Stanford WBB Prevails in Overtime to Take Down Virginia Tech on the Road

A big game from Chloe Clardy send the Cardinal home as the winners

Feb 10, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; The Stanford Cardinal logo at center court before the game between the Stanford Cardinal and the USC Trojans at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

Sometimes, it takes more than four quarters to get the job done. On Thursday night, the Stanford Cardinal (14-12, 6-9 ACC) women's basketball program headed to Blacksburg, Virginia to take on Virginia Tech, winning the game 75-74 in overtime.

Chloe Clardy was the star of the night, scoring a career high of 30 points, with 21 points in the second half. The Cardinal started things off by making the opening bucket of the game, but after that, the Hokies took over, leading the game for nearly all of regulation. But after Clardy made a layup with just under 30 seconds to tie things up, the game went into overtime.

Stanford trailed by as many as 12, down by nine at one point in the fourth, but the defense started to tighten up for the Cardinal, closing on a 15-6 run which helped contribute to the game going to OT. Clardy scored the first seven points for the Cardinal during their run of closing the gap.

In overtime, the Cardinal got out to a four-point lead before the Hokies (16-10, 7-8 ACC) eventually took a 70-69 lead with 1:30 left. However, Stanford's next possession saw Clardy play hero again, this time drilling a left corner three to put the Cardinal up 72-70.

Eventually getting to the line with around 30 second left, Clardy split her two free throws but after Shay Ijiwoye got to the line and made her two with around 13 seconds left, she was able to ice the game.

Winning on the road, this marks the second win away from Maples for the Cardinal, who have struggled on the road for the most part this season. This also marked their first road win against a team with a winning record, adding a Quad 2 win to the Cardinal's resume this season. Entering the game 48th in the NET, the Cardinal also have the nation's 23rd toughest schedule.

Scoring 30 points and recording five assists, Clardy became the first Stanford guard to have a game like that since Jeanette Pohlen scored 31 point and had six assists against No. 1 UConn in Dec. of 2010. In the Thursday night game, underclassmen played a big role, with Stanford's freshman and sophomores combining to score 65 out of the team's 75 points.

In addition to Clardy's big game, Courtney Ogden scored 15 points while Ijiwoye scored a career-high 10, which includes those late game free throws. Mary Ashley Stevenson played over 40 minutes and added six points and seven rebounds, with Kennedy Umeh scoring four and adding two steals.

Up next for the Cardinal is another road game, this time against the Virginia Cavaliers on Sunday, Feb. 23. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. (PT) on the ACC Network.