Feb 28, 2004
CORVALLIS,Ore. (AP) - This time, Nicole Powell didn't miss.
Powell, Stanford's two-time All-American hit a baseline jumper with 5.4 seconds left to complete a rally from a 15-point second-half deficit, and 10th-ranked Stanford earned the top seed in the Pac-10 Conference tournament with a 67-66 victory Saturday over Oregon State.
Powell had missed a potential game-winning shot - an open 17-footer - in a 67-66 loss at Oregon on Thursday, and her shooting had been sub-par.
But the senior led the Cardinal with 23 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists Saturday.
"Sometimes you make them and sometimes you don't," Powell said. "Against Oregon, I thought I had a good shot and it was going in. This one went in and we won."
Kelley Suminski added 17 points for the Cardinal (21-6, 14-4), who went on a 26-10 run to the end of the game. Shannon Howell had 20 points to lead Oregon State (14-13, 8-10), which lost after Mandy Close's 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the rim.
"We needed this," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "We had to work very hard for it. We looked absolutely dead in the water, then we started pressing and I think the aggressiveness defensively really helped us."
Stanford tied Arizona, which beat Washington earlier Saturday, for the regular-season title, but got the top spot in the tournament on a tiebreaker. The tournament starts Friday.
Oregon State led 66-65 with 34 seconds remaining, but Leilani Estavan and Close missed free throws that would have extended the lead. Then Powell took an inbound pass on the left side with 9.2 seconds to go, dribbled to the baseline and hit a running 10-footer to win the game.
"I think it was pivotal that we played so well today," Beavers coach Judy Spoelstra said. "Our defense stepped up and I think this will help us going into the Pac-10 tournament."
Stanford led 38-35 at the break, but shot dreadfully to start the second half. The Cardinal missed their first 11 shots, and Oregon State went on a 10-0 run to a 45-38 lead.
The lead was extended to 56-41 with 12:16 to go after Brina Chaney converted a three-point play and Howell hit a layup.
Powell made a 3-pointer with 10:56 remaining - Stanford's first basket of second half - to cut the lead to 58-48 and start the Cardinal on their decisive roll.
T'Nae Thiel made back-to-back baskets to get Stanford to 62-58. Close hit a 3-pointer with 2:34 remaining to make it 66-60, but Suminski responded with a 3 a minute later.
Powell scored to make it 66-65 with 34 seconds left.
Chaney had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Beavers, who had 40 boards to Stanford's 33. Hollye Chapman added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Beavers.