EUGENE, Ore. – Lili Thompson scored nine of her 16 points in the fourth quarter, including a layup to tie the game with 34.3 seconds left and another to push Stanford ahead with 2.4 to go, and the No. 11 Cardinal rallied for a 64-62 victory over Oregon in Eugene on Friday night.
Starting in place of Erica McCall, Kaylee Johnson added 16 points, six rebounds and five blocks. Karlie Samuelson led all scorers with 18 points, including 12 from deep, and Kailee Johnson chipped in a career high 10 rebounds.
Stanford's defense limited Oregon to just 26.9 percent shooting in the second half and a 23.1 clip in the fourth quarter after the Ducks went 13-of-24 (.542) from the floor in the first 20 minutes. The Cardinal held UO without a field goal in the game's final five minutes and Oregon went 1-of-10 to close the game as Stanford eliminated what was a nine-point deficit late in the third.
TURNING POINT » Thompson scored on a drive to her left to tie the game at 62 with 34.3 seconds left, but failed to convert the 3-point play. Then Kailee Johnson blocked Lexi Petersen's shot on the other end with 11 seconds remaining. Thompson scored again going to her left with 2.4 seconds left, but missed the ensuing free throw. After a timeout that allowed Oregon to move the ball to the frontcourt, the Ducks didn't get off a final shot in time.
WHEN IT WAS NEEDED MOST » Stanford's defense stepped up down the stretch. Following the final media timeout with 3:59 left in the game, three of Oregon's last six possessions resulted in some stout plays from Kailee Johnson, including blocks of Jillian Alleyne and Lexi Petersen and a steal of Petersen. The junior forward finished with a career-high 10 rebounds to go along with eight points, two blocks and two steals. Lili Thompson had another steal in that finishing stretch and a defensive rebound. Oregon's only point in the final 5:00 came on an Alleyne free throw with 53 seconds remaining.
SAMUELSON SHOOTS AND SCORES » Karlie Samuelson kept Stanford close with some timely 3-pointers including back-to-back triples late in the third quarter to cut in to Oregon's nine-point edge. The junior had a game-high 18, the second-highest scoring output of her career, and was 4-of-5 from behind the arc. It was the eighth game of Samuelson's career with at least four 3-point makes.
KEEP ROLLING KAYLEE » Kaylee Johnson continued her strong play of late with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go with six rebounds and five blocks. In Stanford's last nine games, the sophomore is averaging 9.2 points on 73.3 percent shooting (33-of-45) after putting up 1.1 points on 22 percent from the floor in the Cardinal's first eight.
ONE SCORE MATTERS » Stanford led for just 1:55 on Friday night. A Lexi Bando 3-point put Oregon up 5-3 with 7:40 on the clock in the first quarter and the Cardinal wouldn't regain an edge until Thompson's layup sealed the win with under three seconds to go.
