BLACKSBURG, Va. – Chloe Clardy scored a career-high 30, including 21 after halftime, and Stanford picked up a crucial overtime win at Virginia Tech on Thursday night, 75-74.
The win was the Cardinal’s second away from Maples Pavilion this season and first road win against a team with a winning record. The team’s third consecutive victory added a Quad 2 win to Stanford’s resume. Stanford (14-12, 6-9) entered the game 48th in the NET and with the country’s 23rd toughest schedule.
Clardy led a young Stanford squad with 30 points and five assists, the first such performance by a Stanford guard since Jeanette Pohlen had 31 and six in the Cardinal’s 71-59 upset of No. 1 UConn on Dec. 30, 2010. Stanford closed the game in overtime largely with five underclassmen on the court in Clardy, Shay Ijiwoye, Courtney Ogden, Mary Ashley Stevenson and Kennedy Umeh.
Stanford’s freshmen and sophomores combined to score 65 of the team’s 75 points. Ogden added 15 and Ijiwoye put in a career-high 10, including the game-sealing free throws in overtime. Stevenson played 43 minutes and had six points and seven rebounds, while Umeh added four points and two steals.
Stanford made the game’s opening bucket, but then trailed nearly all of regulation until Clardy made a driving layup to tie the score with 27 seconds remaining and force overtime. Down by as many as 12, the Cardinal was behind by nine midway through the fourth quarter, but closed on a 15-6 run to force the extra period. Clardy scored the first seven for Stanford during the run and 11 of the 15 with Ijiwoye and Ogden adding the other two baskets.
The Cardinal raced out to a four-point lead in overtime before the Hokies (16-10, 7-8) scored five straight to go up 70-69 with 90 seconds left. On Stanford’s next possession, Clardy drilled a step back, 3-pointer jumper from the left corner to put her team ahead for the last time, 72-70.
Clardy split a pair at the line with 28 seconds on the clock and Ijiwoye sank her two with 13 seconds left to end it. VT’s Matilda Ekh made a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer to close the final margin to one.
Stanford stays on the road to play at Virginia (13-14, 5-10) on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 3 p.m. PT on ACC Network.