Feb 8, 2002
EUEGENE, Ore. - Stanford finally figured out how to beat Oregon at MacArthur Court: Make free throws.
Lindsey Yamasaki scored 24 points, and No. 2 Stanford overcame an early deficit to beat Oregon 77-72 Thursday night and remain unbeaten in the Pac-10 Conference.
The Cardinal shot 17-for-19 from the line in the final 3:58 to end a three-year winless streak at Oregon.
The game was tied at 58, when a layup by Yamasaki put the Cardinal ahead for good. That was the last field goal Stanford would make. Nicole Powell, who shot 8-for-11 from the line, added 20 points for Stanford.
"They took it to us and we just tried to sustain their runs. I knew we were going to win the game," Powell said. "We just kept our poise and didn't panic in the end."
Oregon led 20-17 midway through the first half thanks to a 6-0 run, but Stanford (23-1, 13-0) went on a 13-0 run over the next 7 minutes to pull ahead 30-20. Oregon (12-11, 7-7) was 0-8 from the field and had five turnovers in that stretch.
Stanford led 38-31 at halftime. But Oregon, led by Shaquala Williams with 22 points, hit its first seven shots of the second half to take a 45-44 lead with 16:03 left.
A jump shot by Yamasaki, who also had five rebounds, gave Stanford a 46-45 lead. Oregon's Alissa Edwards followed that with a 7-0 run of her own, hitting a layup, a 3-pointer and a jump shot to put the Ducks back in front at 50-46 with 12:42 left.
Cathrine Kraayeveld added eight points and nine rebounds for Oregon.
"We thought we could have beat them tonight," Williams said. "For some reason, Stanford brings out the best in us."