points, but it was her motor that caught out attention. She was flying around to all of the loose balls on the court, and actually ended up leading the team in rebounds with 10.

The Stanford women's team will take the court next on Thursday, November 6 at home against Santa Clara. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. (PT) and the game is set to air on ACC Network. Santa Clara ripped off 15 three pointers in their game on Monday night, which led to a lopsided 108-52 win over Stanislaus State.