Another Challenge AwaitsAnother Challenge Awaits
Mike Rasay/isiphotos.com
Women's Basketball

Another Challenge Awaits

No. 11 Stanford (19-3, 9-2)
vs. No. 3 Oregon (22-1, 11-0)
Sunday, Feb. 10 • 1 p.m.
Maples Pavilion • Stanford, Calif.
Tickets
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Television • ESPN2
Audio •GoStanford.com
Live Statistics • GoStanford.com
Complete Release (PDF)
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THE GAME: Coming off its third top-10 win of the season, No. 11 Stanford (19-3, 9-2) will get another chance when it hosts No. 3 Oregon (22-1, 11-0) on Sunday, Feb. 10 at 1 p.m. Beth Mowins, Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe have the call on ESPN2 and Kevin Danna will handle the radio broadcast on GoStanford.com.
 
THE RUNDOWN: Stanford has won 22 consecutive home games, the sixth-longest active streak in the nation ... Tara VanDerveer won her 900th game at Stanford on Jan. 20 against WSU, becoming the fifth DI coach, women's or men's, with that many at one school ... The Cardinal is 9-1 in its last 10 home games against top-five opponents ... Stanford is the only school in the nation with three top-10 wins this season ... The Cardinal is 17th in the country in scoring offense (79.0) and 21st in field goal percentage (.456) ... Alanna Smith is one of two players in the country averaging 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per game ... DiJonai Carrington is averaging 15.3 points and 8.9 rebounds in the last 14 games with five double-doubles ... Alanna Smith is averaging 22.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in the last 13 with six double-doubles ... Kiana Williams is averaging 20.2 points per game at home in conference ... The three combine for 62 percent of Stanford's scoring offense ... In its last two games, Stanford's defense is giving up 47.0 points and holding its opponents to 27.6 percent shooting and 18.4 percent from deep ... Haley Jones, the nation's consensus No. 1 recruit, announced her commitment on Nov. 28, the first top player to sign with Stanford since Chiney Ogwumike in Nov. 2009.

VS. OREGON: Stanford is 54-10 all-time against Oregon, 29-1 against the Ducks at home and has won 24 of the last 26 in the series. Oregon's only win on The Farm came on in the teams' first meeting in Maples Pavilion on March 5, 1987 (63-54). Stanford has won 29 in a row at home. This will be the first visit of a ranked Oregon team to Stanford since the Cardinal beat the No. 23 Ducks, 78-62, on Jan. 15, 2000. The two split last season's meetings, Stanford winning 78-65 in Eugene and the Ducks 77-57 in the Pac-12 Tournament championship.
 
NEWS AND NOTES »

  • The Cardinal had its 11-game winning streak snapped on Jan. 27 at Utah. It was tied for the third-longest active streak in the nation.
  • Coupled with its Jan. 31 loss at Cal, Stanford dropped two consecutive conference games for the first time since 2015.
  • The Cardinal hasn't lost three consecutive games in the same season since 2000-01 when it dropped league contests to Arizona (68-65), Oregon State (81-65) and No. 20 Oregon (72-54) in mid-January.
  • Stanford entered conference play with a 10-1 record (.909), the first time in five years it suffered just one nonconference defeat.
  • The Cardinal's Nov. 18 home contest against Ohio State was canceled due to smoke from the devastating wildfires in Butte County that had compromised the air quality throughout the Bay Area.
  • Stanford is currently No. 11 in the AP Top 25 and No. 4 in the NCAA RPI.
  • Since 2007-08, the Cardinal owns a conference home record of 99-6 and a Pac-12 road record of 87-16.
  • Stanford's 186 conference wins since 2007-08 are the most in the nation (Green Bay/UConn - 185).
  • Stanford's all-time Pac-12 record is 509-77 and 172 wins clear of the next closest team (UW - 337).
  • The Cardinal was 14-of-14 at the line in Jan. 11's 72-65 win over No. 19 Arizona State, a program record for makes without a miss from the stripe. Stanford had previously gone 13-for-13 against Seattle on Feb. 29, 2012 and Cal on Feb. 11, 2005.
  • Stanford leads the conference and is 17th in the country in blocks per game (5.2).
  • Tara VanDerveer won her 900th game as head coach at Stanford on Jan. 20 against Washington State to become the fifth DI coach, women's or men's, with that many at a single school (Pat Summitt, Geno Auriemma, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim).

 
HOME COOKIN' »

  • Stanford is in the midst of an 22-game winning streak in Maples Pavilion, the sixth-longest active stretch in the country and the program's longest since it went 28 straight from Jan. 18, 2013 until an 87-81 overtime loss to No. 10 Texas on Nov. 20, 2014.
  • Last season, the Cardinal was the only Pac-12 team undefeated at home in conference (9-0).
  • Stanford has won 18 consecutive Pac-12 home games.
  • Stanford's last home loss was to No. 7 Tennessee on Dec. 21, 2017 (83-71) and its last conference loss at home was to No. 15 UCLA on Feb. 6, 2017 (85-76).
  • The Cardinal has won 24 in a row at home over unranked Pac-12 teams. Its last such loss was Feb. 22, 2015, when it was beaten by Cal, 63-53.

 
INJURY BUG »

  • A number of players have missed significant stretches of time for Stanford.
  • Junior Nadia Fingall, who had started each of the Cardinal's first 12 games and averaged 8.0 points and 4.9 rebounds, will miss the remainder of the season after tearing the ACL in her left knee in a game against USC on Jan. 4.
  • Senior Marta Sniezek has yet to play this year after undergoing offseason ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) surgery on her right hand/thumb. She started 32 games last season.
  • Freshman Lexie Hull returned in Stanford's Jan. 6 win over UCLA after missing the previous nine games with a left foot injury. She had started the first three games of the year.
  • Sophomore Maya Dodson, arguably one of the conference's most improved players, returned to the lineup at Cal on Jan. 31 after missing the previous eight games with a left foot injury.


MARKED OFFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT »

  • The Cardinal is 17th in the country in scoring offense (79.0) and 15th in scoring margin (+16.8).
  • Stanford hasn't averaged more than 75.0 points per game since 2013-14 and has averaged 68.7 (2017-18), 68.8 (2015-16) and 69.3 (2014-15) in three of the last four years. Those are three of the five lowest scoring offenses for a Tara VanDerveer team at Stanford, behind 1985-86 (66.6) and 1986-87 (67.8).
  • Stanford is 21st nationally in field goal percentage (.456) and 17th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.27).
  • Those categories are just a couple of many where the Cardinal has seen a marked improvement year-over-year. Last season, Stanford was 87th in field goal percentage (.424) and 126th in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.93).

 
SHARP SHOOTERS OFF OF LATE »

  • Stanford is 15th in the country, averaging 9.4 3-point makes per game and 28th in 3-point percentage, making 36.8 percent.
  • Over the season's first 17 games, the Cardinal was making 39 percent of its 3-pointers (171-of-439) and an average of 10.1 per game. In the last five it has seen those numbers dip to 27.7 percent (36-of-130) and 7.2 per game.
  • Stanford struggled to make 3-pointers and defend the 3-point line in its last three road games at Colorado, Utah and Cal. The Cardinal was outscored by 48 points from behind the arc (105-57) and was 19-of-79 from deep (.241) in those games while its opponents were a combined 35-of-82 (.427).
  • Stanford's 16 3-pointers on Nov. 11 against Idaho tied a program single-game record also achieved at UCLA on Feb. 24, 2002 and at Washington on Feb. 24, 2001.
  • Entering the season, Stanford had made 14 3-pointers in a game 16 times in 1,389 games (1.2 percent). This year's Cardinal has done it three times in 22 games against Idaho (16), San Francisco (15) and Tennessee (14).
  • The Cardinal made 31.9 percent of its attempts from behind the arc last season, the second-worst percentage in program history, and was also a program-low 42.4 percent from the floor overall.

 
DEFENSE COMING TOGETHER »

  • Stanford's scouting-report defense, typically one of the strongest in the country, got off to a bit of a slow start this season. Through the season's first 20 games, Cardinal opponents were shooting 36.8 percent from the field, 34.6 percent from behind the arc and averaging 63.7 points per game.
  • From November through January, Stanford was 55th in the nation in field goal percentage defense, 313th in 3-point field goal percentage defense and 167th in scoring defense.
  • The Cardinal has been locked in defensively in its two games in February, holding Cal and Oregon State below 30 percent shooting, under 20 percent from deep and to season-low point totals.
  • The No. 7 Beavers came in leading the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (.430) and were sixth in field goal percentage (.492). Stanford limited OSU to 44 points on 28.6 percent shooting (16-of-56) and 19.0 percent on 3-pointers (4-of-21).
  • In the last two games combined, Stanford's defense is giving up 47.0 points and holding its opponents to 27.6 percent shooting (32-of-116) and 18.4 percent from behind the arc (7-of-38). Cal (2) and Oregon State (4) combined for just six assists in those two Cardinal wins.

 
FROM DOWN UNDER »

  • Alanna Smith remains on every major watch list, including the Naismith Trophy, Wade Trophy, John R. Wooden Award, Katrina McClain Award and Senior CLASS Award.
  • A two-time Pac-12 Player of the Week this season (Dec. 17 and Jan. 14) and the espnW and USBWA National Player of the Week from Dec. 17, Smith is shooting 53.8 percent from the field (171-of-318), 44.4 percent from behind the arc (55-of-124) and averaging a team-high 20.7 points per game to go with 8.0 rebounds.
  • Elena Delle Donne is the only player 6'4" and taller over the past two decades to shoot better than 40 percent from 3-point range when she made 41.3 percent as a freshman at Delaware in 2009-10 (NCAA minimum of two made 3-pointers per game).
  • Smith, who has double-doubles in six of her last 13 games, is one of two players in the country averaging 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per game this season (Bella Alarie - Princeton).
  • Smith is third in the conference and 41st in the country in field goal percentage, fourth in the Pac-12 and 20th in the country in 3-point percentage, third in the league and 12th nationally in scoring and first in the conference and 17th in the country in blocks per game.
  • She is 17th in school history in scoring (1,460) and tied for fourth in blocks (200).
  • Smith is within range of joining an elite company of players that have put together careers of 1,600 points, 150 made 3-pointers and 200 blocks. Since 1999-00, the only three to do that are Elena Delle Donne (3,039 points; 206 3-pointers; 273 blocks), Maya Moore (3,036 points; 311 3-pointers; 204 blocks) and Breanna Stewart (2,676 points; 152 3-pointers; 414 blocks).
  • The senior had 30 points, 13 rebounds five assists and three blocks in a 62-55 win at Buffalo on Dec. 21 to become just the fourth player since 2000 to put together a line of 30/13/5/3 in a true road game.
  • Jennie Simms had 41/13/6/3 for Old Dominion against Florida Atlantic on Feb. 4, 2017, Jerica Coley had 30/14/5/4 for FIU against South Florida on March 17, 2012 and Jessica Davenport had 34/16/6/3 for Ohio State against Iowa on Jan. 12, 2006.

 
WATCH WILLIAMS »

  • Kiana Williams is also on watch lists for the Naismith Trophy and Ann Meyers Drysdale Award.
  • The sophomore is second on the team in scoring (14.8 points per game) and averaging 20.2 points per game at home in Pac-12 play. Four of her five 20-point games this season have come in conference.
  • Williams had her first career double-double with 21 points and 10 assists in the Jan. 6 win against UCLA. It was Stanford's first 20-point, 10-assist double-double since Jeanette Pohlen had 21 and 12 in a win over USC on Jan. 22, 2011.
  • Williams is also averaging 4.9 assists per game, which is eighth in the conference. No Stanford player has averaged 4.5 assists in a season since Jeanette Pohlen in 2010-11 (4.8) and no one has averaged 5.0 since Nicole Powell in 2001-02 (6.3).

 
CARRINGTON CLUTCH »

  • DiJonai Carrington has pulled down 10 or more rebounds in seven of the last 14 games and is averaging 15.3 points and 8.9 rebounds in those 14 with five double-doubles.
  • She is one of five Power 5 conference players in the country under 6'0" averaging 13.0 points and 7.0 rebounds along with Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon), Anriel Howard (Mississippi State), Mikayla Pivec (Oregon State) and Amber Smith (Missouri).

 
RECORDS SET ON ROCKY TOP »

  • On the 30th anniversary of the first meeting in their storied rivalry, Stanford went on the road and beat then-No. 9 Tennessee in Knoxville, 95-85, on Dec. 18.
  • In the first top-10 matchup between the schools since 2013, the Cardinal collected its third win against the Lady Vols in Thompson-Boling Arena. Its previous road victories in Knoxville came on Dec. 22, 2012 (73-60) and Dec. 15, 1996 (82-65).
  • Stanford shot 14-of-24 (.583) from 3-point range, an opponent record for Thompson-Boling Arena and a record-tying number of makes from deep against the Lady Vols all-time.
  • The Cardinal's 95 points were the most against Tennessee in Knoxville in 13 seasons and just two shy of the opponent record in Thompson-Boling Arena. Texas beat the Lady Vols 97-78 on Dec. 9, 1987.
  • Stanford shot 55 percent overall (33-of-60) to score its 95 points, a program record for scoring on the road against a top-10 team.
  • DiJonai Carrington led five Cardinal in double figures with a career-high 33 points and 13-rebounds for her third career double-double. Carrington was 11-of-15 (.733) from the floor and 4-of-5 (.800) from deep and became just the second player in the last 20 years to have 33 points, 13 rebounds and four made 3-pointers against a ranked opponent. Missouri's Evan Unrau had 40/15/4 against No. 8 Kansas State on Feb. 22, 2014, a game that went into double-overtime.

 
RESUME BUILDERS »

  • Coupled with a Dec. 15 68-63 home victory over then-No. 3 Baylor, Stanford beat a pair of top-10 teams in the span of four days, something it last did eight years ago when it beat No. 4 Xavier, 89-52, on Dec. 28, 2010 and No. 1 UConn, 71-59, on Dec. 30, 2010 to end the Huskies' then-record 90-game winning streak. Both of those victories were at home.
  • Stanford is the only school in the nation with three top-10 wins this season.
  • The win against the Lady Bears was the Cardinal's first in the regular season against a top-five team since it ended No. 1 UConn's 47-game winning streak in overtime, 88-86, on Nov. 17, 2014.
  • Stanford is 9-1 in its last 10 home game against top-five opponents. Its only such loss since 2007-08 was to No. 2 Connecticut, 61-35, on Dec. 29, 2012.
  • The 6-foot-5 Shannon Coffee set season highs with nine points and 19 minutes and made three of her four 3-point attempts against Baylor. The senior has made 12 from deep in her career and seven have come against Baylor. She was 4-of-8 last season in an 81-57 loss in Waco.
  • Coupled with Alanna Smith's 5-of-9 effort from behind the arc, the Cardinal's two tallest players were a combined 8-of-13 (.615) from distance.
  • Baylor, which entered the game leading the nation in field goal percentage (.557), shot just 34.9 percent (22-of-63) against the Cardinal, its lowest since losing 88-69 to Notre Dame in the Elite Eight on March 31, 2014 (.338).
  • Kalani Brown (16.4 ppg) and Lauren Cox (12.3 ppg), who came in averaging nearly 30 combined points per game, together went for just seven points on just 3-of-11 shooting (.273). Brown came into the day leading the NCAA's active players in field goal percentage (.648) made only two of her seven attempts from the floor, the third-lowest percentage of her career when attempting at least five shots.

 
FOUR TO THE FARM »

  • Stanford bolstered an already strong recruiting class for next season with the addition of the nation's consensus No. 1 recruit, Haley Jones (Santa Cruz, Calif./Archbishop Mitty), who committed on Nov. 28.
  • Jones joined the earlier signings of top-50, five-star talents Fran Belibi (Aurora, Colo./Regis Jesuit), Hannah Jump (Los Altos Hills, Calif./Pinewood School) and Ashten Prechtel (Colorado Springs, Colo./Discovery Canyon) in Stanford's class, which is ranked second nationally by espnW HoopGurlz.
  • Jones is the first No. 1 prospect to sign with Stanford since Chiney Ogwumike came to The Farm as the top player in the country in Nov. 2009.
  • Belibi, Jones and Prechtel are on the West Team for the 2019 McDonald's All American Game on March 27. Of Stanford's 24 McDonald's All-Americans all-time, nine will be on the team together next season.