Stanford dominates Clemson to close regular season, bolster NCAA hopes

STANFORD – In its final regular-season game, Stanford delivered its best performance of the season Sunday, providing hope that a March Madness return is still possible.

Preseason all-ACC forward Nunu Agara had 24 points and 10 rebounds, freshman Hailee Swain had a career-high 20 points and five rebounds, and freshman Lara Somfai had 11 points, nine rebounds and six assists as the Cardinal (19-12, 8-10 ACC) dominated NCAA Tournament-bound Clemson 85-50 at Maples Pavilion.

“Our team focused and worked really hard to prepare for this game and came out with a tremendous sense of urgency,” Stanford coach Kate Paye said. “We’ve talked a lot about, if our team could get healthy and start firing on all cylinders, watch out. And I think you saw that today.”

The Tigers (20-10, 11-7) were allowing a conference-low 58 points per game, but Stanford had 51 points at the half on 69 percent shooting, with 13 assists to just two turnovers.

“I thought you saw Stanford basketball out there,” Paye said. “Playing great defense, rebounding, moving the basketball, running in transition. A lot of different people contributing, getting the ball inside, making extra passes. Our team worked really hard for it, and we’re going to build on it.”

The win showed the heights Stanford can reach, with Agara leading a balanced offense. Four players scored in double figures – Swain was the first freshman since Cameron Brink to reach 20 points — and all five starters had at least two assists as Stanford matched a season high with 21. Defensively, the Cardinal held Clemson to 31 percent shooting and outrebounded the Tigers by 12.

They now must try to continue their run at the ACC Tournament, which starts Wednesday in suburban Atlanta. Stanford will open the tournament as the No. 13 seed and face No. 12 seed Miami at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in the first round.

That pressure is unfamiliar territory for a program that once treated Selection Sunday as a formality rather than suspense. From 1988 through 2024, Stanford made 36 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, a run that ended last season following the retirement of Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer.

That one-year absence seemed like an anomaly when Stanford started this season with three wins over tournament locks (North Carolina, Oregon, and Washington) and only one damaging loss (to Florida Gulf Coast).

But the Cardinal then stumbled through a 1-8 stretch that threatened to unravel everything. A season-ending injury to senior point guard Talana Lepolo at the start of that losing run stripped the offense of its organizer and emotional compass, and the loss of Agara for five games extenuated the collapse.

As a result, Stanford entered Sunday as the sixth team left out of the NCAA Tournament field in the latest ESPN Bracketology. The Cardinal entered the day No. 46 in the NET rankings and 58th in Wins Above Bubble, two metrics valued by the selection committee (Stanford was No. 49 in the NET last year when it was left out of the field).

But the Cardinal seemed to have snapped out of it just in time to give themselves a chance at making it back to March Madness.

“Our team has talked about that you want to be playing your best basketball in March,” Paye said. “And it’s March 1, and we’re going to build on this.”

CAL BLOWS OUT SMU

Across the bay, Cal pulled off a similar dominant win, beating SMU 78-34 at Haas Pavilion.

The Bears led wire to wire, winning the first quarter 22-10 and not allowing that lead to shrink to single digits thereafter.

Junior Lulu Twidale led Cal with 25 points, including 7-of-11 shooting on 3-pointers. She wasn’t the only Bears guard who was hot from deep, though: Gisella Maul made all four of her attempts. Freshman Puff Morris added three of her own on nine shots as the Bears were 15-of-30 overall behind the 3-point line.

Maul, a junior, had 17 points and led Cal with eight rebounds, while Morris contributed 10 points.

Cal’s defense held SMU to just 12 baskets on 60 attempts, and just seven points in each of the final two quarters as the Bears won the second half 38-14. Miriam Ibezim was the lone Mustang in double digits with 11 points.

The Bears will be the No. 10 seed in the ACC tournament and face No. 15 seed Wake Forest on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.