Feb. 9, 2002
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) - Stanford was playing for more than a share of the Pac-10 title. The Cardinal needed redemption on Oregon State's home court.
After being embarrassed 81-65 in Gill Coliseum last season, Nicole Powell scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the second-ranked Cardinal clinched a share of their 11th conference championship by defeating Oregon State 89-67 Saturday.
Lindsey Yamasaki added 14 points for the Cardinal (24-1, 14-0 Pac-10). The Oregon native remembers last year's embarrassment all too well.
"That was one of the low points of Stanford basketball," Yamasaki said. "To see where we've come and see how we've evolved over the past few years is amazing."
Powell, who had 16 points but 11 turnovers in last year's game, also had seven assists Saturday in recording her eighth double-double of the season.
Stanford can clinch the Pac-10 title outright with a win over second-place Washington on Thursday.
With a sweep at the Oregon schools for the first time since 1998, the Cardinal move four games away from going undefeated in conference play for the third time in school history. But this year, the Cardinal will face an extra hurdle with the inaugural Pac-10 Tournament.
"We can't celebrate because you've got to turn around and play the tournament," said Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer.
Juleen Smith scored 18 points and Leilani Estavan added 14 for the Beavers (13-12, 9-6), whose win last year remains their only one in 14 tries against Stanford.
"If we didn't step up in the second half, we would have lost by 40 or 50 points," Smith said.
Stanford jumped out to a 22-12 lead, and then held the Beavers scoreless for 6:50 before going into the half with a 40-21 advantage.
The Cardinal put the game out of reach early in the second half with a 17-0 run that put them ahead 65-28 with 14 minutes remaining.
The run featured nearly flawless basketball, as Stanford made 7 of 8 shots, including two 3-pointers.
"We tried all of our defenses, and it didn't matter what we were playing," said Oregon State coach Judy Spoelstra.
The game was reminiscent of the teams' first meeting this season, when Stanford routed the Beavers 91-54 on Jan. 10. This time, the Cardinal shot 54 percent, including 48 percent from the 3-point line.
"We weren't getting out on their 3-point shooters. We just let them come out and shoot, and they weren't missing," Smith said.
Oregon State guard Felicia Ragland, the conference's leading scorer, was held to 12 points and played only 21 minutes before fouling out with 4:54 to play.