Jan. 13, 2001
EUGENE, Ore. --- Stanford University fell to 0-6 on the road in the 2000-01 campaign with a 72-54 loss at the University of Oregon on Saturday night at McArthur Court. The Cardinal, which has lost six of its last eight, fell to 7-7 overall and 1-3 in the Pac-10, while the conference leading Ducks improved to 10-3 and 3-0.
The 20th-ranked Ducks jumped on the #24 (AP)/#25 (Coaches) Cardinal early by shooting 64.0 (16-of-25) percent in the first 20 minutes to take a 44-27 lead at the half. The Ducks made 12 of their first 16 shots, while the Cardinal missed 16 of its first 24 and finished the half at 34.4 (11-of-32) percent.
Oregon broke the game open with a 19-4 run that turned a 10-10 tie into a 29-14 advantage with 9 minutes and 15 seconds left before intermission. The run was keyed by back-to-back 3-pointers from Kourtney Shreve and Jamie Craighead, who combined to shoot 5-of-6 from beyond the arc before halftime. Shreve capped the first half outburst by hitting a 30-footer just before the buzzer to give Oregon the 17-point advantage. Oregon shot 64.0 (16-of-25) percent from the floor in the first half, and 71.4 (5-of-7) percent from 3-point range.
"Oregon's perimeter shooting really hurt us," Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said. "They were also very aggressive, and that was the key to the game."
The Ducks maintained the big advantage through the second half, as Stanford could get no closer than 15 points. Stanford got within 15 at 50-35 with 15:42 to go, but the Ducks scored the next five points and its lead ranged from 17 to 22 points the rest of the way.
"This is a challenge for our team," VanDerveer said. "We're in a difficult situation now, but I believe we will be able to rally."
Both teams missed 23 of their 29 shots 26.1 percent in the second half, and the Cardinal converted on just two field goals over the final 10 minutes. Stanford, which out-rebounded the Ducks by an impressive 41-26 margin, finished the game shooting 30.9 (17-ofr-55) percent from the floor and 12.5 (2-of-16) from beyond the arc. The hosts, meanwhile, converted on nine of their 15 3-point attempts (60.0 percent).
Freshman point guard Nicole Powell (Phoenix, AZ/Mountain Pointe HS) had team-highs of 12 points and nine boards for the Cardinal, while Sarah Dimson (Norman, OK/Norman HS) contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.
Craighead led Oregon with 15 points, while Lindsey Dion and Shreve had 11 apiece.
Stanford remains on the road next weekend when it visits Bay Area rival California on Saturday at noon at Haas Pavilion.