Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Is there a more thrilling way Syracuse’s last two games could’ve played out? It’s hard to imagine anything topping what the Orange delivered.

First, SU earned a Quad 1 win on Jan. 11 by defeating Virginia after trailing the entire first half. Syracuse outscored the Cavaliers 51-26 in the second half for a 19-point victory, with Laila Phelia erupting for a career-high 38 points.

Then, on Thursday, Dominique Darius took over. Although the Orange led Cal by as much as 20, the Golden Bears stormed back to force three overtime periods. With 3.5 seconds left and a tied score in the third installment, Darius nailed an isolation 3, in what head coach Felisha Legette-Jack called, “her moment.”

Syracuse hasn’t experienced a high like this since arguably the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, when Dyaisha Fair poured in 32 points to fuel a comeback win over Arizona.

Then, the momentum sputtered out, and SU fell to UConn two days later, ending its season. The key this time is making sure the surge doesn’t fade as quickly and carries through Atlantic Coast Conference play.

Next up is Stanford, a team on the rise after a relatively weak 2024-25 season — at least to its standards. Here’s everything to know about the Cardinal (15-4, 4-2 ACC) before they face Syracuse (15-3, 5-2 ACC) Sunday in the JMA Wireless Dome:

All-time series

Stanford leads 2-0.

Last time they played

Syracuse got its first taste of the ACC realignment in February 2025, when it traveled to take on Stanford and Cal just three days apart. The first matchup, against the Cardinal was a rude awakening. SU never led and stumbled to a 79-58 loss, the first of a four-game skid.

Georgia Woolley was Syracuse’s lone bright spot. She tied Stanford guard Elena Bosgana for the game-high in points (18), but no other SU player scored more than seven. The Orange finished 33.8% from the field and 54.5% from the free-throw line — their second-worst mark of the season — plummeting Syracuse to its ninth ACC loss in 13 games.

The Cardinal report

Stanford is a winning program. There’s no other way to put it. It’s won three national titles, made the NCAA Tournament 37 times and reached 15 Final Fours. In 38 years helming the Cardinal, head coach Tara VanDerveer finished 1,064-220, surpassing Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski as the winningest head coach in men’s or women’s college basketball history.

That’s why, when Syracuse fell to Stanford last season in Kate Paye’s first year in charge, it was a major missed opportunity. It seems as though the Cardinal have returned to their winning ways. Through 19 games, Stanford is 15-4, claiming marquee wins over then-No. 22 Washington and then-No. 16 North Carolina.

The Cardinal sport a balanced roster, with five players averaging over nine points per game and three in double figures. But Nunu Agara stands out among the rest, scoring a team-best 15 points a game and hauling in 8.4 rebounds.

Agara isn’t Stanford’s only intimidating asset. Lara Somfai, a 6-foot-3 freshman, paces the Cardinal with 9.1 rebounds per game, nearly averaging a double-double alongside her 9.9 points. The two have boosted Stanford to the nation’s 42nd-best mark in total rebounds (41.5 per game) and 24th-best in defensive boards (29.4), per HerHoopStats.

How Syracuse beats Stanford

For once, SU’s winning formula doesn’t surround Uche Izoje. While it would probably still appreciate a double-double from the freshman center, the Orange’s focus should be centered on defense. Stanford scores 101.1 points per 100 possessions (73rd of 363 Division I teams), according to HerHoopStats, and averages over 70 points a game.

But the numbers are somewhat deceptive. The Cardinal actually move the ball slowly. They only post 69.0 possessions per 40 minutes, bottom 70 in the nation and well below Syracuse’s 72.1, which ranks in the top half of D-I squads.

The Orange will have a greater chance of winning if they slow Stanford down even more. For the first time this season, the Cardinal have posted an offensive pace below 70 in three consecutive games. Keeping them around that mark again would be a major boost for Syracuse.

Stat to know: 27.2%

There couldn’t have been a more cinematic way for Syracuse to down Cal than Darius’s last-second 3. It was her only attempt from deep on the night, but it matched her teammates’ accuracy; the Orange finished 6-of-12 from 3-point range.

When a team is in rhythm from the 3-point line, it doesn’t want to run into Stanford. Unfortunately for Syracuse, that’s exactly its situation. Opponents are connecting on just 27.2% of their 3-pointers against the Cardinal, the 47th-worst mark in D-I. Even though Stanford has allowed 378 attempts — 91st-most nationally — it’s clear its opponents aren’t making them count.

Regardless of why that’s the case, it’s a daunting prospect for a team that shot 50% from distance against Cal and still needed three overtimes to secure the win.

Player to watch: Dominique Darius, guard, No. 20

Stanford has a solid roster up and down, but this game won’t be about anyone on its side in particular. Instead, it’ll be about Darius building off her performance Thursday, which ended her worst scoring slump of the season.

Before facing Cal, Darius had scored just 13 points over her previous three games on 5-of-22 efficiency. In that span, the Orange lost to an inferior Virginia Tech team by 20 points and struggled to scrape past Wake Forest and Virginia until the second half. It’s clear that when Darius is on her game, Syracuse has a better chance to win.

Even against the Golden Bears, Darius didn’t get going until late. She scored two points in the first half, but after a masterful second half and overtime, SU will likely continue to rely on her with the game on the line.

Published on January 17, 2026 at 9:21 pm
Contact: jordankimball28@gmail.com | @JordanKimball_