It was a tough day at the office for the Stanford Cardinal (8-4) when they took on Ohio State on Friday night. Heading to Chase Center in San Francisco to take on the No. 11 ranked Buckeyes in the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic, the Cardinal were unable to pull away with the win, falling 84-59.
It was a dominant game from NuNu Agara, who had her third double-double of the season after she scored 17 points with 10 rebounds, but it was a tough shooting night overall for the Cardinal as they ended the first quarter missing five straight shots while missing eight of nine during a drought over the final 4:02 without a field goal and going 6:47 without a basket spanning the two periods.
Entering the game as the best three point shooting team in the country, Stanford struggled from behind the arc all night long, going just 2-for-16 from deep, which tied a season-low for three-point makes in a game. The Cardinal committed 19 turnovers against the Buckeyes full-court press with Ohio State (12-0), also having a 17-1 edge in points off turnovers.
While Stanford significantly outrebounded Ohio State, 41-35, the Cardinal took 11 less field goals and only forced one steal during the entire game. Down by 14 points at the half, the Cardinal were able to cut down Ohio State’s lead to 10 thanks to a couple of free throws from Tess Heal early in the third, but were unable to get any closer. The Buckeyes would then proceed to go on an 8-0 run, causing them to go up 45-27 midway through the quarter.
Aside from Agara’s big game, other notables for Stanford include Elena Bosgana, who matched her career high with 11 rebounds while scoring eight points, and Heal, who scored 10 points and was the only other Cardinal to score in double figures.
For Ohio State, star player Cotie McMahon had 16 points and six rebounds and led the Buckeyes in scoring. McMahon, who came in averaging a team-high 18.6 points per game, missed the first eight of her first nine shots attempted and wound up going 5-for-15 from the field and 6-for-9 at the free throw line.
With the loss, the Cardinal will look to regroup over their extended break ahead of the official start of ACC play. The Cardinal next play on Thursday, Jan. 2 when they travel to Texas to take on SMU. Tipoff is at 5 p.m. (PT) and will air live on the ACC Network.
