Preview of Louisville & Notre Dame Home Games

Thursday, Jan 29 at 5 pm vs #7 ranked Louisville at Stanford.  Winning this game would be a big upset but they have had some close games on the road that say it's possible.  Two OT wins were against North Carolina and NC State and they had close wins against Notre Dame and Miami.  These 4 games were all on the road.

Louisville Website

Whether we have Nunu Agara or not after her head injury (head hit the court after falling backwards) last game against Cal is of course a very big question.  Also, Lepolo did not play the last game, likely from a leg problem.  On the plus side, the recent play of Alex Eschmeyer, including scoring a career high 16 pts with 7 rebounds and 4 blocks in 29 minutes vs Cal, was a big positive.

Louisville is 19-3 and 9-0 in the conference.  The game will be aired on ESPN.
Louisville's last loss was Dec 4 by 2 to South Carolina. Their other two losses
are to UConn and Kentucky. Tajianna Roberts, 5-10 Soph Guard, leads the team at 12 ppg and Imari Berry, a 5-10 Soph Guard, is averaging 11 ppg. The kicker is five others are averaging between 7.6 and 10.4 ppg. The team is shooting 46% and 34% from three.

Louisville vs Notre Dame 11 min. Condensed Game Video

Sunday, Feb 1 at 1 pm vs Notre Dame at Stanford for the annual Pink Game. This should be a tough but winnable game, especially if Nunu plays.  Notre Dame's net ranking is #30 while Stanford's is #38.  The've played a very challenging schedule, losing to the top teams in the ACC and had big losses to UConn and highly ranked Michigan.  Their recent loss to Louisville at home was 66-79 and they lost  55-69 to a good Clemson team at home as well.  

Notre Dame Website

Notre Dame is 13-7 and 5-4 in conference play. They did beat North Carolina recently.
All American Hannah Hidalgo, 5-6 Jr Guard,  is averaging 25 points 6 rebounds and 6 steals per game.  Cassandre Prosper, 6-3 Sr Wing, is averaging 15 points and 7 rebounds. They shoot almost 36% from 3-pt range with 4 players averaging more than 40%, despite Hidalgo only hitting about 22% of her threes.  They are a high scoring team averaging more than 80 points/game with opponents scoring 65 ppg.  Stanford has a big edge on rebounding averaging 10 rpg more than opponents while Notre Dame is equal to opponents for the season.

As a team ND is averaging 14 steals per game while Stanford averages 8/game.   

Cal Away Game Preview - Sunday, Jan 25 at 3 pm

The Sunday showdown at Cal will be a true "Big Game" for both teams.  It's the 15-5 Stanford team with a net ranking of 34 vs the 12-5 Bears with their net ranking of 58.  With tough matchups for both teams coming up the following week against 8th ranked Louisville and 23rd ranked Notre Dame a loss could lead to a 3-game skid for either team.

Included below is a video with highlights of the December match-up won by Stanford.  

12:00 Video Highlights of December Stanford vs. Cal Game 

Cal Website | The Daily Cal Preview of the Game

Cal features very balance scoring with 7 players averaging 7.3 ppg or more, led byLulu Twiddle at 14.5 ppg followed by the senior transfer 6'6" Sakima Walker with 11.5 ppg and 6.2 rebounds per game.    In the December game won by Stanford 78-69 at Maples, the Cardinal held Twidale to 5 points while allowing Walker to get 16 points but only 2 boards.  Cal was only 5 for 20 on their three pointers and that's unlikely to happen again.  Stanford was hot from threes going 8-14 and that's unlikely to be repeated given our challenges from 3 point range this season.

Cal Player Stats - click on image to enlarge

Preview of road games at Boston College and Syracuse

The key matchup on this road trip will be Sunday's game against Syracuse, a very solid team.

At Boston College, Thursday Jan 15.  BC is 4-15 and 0-5 in league play.  Their net ranking is #250 while Stanford is at #35.  Stanford will be heavily favored in this game.  BC's player statistics show them behind opponents in every category.

Boston College Website 

8:14 Video vs Virginia Tech

Lily Carmody, 5-11 Soph Guard from Australia,  is the only one scoring in double figures at 11.7 ppg.

BC Player Statistics - click on image to enlarge  

At Syracuse, Sunday Jan 18, Syracuse is 14-3 and 4-2 in league play. Syracuse plays Cal on Thursday.  Their net ranking is #42 while Stanford is at #35 so as an away game this should be a very competitive matchup.  

Syracuse Website 

11:37 condensed game vs UVA

Laila Phelia, 6-0 Sr Guard,  is averaging 14 ppg.  Uche Izoje, 6-3 Frosh Center,  is averaging 13 points and 8 rebounds while shooting 60% from the floor.  

Dominique Darius, 5-10 Grad Student Guard,  is averaging 11 ppg.   Syracuse is shooting 43% overall but only 29% from three. They are out rebounding opponents by 16.  They  have impressive wins against Utah, Auburn and Florida State.

Syracuse Player Statistics - click on image to enlarge

Duke Preview of Sunday, Jan 11 Game

 Jan 11 vs Duke, with a net ranking of 24, is at Stanford, with a net ranking of 33. Duke is 10-6, 5-0 in conference play and has won 7 in a row. This should be a tough match-up against an athletic team on a roll.  Their most recent condensed game highlights vs Cal was a nail biter as shown  below.  

Duke Website

11:34 Duke at California Condensed game won by Duke 78-74

NOTE:  Video jumps ahead and back in 1st half - 2nd half OK

Duke's losses are to South Carolina, LSU, UCLA, South Florida, West Virginia and Baylor.

Duke's Full Player Stats - click on image to enlarge

Toby Fournier, 6-2 Soph Forward, is averaging 17 points and 7 rebounds. Taina Mair, 5-9 Sr Guard, is averaging 12 ppg.
Ashlon Jackson, 6-0 Sr Guard, is also averaging 12 ppg. Duke shots 43% and 33 % from three.

Two assistant coaches once coached at Stanford, Karen Middleton and Tia Jackson.

NC State and North Carolina Previews with Key Game Video Highlights

The next two road games against perennial ACC power NC State and 16th ranked North Carolina present a huge challenge for Stanford.  Getting a split of the games would likely be a good result.  The two opponents are battle tested, with lively home crowds and very athletic players.  The games will be a learning experience for our young team.

 Jan 1 at NC State. North Carolina State is 9-4, 2-0 in conference, with wins over Tennessee, Ga Tech and Miami. Net ranking is 30th. They also had a one point loss to USC and an OT loss to Oklahoma.

NC State Website

17 minute Full Game Highlights of NC State's OT road loss vs #8 Oklahoma

Khamil Pierre, 6-2 Jr Forward is averaging 15 points and 13 rebounds, Zamareya Jones, 5-7 Soph Guard is averaging 14 points, Zoe Brooks, 6-6 Soph Post is averaging 14 points and 6 rebounds and Tilda Trygger, 5-10 Jr Guard is averaging 11 points and 8 rebounds.

The team is shooting at 44% but just 30% from three. They are outrebounding their opponents by 11 a game.

Jan 4 at 16th ranked North Carolina which is 11-3, 0-1 in conference, and play Cal Jan 1. Their losses are to Louisville, Texas and UCLA.  Net ranking is 20th.

North Carolina Website

 11 minute video of North Carolina vs #13 Louisville

They have no ranked wins.  Former Stanford player India Nivar is their leading scorer at 14 ppg plus leads in steals and shooting at 49% and 39% from three.  Three other players are averaging about 11 ppg.

Preview of Washington and Oregon Games

UPCOMING GAME BELOW as of Dec 20 after beating Washington:

Friday, Dec 18 at 7 pm -  Washington at Stanford - game was won by Stanford 67-62 despite Agara being out as the Cardinal dominated the 4th quarter 25-12.  

Stanford took care of the ball with only 10 turnovers and sophomore Shay Ijiwoye brought energy in her 13 minutes of play as she was the team leader in +- with +13, followed by Hailee Swain's +9.

UW Women's Basketball Website

Washington is 9-1 and beat Green Bay Dec 13.

5:00 Video Highlights of UW 59-50 loss to #16 USC

The Washington game should be very competitive.  They are AP ranked #20 which is probably high given their fairly easy schedule, and they have a 35 net ranking, near Stanford's which is at 32.

 UW has a young, talented team with no transfers.  3 of their top 5 scorers are freshmen, led by Sellers, a 5’7” guard scoring 20.3 ppg.  Their leading scorer from last year, Ladine who’s a senior who killed us, is only at 7 ppg in 4 games coming off an injury.  

Their roster shows they have 8 guards, 4 who are among the top 5 scorers.  Howell, a sophomore, is 6’ and listed as a guard but she averages 8 rebounds per game along with her 12.4 ppg.

Their one loss was to ranked USC 50-59. Wins are over Utah and UC San Diego. As mentioned, Washington is ranked # 20.  A few comments about their leading players:
Savia Sellers, a 5-7 Jr Guard is averaging 19 ppg and shooting 38% from three.
Avery Howell, a 6-0 Soph Wing is averaging 12 points and 7 rebounds shooting 38% also from three.
Brynn McGaughy, a 6-3 Frosh Post is averaging 9 ppg.
Elle Ladine granddaughter of a former Stanford MBB player (who I saw play in HS)
missed the first 6 games and is now back. Ladine is a 6-0 Sr Guard who averaged 17 ppg
last season.

A win over Washington would be a good boost for Stanford.

Sunday, Dec 21 at 3 pm - Oregon vs Stanford at Chase Center in SF

We will add more information about Oregon prior to the game:

Oregon Women's Basketball Website

Transfer heavy  Oregon is 12-1 and have a #22 net ranking while Stanford is #33.  Oregon plays U of Portland before playing Stanford.  Oregon is a slight favorite to win, especially with Agara likely to be out with injury.

4:52 Video Highlights of Oregon's 59-80 loss to #4 UCLA

The Oregon roster is filled with 7 transfers, 5 of whom are seniors and 2 of the top 3 scorers are transfers.  We played one common opponent, WSU with both playing at Pullman.  Stanford won 54-48 while Oregon easily won 86-59.

Oregon's loss was 59-80 to # 4 UCLA.
Their wins include Auburn, Oregon State and Washington State.
Katie Fiso, a 5-11 Soph Guard is averaging 15 ppg.
Mia Jacobs, a 6-2 Sr transfer Forward is averaging 14 points and 5 rebounds.

Tennessee Game Preview

 Tennessee game Wednesday, Dec 3, at 6:15 pm

Tennessee Player Stats

Tennessee is 5-2 having lost Sunday at UCLA 99-77. Tennessee also lost to North Carolina State 80-77.  Good wins are yet to come as their 5 wins are over non Power 4 schools.

As the Tennessee coach said this game vs Stanford is critical.

"We have to go 1-1 on this trip out here," Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell said on the Lady Vol Radio Network after the UCLA loss.

KEY PLAYERS:

1) Janiah Barker who transferred from UCLA is their leading scorer at 16 ppg

and 6 rebounds per game.  Barker is a 6-4 Sr Forward.

2) Talaysia Cooper is averaging 15 points and 7 rebounds.  Cooper is 6-0 

Redshirt Jr Guard. 

3) Nya Robertson is averaging11 ppg.  Robertson is a 5-7 Sr Guard.

4) Zee Spearman is averaging 11 points and 7 rebounds.  Spearman

is a 6-4 Sr Forward.

All four named above are transfers.  

Tennessee is shooting 41% overall and 29% from three. 

 

Overview and Prediction of the game outcome by a Knoxville Reporter.

Previews of Lehigh, FGC and Colorado St. games

The toughest opponent in the next 3 games will most likely be Colorado State with a 4-0 record against reasonably good teams.  Best win on the road for Colorado State was against our common opponent Gonzaga team.  We will be favored in all three games.  

Game 1. Nov 23 At Home vs 2-3 Lehigh - Lehigh WBB Website

Game Results:

 Beat Cincinnati 88-85

 Lost to Fairfield 60-88.

 Lost to La Salle 70-81

 Lost to Vermont 49-59

 Beat Drexel 71-57. 

Lehigh's leading scorer is Jessie Ozzauyo at 16 ppg. Also both Whitney Lind and Leia Edwards are averaging 13.5 ppg. Lehigh is shooting 43% and 28% from three. 

Next Two Games played in the Resorts World Las Vegas Classic:

Game 2. Nov 28 In Las Vegas vs FGCU 1-2 - FGCU Website

Lost to Davidson 51-77
Beat Ava Maria 92-37
Lost to George Mason 41-58.

Florida Gulf Coast University has three players averaging between 10-12 ppg.

The team is shooting 43% and 22% from three. 

 

Game 3. Nov 29 in Las Vegas vs Colorado State 4-0 - Team Website

Beat Weber State 75-58
Beat Long Beach State 73-34
Beat Gonzaga 70-66
Beat U of San Diego 71-44

Lexus Bargesser is averaging 17 ppg.  She's a 5-9 Sr transfer from Indiana.
Colorado State is shooting 47% and 24% from three.  

2025-26 Cal Preview in ACC

  2025-26 ACC Preview:  Cal

Last Season:  25-9 overall and 12-6

Cal's Roster

The Coaches:

 Charmin Smith with 2 degrees from Stanford returns for her 18th season at Cal and is now the Head Coach for her 7th year.  

Heidi Heintz is in her 4th year.  Heintz was an assistant at St Mary’s the previous three years.  She is the Associate Head Coach.

Eliza Pierre is in her 45th year after 4 years at UCSB.

Tarvon Bryant is in his 3nd year.

Jenny Huth is in her 2nd year at Cal.  Huth has coached at Oregon State, UCLA, Florida State, Kentucky and was once the Head Coach at Northern Colorado.

Kai Felton her 13th year at Cal.  Kai has been an Assistant at Oregon, 2 years, and at USC, 5 years.  Kai is no longer an official coach but she is a Special Assistant. 

 

Losses:  3 Transfers and 5 Graduated

Natalia Ackerman, 6-1 a transfer from Cal Poly.  Ackerman averaged 2 points and 3 rebounds.  Graduated.

Kamryn Mafua, 6-2 Forward, ranked # 56 out of HS and averaged 1.6 ppg.  Transfer to Utah.

Jayda Noble, 5-11 Guard a transfer from Washington,  she averaged 2 points and 3 rebounds.  Graduated.

Zahra King, 5-10 Guard from Brooklyn.  King was ranked # 76 out of HS.  As a frosh King averaged 2 ppg.  Transfer to SMU.

Kayla Williams, 5-7 Guard a transfer from USC.  Last season Williams averaged 11ppg.  Graduated.

Ioanna Krilimi, 5-10 Guard who transferred from U of San Francisco.  Last season Ioanna averaged 14 points and made 97 threes at 37%.  Graduated.

Marta Suarez , 6-3 Forward from Spain and a transfer from Tennessee.  Last season Marta averaged 13 points and 7 rebounds.  She also made 40 threes at 31%.  Transfer to TCU.

Michelle Onyiah, 6-3 Post averaged 12 points and 7 rebounds.  Graduated.

 

Additions: 3 Transfers and 4 Frosh

Grace McCallop, 5-10 Frosh PG from KS.  

Mjracle Sheppard, 5-10 Jr Guard who transferred from LSU after a year at Mississippi State.  Last season Sheppard averaged 4 ppg.  At Mississippi State she averaged 5 ppg.

Taylor Barnes, 6-0 Frosh Wing from Texas.  She was ranked # 70.

Isis Johnson-Musah, 5-10 Frosh Guard from Detroit.

Naya Ojukwu, 6-1 Soph Forward who transferred from Morgan State.  Naya averaged 17 points and 9 rebounds.  This is her 4^th, yes, school.

Puff Morris, 5-5 Frosh Guard from SoCal.  Puff was a McD All American and ranked # 22.

Sakima Walker, 6-5 Grad Student Post who transferred from South Carolina where she averaged 2 ppg.   This is Walker’s 4^th school.

 

 The Schedule:

The non-conference schedule includes Missouri, USC, Vanderbilt in France and Auburn. 

                                        

The Team: 

Lulu Laditan-Twidale 5-10 Jr Guard from Australia who averaged 13 ppg.

Anastasia Drosouni, 5-11 Jr Guard From Greece who averaged 1 ppg.      

Claudia Langarita, 6-4 Grad Student Post who was out last season.

 Gabrielle Abigor, 6-3 Soph Post averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds.

Lola Donez, 5-11 Soph Guard who averaged 1 ppg.  

Gisella Maul, 5-11 Jr Guard transfer who averaged 1 ppg.

 

Predictions:    

Cal returns only one player who saw much time although the one, Twidale, is very good.   They do have a very good frosh in Morris. However the loses to graduation of four starters is going to be hard to overcome. 

 

2026 Recruiting:  

Ruby Perkins, 5-9 Guard from Australia.  

 

 

2025-26 Preview of Boston College

 

Preview:   Boston College - Roster

Last Season:  Boston College was  16-18 and  6-12 in league play.

 

The Coaches:

Joanna Bernabei-McNamee is the Head Coach now in her 8^th season as Head Coach.   She is 64-53 is her last 4 seasons at Boston College.  She averaged 9.5 assist per game one season when she played for West Liberty University.

Sean Ehlbeck is in his 4th season as an assistant.

Clint Williams is in his 1^st year 

John Marcum is in his first season

Kristina Baugh is in her first season.

 

Losses (6 transfers out, 3 graduates):

Assistant Coach  Denesha Stallworth who Previously coached at UCSB and played for Cal before transferring to Kentucky.

T’yana Todd averaged 13 ppg.  Transferred to Ohio State.  

Teya Sisberry averaged 12 ppg and 7 rebounds.  Transfer to Texas.

Andrea Daley averaged 8 ppg and 6 rebounds.  Graduated.

Dontavia Waggoner averaged 13 ppg   Graduated.

Kaylah Ivey Averaged 6 ppg.  Transfer to Rutgers.

Nene Ndiaye, averaged 4 points and 2 rebounds. Transfer to Rutgers.

Tatum Greene, averaged 4 ppg.  Transfer to Florida State

Kennedi Jackson, averaged 4 ppg.  Graduated.

Savannah Samuel, averaged 6 ppg.  Transfer to Georgia Tech.

That’s 70 points per game gone.

 

Additions (10 new players):

    Freshmen:

Amirah Anderson 5-11 Frosh Guard form VA, ranked # 75.

Kennedy Hall 6-3 Frosh Forward from MD a 4 star recruit.

Jocelyne Grier, 5-8 Frosh Guard.

    Transfers (7 players):

Erin Houpt, 5-6 Redshirt Sr transfer from San Diego State where she averaged 5 ppg.

Lily Carmony, 5-11 Soph Guard transfer from Butler where she averaged 6 ppg.

Kaia Henderson, 5-6 Redshirt Jr Guard transfer from Ohio State where she played in 26 games as a Frosh and Soph then redshirted last season.

Emma PoPinto, 5-4 Grad Student Guard who was a Lacrosse player until now.

Kayla Rolph, 6-2 Sr Forward transfer from William and Mary where she averaged 7 points and 4 rebounds.

Kiera Edmonds, 6-2 Redshirt Soph transfer from Houston and before that Wagner.  At Wagner she averaged 10 points and 8 rebounds. 

Teionni McDaniel, 5-9 Grad Student Guard transfer from Georgetown of Kentucky.  She averaged 14 ppg last season at small Georgetown. 

 

The Schedule:  

UConn and Harvard are the highlights.

 

The Team: 

Athena Tomlinson is a 5-5 Soph Guard from Fresno.  She was ranked # 65 in the nation.  Tomlinson averaged 2 ppg.

Ava McGee, 5-10 Sr Guard who didn’t play last season.

 

Predictions:          

Can only go up, however not much in the way of incoming players to make up for those who transferred out.

 

2026 Recruiting:  

Eunicia Salgado, 6-1 Forward from Toronto.