SANTA CLARA, Calif. - On a tough night for the shooters, Santa Clara women's basketball fell to Stanford 66-55 in the 2026 season-opener. Second chance points and free throws proved to be the difference for the Cardinal (3-1) as the Broncos (3-1) were within two at the half before a second half shooting under 30-percent undid them.

Stanford scored the first four points and led 6-2 after Hailee Swain's fast-break layup, but Santa Clara worked back behind Sophie Glancey's inside basket and Delainey Miller's 3-pointer. After Shay Ijiwoye's free throws put Stanford up 8-5, Ava Schmidt scored twice, including a fast-break layup off a Maia Jones assist at 4:49 that gave the Broncos a 9-8 lead. Swain put Stanford back in front with a 3-pointer, Glancey tied it at 11, and the teams continued trading scores as Schmidt, Kylee Fox and Glancey each put Santa Clara ahead in the final three minutes. Inés Sotelo Míguez's layup with 38 seconds left tied it, and the first quarter ended even at 19-19.

Stanford scored the first eight points of the second quarter, with Ijiwoye's layup and free throws helping push the Broncos into a 27-19 deficit. Miller got Santa Clara back on the board with a free throw and later hit a 3-pointer, and after Stanford moved ahead 29-23, Aniya Hooker, Glancey and Schmidt combined on an 8-0 Broncos run for a 31-29 lead at 3:59. Kennedy Umeh answered with a layup to tie it at 31, and the teams went scoreless from the field the rest of the quarter. Sotelo Míguez made two free throws with 41 seconds remaining, and Stanford carried a 33-31 lead into halftime.

Stanford scored on three layups in the opening 1:16 of the third quarter for a 6-0 run that got them ahead 39-31, but Santa Clara answered with an 8-0 run of its own. Hooker hit two 3-pointers off Jones assists, and Glancey finished a fast-break layup off an assist from Miller for the Broncos to tie it 39-39 at 7:09. The teams traded scores through the middle of the quarter, with Glancey tying it at 41-41 and Emma Najjuma tying it again at 43-43. Stanford closed the quarter with the final eight points, getting 3-pointers from Nora Ezike and Ijiwoye and two Swain free throws to take a 51-43 lead into the fourth quarter.

Jones scored inside at 9:45 to put Santa Clara within 51-45, but Stanford followed with two Swain jumpers and an Alexandra Eschmeyer transition layup to make it 57-45. Miller and Glancey answered with baskets for the Broncos, cutting the deficit to 57-49 before Swain hit a 3-pointer at 4:16. Glancey connected from 3-point range at 2:08 to make it 60-52, but Stanford added a steal-and-layup sequence and four Ezike free throws in the final minute and Stanford closed out the 66-55 win.

Santa Clara finished its night at 31.5-percent (23-of-73) from the field but just 7-for-30 from beyond the arc. The Broncos were outscored at the free throw line 18-3 as they were 2-of-5 and Stanford was 18-of-20. Despite Santa Clara winning the battle on the offensive glass 15-10, the Cardinal had a 17-3 edge in second chance points.

Glancey led the team with 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting and added five rebounds. Hooker scored 12 and knocked down three 3-pointers while Schmidt scored 11 with five boards but played just five minutes in the second half after getting injured. Miller just missed a double-double with nine points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Jones tied her career-high with eight assists but scored just two points on 1-of-8 shooting.

Stanford shot 36.7-percent (22-of-60) for the night and was 4-of-14 from downtown. The Cardinal also won the fast break game 18-4.

 Swain led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-19 shooting to go with five rebounds.  Ezike scored 15 with six boards and  Ijiowey scored 11 with six assists and five rebounds.

The Broncos are back in action Tuesday at 7 p.m. as they host Grand Canyon.