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| Players on the bench celebrate a good play. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) |
If there’s such a thing as a moral victory in
Stanford women’s basketball team’s 66-74 home loss to Oregon on Feb. 24, it’s
that the score was a big improvement over the 55-87 pasting the Cardinal
endured in Eugene on Jan. 16.
Thus Stanford held Oregon to 13 fewer points and
narrowed the gap to 8 points.
Although news coverage was all about the Ducks’
Sabrina Ionescu and her ongoing records, sophomore guard Lexie Hull had a good
night, too. She scored a team-high 27 points, the same as Oregon’s Satou
Sabally.
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| Fired up, Lexie runs down the court. (Stanford Athletics) |
Lexie
pours in six treys
The bulk of Lexie’s points came from her career-high
six 3-pointers. She tallied five rebounds, five assists, two steals, a block
and no turnovers in 35 minutes.
Junior guard Kiana Williams also was in double
figures with 14 points, including two 3’s. She added three rebounds, four
assists but had three turnovers in 39 minutes.
While they were the only Cardinal players in double
figures, five others scored.
In all, the team had 11 3’s. Besides Lexie’s six and
Kiana’s two, freshman forward Ashten Prechtel had two, and senior forward Nadia
Fingall had one.
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| A determined Nadia goes for a layup. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) |
Stanford
snares more rebounds
Stanford out-rebounded Oregon 36-34. Each team had
13 assists. Oregon had 13 turnovers, Stanford 12.
The first quarter ended 8-18 in Oregon’s favor,
largely because Stanford shot a miserable 17.6 percent, while the visitors shot 50
percent.
Stanford’s percentage rose to 30 at the half, but
Oregon led 22-32. By then the Cardinal had had no opportunities at the
free-throw line but had held Sabrina to 6 points and four rebounds.
The third quarter found the Cardinal in an 18-point
hole, 38-56. The home team actually outscored the visitors 28-18 in the fourth
quarter, but it wasn’t enough. The Cardinal shot 39.1 percent for the game, the
Ducks 48.2 percent.
Sabrina rewrites records
Sabrina had had a hectic day. In the morning, she spoke at the Los
Angeles memorial service for Kobe Bryant and his daughter, who were killed
along with seven others in a helicopter crash in Southern California last
month.
She reportedly was suffering flu-like symptoms when
she arrived at Maples and didn’t come out for warm-ups.
Nevertheless, she raised her ongoing Division I NCAA record
(men and women) of triple-doubles to 26 with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists; passed 1,000 career
rebounds (1,003) and became the first player to pass 2,000 points (2,467) and
1,000 assists (1,041), according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Besides Nadia, Lexie and Kiana, the starters were junior
forward Maya Dodson and sophomore guard Lacie Hull. Three guards – senior
DiJonai Carrington, sophomore Jenna Brown and freshman Haley Jones – were still
unavailable.
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| Stephen Curry (in green shirt) and Russell Wilson join Tara and the team in the locker room. (Stanford Athletics) |
Warriors’
Curry attends game
Maples was roaring with 6,511 fans, most for
Stanford but a substantial number for Oregon. Among the latter was Golden
State Warriors star Stephen Curry, who sat courtside
behind the Stanford basket. Anna Wilson's brother, Russell, was there with his wife to support Stanford.
The evening began with a well-received rendition of
the national anthem by a chorus of youngsters from Bullis Charter School of Los
Altos, who warmed up in the east concourse before the game.
Because it was the Breast Cancer Awareness game, Stanford’s home white uniforms were trimmed in pink. Stanford Medicine gave out
free pink socks and pompons before the game.
Halftime was highlighted by a man who made a Copy
the Cardinal trick shot – a free throw while seated on the floor. He made it on
his first try and won $300. Usually the prize is $100, but this shot hadn’t
been made this season until now.
Record assures a tournament bye
This loss to Oregon leaves Stanford with a 24-4
record, while Oregon is 26-2. It’s 15-1 in the Pac-12
Conference, while
Stanford is 13-3. Nevertheless, Stanford is assured of a first-round bye in the
upcoming Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas.
This was Stanford’s last regular-season home game,
but the team is hoping for a high NCAA tournament seed that would allow it to be a host
for the first two rounds.
Before then, the Cardinal will travel to the desert
to face Arizona at 5 p.m. Feb. 28 and Arizona State at 11 a.m. March 1. Pac-12
networks will televise both games.
