Stanford University’s women’s basketball team will begin a two-game road trip with a matchup against Washington State on Friday, November 14 at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with commentary from Trevor Williams and Mary Murphy. Radio coverage will be available through GoStanford.com, the Stanford Athletics app, and Learfield’s Varsity Network, with Tim Swartz providing play-by-play.
The Cardinal enters the contest undefeated at 3-0 for the fourth consecutive season. The team has retained a significant portion of its previous roster, returning over half of its scoring (54.2 percent), nearly half of its rebounding (49.7 percent), and more than half of its assists (57.4 percent). Stanford has just one transfer player this season, the fewest among all 68 Power 4 programs.
In addition to experienced players, Stanford added what espnW HoopGurlz ranked as the nation’s No. 3 recruiting class. Head coach Kate Paye’s first signing class includes three five-star recruits—Hailee Swain, Lara Somfai, and Alexandra Eschmeyer—and two four-star recruits, Nora Ezike and Carly Amborn. Four of these newcomers are ranked in the HoopGurlz top 100 nationally. The three five-star signees tie Stanford with Tennessee and LSU for the national lead in that category.
The team also features three McDonald’s All Americans: Swain, Somfai, and Eschmeyer—nearly matching the total for the rest of the ACC combined.
Lara Somfai was named ACC Rookie of the Week on Monday, marking Stanford’s first weekly conference honor since joining the ACC. She is currently the only freshman in any Power 4 conference averaging a double-double.
During their first three games this season, Stanford has had at least five players score in double digits each game—including six against Santa Clara. Chloe Clardy stands out as one of only 34 players nationwide averaging at least 12 points, three assists, and three steals per game; she is unique among them for achieving these numbers coming off the bench.
Historically, Stanford holds a perfect record against Washington State at 75-0 overall and is undefeated in Pullman at 36-0. In last season’s meeting at Maples Pavilion, Stanford shot 70 percent from beyond the arc (14-of-20) en route to a 94-65 victory. Their most recent visit to Pullman saw them win 73-58 on February 11, 2024 behind Cameron Brink’s performance of 21 points, 11 rebounds, and five steals.
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