WBB 2025-2026 season - Printable Version
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RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - martyup - 10-29-2025
(10-29-2025, 09:06 PM)BobK Wrote: https://gostanford.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster
Go to Somfai and click on the little ear symbol as Lara pronounces it for us
Wow, the announcer was correct. Sounds like Shum-fi-ee.
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - BostonCard - 10-29-2025
(10-29-2025, 09:06 PM)BobK Wrote: https://gostanford.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster
Go to Somfai and click on the little ear symbol as Lara pronounces it for us
That’s a useful feature. I wish it had been around in Brevin (don’t call me “Bevin”) Knight’s day.
However you pronounce it, Somfai had a double double in her first collegiate game (even if it was an exhibition).
BC
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - JTM - 10-29-2025
I’m a bit concerned about our 3-point shooting. Graduation/transfer (Demetre, Bosgana, Heal, Harriel) took away 67% of our 3-point scoring. I don’t see a replacement for that quantity (155 of 233).
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - 2006alum - 10-30-2025
Did anyone who watched the game care to report? I'm out of town and couldn't go. Box score observations:
Clardy was our most consistent AND productive three level scorer. I'm not quite sure why she's not starting, especially given her growth over the course of last season. Maybe this stat line was her statement re the same?
Lepolo had one assist. Since she's neither a big scoring threat nor a defensive stopper, I'm not sure I think a stat line like 7 pts / 1 assist / 0 steals in 24 minutes against a greatly outmatched team warrants a starter spot.
I'm actually not overly worried about our defense - we had 10 steals across 7 players.
Agreed that 3 point shooting seems weak, but it was just one game. If that keeps up, we will get killed by zone defenses with Lepolo at the top of the key - no ability to shoot over it or cut through it and so/so ability to pass over it...
Great to see Swain and Somfai warranted starts out of the gate. Though unfortunately the box score seems to confirm someone's comment from the scrimmage that Ogden, MAS, Umeh, and Ijiwoye have not made meaningful improvements. I personally would start Clardy over Ogden and give up the size for the speed and scoring.
Eager for thoughts from those who could attend.
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - jonnyss - 10-30-2025
lepolo ran the offense well, played excellent defense, took a few shots and hit them.
clardy hit her shots at a high percentage
nunu owned the midrange jumper.
all 3 were calm and poised.
the big 3 freshmen have great court sense on offense and defense, and have high energy. all know the plays, all can play good defense, and all can hit free throws. they are ready for prime time.
swain is exciting: an exceptional athlete: big, strong, fast, and agile - the sort of guard i am used to seeing at south carolina rather than stanford. she got to the rim at will, then often missed the layup. perhaps worth noting that our l.a. opponent was very good defensively (just with only one big post, where we had 3) so swain is perhaps adjusting to having a defender in her face as she goes for the layup.
lara somfai (shom-fay-ee - thanks, bob!) is incredibly confident. very strong and mobile on both offense and defense - a bit like cameron brink in her assertiveness and fouling, but a more versatile game, and cheerful - big smile rather than cam's aggressive demeanor. somfai was directing traffic as if she had been on the team for years.
alex eschmeyer is not frail. big arms - she's been in the gym. she's slender and strong, like cam. she, too, moves with skill and confidence. her most successful plays on offense were backing the defender down, then a short pass to somfai for the assist.
the offense looked very/too familiar. in the first half, a bit frustrating to see 4 players at the 3-point line when we had such a size advantage. in the 2nd half, more high-low passes in the post.
the defense looked different. nunu as the first defender, then lots and lots of switching.
shay ijiwoye was her usual pest on defense, but threw 2 outlet passes in a row to the opponent.
ezike, amborn and peterson looked a bit lost on the court (especially compared to the big 3 freshmen, who looked like upperclassmen). hard to see their skills.
stevenson, ogden and umeh looked about like last year. unless she makes a big leap, ogden will start and give way to a big lineup of various combinations of nunu, lara, alex, and mary ashley at 3,4,5; with talana, swain, and clardy rotating at guard.
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - Maple Leaf - 10-30-2025
From ESPN
https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/46770503/womens-ncaa-basketball-predictions-picks-2025-2026
Philippou: Stanford Cardinal
Last season, in Kate Paye's first as head coach, the Cardinal missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1987. But with a stacked freshman class, headlined by top-15 recruits Hailee Swain and Lara Somfai, they'll be playing in March once more and have a clearer direction moving forward with a new young core.
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - OCcardinal - 10-30-2025
(10-30-2025, 10:04 AM)jonnyss Wrote: lara somfai (shom-fay-ee - thanks, bob!)The announcer was way over-emphasizing the last two syllables. Like it rhymed with "acai" bowl or someone with a bad southern accident was trying to say her name. It's much more subtle than that. I hope they get used to the subtlety because it drove me crazy listening to it last night.
That aside, Somfai is going to be a game-changer for the Stanford program.
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - crackpot - 10-30-2025
(10-30-2025, 10:27 AM)OCcardinal Wrote:(10-30-2025, 10:04 AM)jonnyss Wrote: lara somfai (shom-fay-ee - thanks, bob!)The announcer was way over-emphasizing the last two syllables. Like it rhymed with "acai" bowl or someone with a bad southern accident was trying to say her name. It's much more subtle than that. I hope they get used to the subtlety because it drove me crazy listening to it last night.
That aside, Somfai is going to be a game-changer for the Stanford program.
Somfai reminded me a lot of the Swiss Army Knife that was Haley Jones, but an even more agile Swiss Army Knife.
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - jonnyss - 10-30-2025
(10-30-2025, 10:27 AM)OCcardinal Wrote:(10-30-2025, 10:04 AM)jonnyss Wrote: lara somfai (shom-fay-ee - thanks, bob!)The announcer was way over-emphasizing the last two syllables. Like it rhymed with "acai" bowl or someone with a bad southern accident was trying to say her name. It's much more subtle than that. I hope they get used to the subtlety because it drove me crazy listening to it last night.
listening to lara pronounce her own name (as bob wrote, click lara somfai and then click the audio link on her bio page) i'm reminded me of a guitarist we listened to in college, john fahey. if i were a poet, i'd use their names as a rhyming couplet.
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - joemontes - 10-30-2025
The starting line-up of AGARA, SOMFAI OGDEN, SWAIN and LEPOLO was what I predicted, as well as the off-the-bench 4some of CLARDY, ESCHMEYER, IJIWOYE and STEVENSON. Disappointed with OGDEN being a non-factor in offense, but this is just the first game, albeit an exhibition game. Would like to see UMEH used a little bit more than just garbage time minutes.
CLARDY is becoming the gem of a player at the guard position, and I actually like her being that offensive sparkplug off the bench. Also, IJIWOYE as a defensive catalyst off the bench, and ESCHMEYER as the first post substitute off the bench.
The nice thing about SWAIN and LEPOLO being the starting guards is that both can play the PG position, so CLARDY coming off the bench as a SG for either of them works out smoothly.
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - bl82 - 10-30-2025
While I was not at the game, I thought I’d pass along a few box score nuggets:
-Eschmeyer led us in assists! (3, tied with Ijiwoye)
-the big three frosh as a whole had an impressive 6/2 A/TO ratio
-we had a core 9-person rotation, that did not include Umeh or Amborn, who I can see playing bigger minutes if we need a better low post presence or more 3-point shooting
-it’s still unclear if/how Peterson and Ezike are going to get meaningful minutes, as neither player appears to have a defined role yet
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - stopandpop - 10-30-2025
(10-30-2025, 11:48 AM)joemontes Wrote: The starting line-up of AGARA, SOMFAI OGDEN, SWAIN and LEPOLO was what I predicted, as well as the off-the-bench 4some of CLARDY, ESCHMEYER, IJIWOYE and STEVENSON. Disappointed with OGDEN being a non-factor in offense, but this is just the first game, albeit an exhibition game. Would like to see UMEH used a little bit more than just garbage time minutes.
CLARDY is becoming the gem of a player at the guard position, and I actually like her being that offensive sparkplug off the bench. Also, IJIWOYE as a defensive catalyst off the bench, and ESCHMEYER as the first post substitute off the bench.
The nice thing about SWAIN and LEPOLO being the starting guards is that both can play the PG position, so CLARDY coming off the bench as a SG for either of them works out smoothly.
First, the good news. Swain, Somfai and Eschmeyer showed off their talent and potential, considering this was their first college game. Swain is exceptionally fast, quick and athletic, providing a 1st. quarter burst that gave Stanford their first separation from a feisty well-coached Cal State LA team. The Cal State coach made a defensive adjustment going into the 2nd. quarter that seemed to frustrate Hailee and she did not score after that. Eschmeyer will need to work on more upper body strength to catch and finish stronger in the paint, but last night she demonstrated a couple of nice post moves (with baby hooks) for points and a spectacular dribble drive to the hoop, from out on the perimeter. Watching Alex, one can imagine what a difference-maker she will be, perhaps as early as mid-December. Somfai was the most impressive of the three, the only player other than Clardy who scored in all 4 quarters. Lara has a big, strong body, with great footwork who can create and score from both inside and from the perimeter (and with more experience playing with a new group of teammates), lshe will present problems for a lot of Stanford opponents this season.
I was unexpectedly pleased at how early and long Kate played the above-mentioned freshmen. That may all change this coming Monday with the first regular season game against UNC Greensboro, but giving these three significant minutes right off the bat has to boost their confidence and that Kate sees them as major players this season. A brobdingnagian plus.
The other good news- Nunu and Chloe were rock-solid. I loved Nunu's mid-range jumpers and work under the basket. Chloe seems to be our best defensive guard (a couple of steals, I believe), and she looked dynamic taking the ball to the hoop and a sweet 3-pointer in the third quarter (22 points in all).
The not-so-good news: Kate is sticking with her predictable offense, which we saw on display last season and a carry-over from Tara's final season. Despite being vastly undersized and less talented, Cal State L.A. had prepared for Stanford's offense and their perimeter defense was effective. What resulted in an 85-50 blowout was our size, talent and depth. The problem for me is, this perimeter side-to-side passing along with the high post (as more of a facilitator), takes away from one of Stanford's greatest strengths- exceptional size and athleticism on the front line (if you have Eschmeyer at the 5 with Agara and Somfai as bookends). Far too many times I saw our guards dribbling out on the perimeter with the clock winding down; and not sure what to do. I watched carefully every time Eschmeyer would post-up with only one defender behind her (calling for the ball) and rarely did the pass go into her. Instead, the ball was reversed and around the perimeter and only when Alex moved to the high post (where she was much less of a threat), did she get the pass. Flash back to the Cam Brink era, especially her last season and you saw the same thing. You had the #1 post player in America; a first team All-American- posting up with only one defender behind her- Yelling for the ball- and she rarely got it. I wish Kate will install some high/low action on occasion. We saw it a few times with Brink and Betts, and later Brink and Kiki to good effect, but I'm afraid that will not be in Kate's playbook.
Defensively, I was surprised how easily Cal State's shifty little guards were able to juke and shed some of our perimeter defenders and get into the lane. Fortunately, our superior size often blocked them, but when Cal State pulled our Bigs out from the paint, there were clear lanes to the hoop. Granted, first game and with such a young team, but our defense must tighten up considerably.
As others have noted, disappointed with Ogden. I sense that Stevenson and Lepolo have reached their ceilings.
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - SkiBum80 - 10-30-2025
Appreciate all the detailed in person accounts. I get a real sense of the game and the new players. Thanks.
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - TheFarm07 - 10-30-2025
(10-30-2025, 01:12 PM)stopandpop Wrote: [quote="joemontes" pid='439330' dateline='1761850099']
The not-so-good news: Kate is sticking with her predictable offense, which we saw on display last season and a carry-over from Tara's final season. Despite being vastly undersized and less talented, Cal State L.A. had prepared for Stanford's offense and their perimeter defense was effective. What resulted in an 85-50 blowout was our size, talent and depth. The problem for me is, this perimeter side-to-side passing along with the high post (as more of a facilitator), takes away from one of Stanford's greatest strengths- exceptional size and athleticism on the front line (if you have Eschmeyer at the 5 with Agara and Somfai as bookends). Far too many times I saw our guards dribbling out on the perimeter with the clock winding down; and not sure what to do. I watched carefully every time Eschmeyer would post-up with only one defender behind her (calling for the ball) and rarely did the pass go into her. Instead, the ball was reversed and around the perimeter and only when Alex moved to the high post (where she was much less of a threat), did she get the pass. Flash back to the Cam Brink era, especially her last season and you saw the same thing. You had the #1 post player in America; a first team All-American- posting up with only one defender behind her- Yelling for the ball- and she rarely got it. I wish Kate will install some high/low action on occasion. We saw it a few times with Brink and Betts, and later Brink and Kiki to good effect, but I'm afraid that will not be in Kate's playbook.
Disappointing, but not surprising and I'm afraid that might limit our ceiling and hamper our recruiting. Elite players, esp. guards who can create their own shot and powerful bigs who can dominate the paint, would not want to go to a program that puts limitations on their full capabilities.
That's why, even though I knew Kate was the automatic successor to Tara, I was hoping they would have taken a chance on a coach from outside who could have refreshed the program in terms of offensive plays.
We won't have the outright size, length & skill advantage against most of the ACC, much less the UConns, South Carolinas and UCLAs of the world.
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - amytmueller - 10-30-2025
We likely could have had success beating Cal St LA inside, they were undersized (but quick). I think Kate purposely used this game as a test/coming out game for Somfai, Swain, and Eschmeyer to see what they could do. And, given that the ACC has exceptional guard play, a good idea to practice playing against quick guards. They all played so well for their first game -- good defense and heads up offense. Somfai seems to quickly know what best to do when she gets the ball, no hesitation. Swain is agile and fast, good moves to the basket. Eschmeyer may look a little tentative, but she had some nice assists and moves to the basket. She moves faster than most 5's, kinda like Cam.
Nunu and Chloe were rock solid, we can count on them every game to score and defend. Lepolo also looked like her injuries are behind her, she brought the ball up aggressively, and scored when she had the opportunity. Ogden and Stevenson played well, but didn't stand out. Not sure what Kate thinks about Ijiwoye, she may want to use her more as a defensive weapon.
But, hard to know given it's an exhibition game. I was more impressed with their ball movement than what I saw in the scrimmage. The season is young, they will improve every game, so we'll see how much they can improve from last year. But the freshman will be seeing a lot of playing time.
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - mbdude - 10-30-2025
Stanford Women’s Basketball: Cal State LA Postgame Press Conference (10/29/25)
Much of the same rhetoric.
I agreed the post above which mentioned a coach from outside could have brought a fresh offensive perspective. Even Karli's position could have done that in a limited way
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - 2006alum - 10-30-2025
(10-30-2025, 06:32 PM)mbdude Wrote: Stanford Women’s Basketball: Cal State LA Postgame Press Conference (10/29/25)
Much of the same rhetoric.
I agreed the post above which mentioned a coach from outside could have brought a fresh offensive perspective. Even Karli's position could have done that in a limited way
81Alum, I'd encourage you to watch tonight's press conference if you haven't already. I share so much of your disdain for the state of college sports (have I mentioned that I worked for the Pac-12 in the House litigation, so if anyone is deeply dismayed by the destruction of the former and the runaway abuses permitted by the latter, it's me...)
But KP, Somfai, and Clardy couldn't have been better representatives for Stanford and everything we appreciate about our alma mater. They repeatedly credited each other, were humble and grounded, and couldn't have been more polite. I realize this is motivated reasoning, but the upside of not having a top team is being able to focus more on the terrific team culture we have, all while rooting for a really likeable underdog. I'm stoked for this season and for the players who've chosen to commit to a culture of doing it the right way.
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - jonnyss - 10-30-2025
(10-30-2025, 07:40 PM)2006alum Wrote:(10-30-2025, 06:32 PM)mbdude Wrote: Stanford Women’s Basketball: Cal State LA Postgame Press Conference (10/29/25)
Much of the same rhetoric.
I agreed the post above which mentioned a coach from outside could have brought a fresh offensive perspective. Even Karli's position could have done that in a limited way
81Alum, I'd encourage you to watch tonight's press conference if you haven't already. I share so much of your disdain for the state of college sports (have I mentioned that I worked for the Pac-12 in the House litigation, so if anyone is deeply dismayed by the destruction of the former and the runaway abuses permitted by the latter, it's me...)
But KP, Somfai, and Clardy couldn't have been better representatives for Stanford and everything we appreciate about our alma mater. They repeatedly credited each other, were humble and grounded, and couldn't have been more polite. I realize this is motivated reasoning, but the upside of not having a top team is being able to focus more on the terrific team culture we have, all while rooting for a really likeable underdog. I'm stoked for this season and for the players who've chosen to commit to a culture of doing it the right way.
agreed!
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - TonyLima - 10-30-2025
(10-29-2025, 06:19 PM)Spiny_Norman Wrote:I blame old age. Once again. TYVM.(10-29-2025, 06:16 PM)TonyLima Wrote: Can this possibly be right? My scan of the schedule shows one game with Cal. Please tell me my ancient eyes have failed me again.
home vs. Cal on Dec 14
at Cal on Jan 25
RE: WBB 2025-2026 season - stopandpop - 10-31-2025
Another relatively small team comes to Maples on Monday, but they are a Div. I, much quicker, more athletic and more potent than Cal. State L.A. UNC Greensboro is a projected #2 in their conference with a couple of very good players. Expect the Spartans to hound and pressure our guards. A great opportunity to exploit our size and physicality along the front line and take some pressure off our perimeter players, but uncertain whether that's in Kate's playbook.