Dec. 27, 2003
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Sebnem Kimyacioglu never lost confidence in her shooting ability. She just needed to get more comfortable.
Kimyacioglu scored 16 of her career-high 24 points in the first half as No. 9 Stanford defeated Oregon State 88-65 in a Pac-10 opener Saturday.
Kimyacioglu missed 31 of her last 39 shots in her previous five games before going 7-of-13 against Oregon State.
"I've been confident of my shooting and now I'm getting more comfortable," said Kimyacioglu. "Thankfully they are starting to go down. I've been coming into the gym early and working on repetition and getting back into the flow."
Kristen Newlin added 16 points as the Cardinal (8-2, 1-0) improved to 19-0 at home against the Beavers. Chelsea Trotter scored 13 points and Azella Perryman had 12.
"That was a breakout game for Sebnem," said Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer. "She really got it going. I'm glad she was looking to be more offensive. We also went inside well and scored from there."
Stanford also had a significant advantage on the boards, outrebounding Oregon State, 47-22.
Junior transfer Shannon Howell, playing in her first game with the Beavers (6-4, 0-1), scored a career-high 32 points as Oregon State had its three-game road winning streak snapped. Howell transferred from Nebraska in the winter of 2002.
"She was a great player at Nebraska and it was kind of a surprise we got her eligible for this game," said Oregon State coach Judy Spoelstra. "We're glad to have her."
Leilani Estavan had seven points and two assists to became the first player in Oregon State history with 500 assists and 900 points.
"She's a great person and I'm happy when great people do great things like that," Spoelstra said. "She's been sick all week and we weren't sure we would have her today but she's a trooper."
Stanford played without All-American senior forward Nicole Powell, who severely sprained her left ankle in a loss to Texas Tech a week ago. She's not scheduled to play on Monday against Oregon.
"It's interesting without Nicole that a lot of different people step up and score," said Spoelstra said. "That makes them even more dangerous in a lot of ways."
Oregon State sophomore guard Ebony Young missed the game after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee against Cincinnati in mid-December.
Stanford held the Beavers scoreless for nearly six minutes of the first half and scored 20 unanswered points during a 28-2 run that made it 36-9 with 7:56 left in the half.
"It looked good, especially in the first half," said VanDerveer. "It was a big game for us to come out and have a convincing win, especially with our injury situation."
Trotter and Newlin accounted for 19 of the 28 points, while Oregon State missed eight consecutive shots and committed three turnovers.
The Cardinal led by as many as 29 points in the first half.
Oregon State had shot better than 50 percent in each of its previous four games.
The Beavers scored the final six points of the first half, closing to 49-26 at halftime.