The Stanford Cardinal (2-0, 0-0 ACC) secured a decisive 79-58 win over the Santa Clara Broncos (1-1, 0-0 WCC) for their second official game of the season. The game was headlined by senior guard Talana Lepolo, who racked up 16 points, as well as freshmen forwards Lara Somfai and Alex Eschmeyer, who each recorded a double double.
The rest of the Cardinal helped fill the stat sheet by out-rebounding the Broncos 52-30, racking up 11 three-pointers and having six different players score in the double digits.
“I’m just really proud of the way that our team responded. I think rebounding was huge,” said head coach Kate Paye after the game. “Nunu [Agara] really got it going on the glass and that helped us ignite our running game. Lara had 13 rebounds. Alex had 12 rebounds.”
Junior forward Nunu Agara won the tip-off, giving Stanford the game’s first possession. The first quarter opened with some back-and-forth, with consecutive 4-0 and 8-0 runs by Stanford and Santa Clara, respectively. Lepolo ended the Broncos’ run with a quick layup off a screen from Somfai. The real inflection point of the quarter came when Eschmeyer checked into the game and immediately tallied up two consecutive blocks on back-to-back defensive possessions. The Cardinal had nine makes from the free throw line, helping them reach a 17-12 lead at the end of the quarter.
The Cardinal continued to dominate the start of the second quarter. The first basket was a corner three from Agara, who was left open when the defense doubled freshmen guard Hailee Swain in the paint. Stanford continued to gain momentum through hustle plays, including another denial by Eschmeyer, a quick steal and fast break layup by junior guard Chloe Clardy and a rebound by Swain, who took the ball coast-to-coast for an easy bucket. The last play of the half was a massive corner three by Somfai that swished through the net just as the buzzer went off. By halftime, Stanford led 33-27 despite only shooting 33% from the field and 20% from deep.
Coming out of the halftime break, the Broncos made a small push, taking the lead for the first time since the score was 8-6 in the first. The Cardinal quickly put an end to their efforts, with a rebound putback from Eschmeyer and her fourth and final block on the following defensive possession, while finishing the game with zero fouls.
Perhaps the best assist of the game came midway through the third, when the Santa Clara assistant coach helped Clardy find her missing contact from the floor. With a new contact securely in place, Clardy knocked down a momentum-shifting three-pointer just before the shot clock went off. Lepolo continued the momentum with back-to-back three-pointers, resulting in a Santa Clara time out. With seemingly the whole roster hot from behind the arc, Eschmeyer knocked down a huge three with an and-one opportunity right in front of the Stanford bench.
Eshmeyer said the shot in front of the bench was her favorite moment of the night.
“It was definitely after I hit the three, because I was right in front of the bench and everybody came over, and it was just super exciting. I’ll definitely always remember that,” Eshmeyer said.
Stanford entered the final quarter with a 55-42 lead, a gap that only widened in the last 10 minutes of play. Continuing the sharpshooting from the third quarter, the Cardinal made five of six attempts from deep, with Lepolo and Clardy accounting for four makes. A clean steal from Clardy led to a wide-open three in transition for Swain. Swain further showed her versatility as a three-level scorer, making midrange jumpers, floaters and layups throughout the quarter. The Cardinal finished the game shooting a whopping 50% from three.
After Lepolo sank her fourth triple of the game, Santa Clara was forced to take a timeout. Lepolo is grateful to be back on the court after having missed much of the 2024-25 season due to a knee injury.
“I’m really, really thankful,” Lepolo said. “Getting the chance to be on the court, not just on the court but with this group of girls. It’s a group of selfless players, and we have our big sister and little sister dynamic, and it just makes playing and being in the gym really, really fun.”
The game certainly seemed fun, not just for the players but for the fans, who rose to their feet as the clock wore down. An impressive 23 of Stanford’s points came from its bench. Despite the large margin of victory, Paye remained focused on the future.
“We’ve got another game on Sunday, and our goal is just to get better every single day. And this game tonight will certainly help us improve,” she said.
The Cardinal faced Cal Poly on Sunday at Maples Pavilion before hitting the road to play Washington State on Friday.