Oregon gave the #2 ranked Stanford Cardinal problems, turning the Pac-10 defending champion's offense inside out for most of the first half. But in the second, Stanford found the right answers and as the Ducks fatigued down the stretch, pulled away for a 100-80 win Saturday afternoon at McArthur Court.
Employing a zone defense to open, Oregon succeeded in forcing the Cardinal offense to the perimeter and away from all-conference center Jayne Appel. Early foul trouble put Appel on the bench for much of the first half and without her inside play, the Cardinal relied upon accurate shooting from behind the arc and sophomore forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike, a player the Ducks found no answer for - to the tune of 30 points and 23 rebounds.
"Obviously we played a very high caliber team," said head coach Paul Westhead. "They are deserving of the accolades they have received."
"She (Ogwumike) is so fluid . we would locate her, but it wouldn't last long. Her ability as a rebounder - as an offensive rebounder is devastating. She picks off everything that comes off the rim."
The Ducks took a short lead early as Stanford searched for an alternative to Appel. Near the 13 minute mark, Ogwumike started to assert herself. Over the next four minutes her seven points and two rebounds pushed Stanford to a 31-20 lead.
With Taylor Lilley's three and a couple of steals by Nia Jackson the Ducks fought back to within a point, but let the Cardinal slip away with an eight point run.
Jackson hit for a long ball to break the streak, then Lilley followed with another and the Ducks eventually forged a 49-49 tie before heading into the break trailing 54-50.
The second half was much the same - with an added dose of Appel. With Appel and Ogwumike wrecking havoc inside, Stanford's perimeter players continued to shoot effectively from behind the arc, Stanford pushed their lead to 10 points after eight minutes.
Three times Oregon rallied to within five points only to yield a foul, a lay-up inside or a three from outside. Stanford guard Jeanette Pohlen took all 14 of her shots from behind the arc, hitting on five.
Trailing 80-75 after Nia Jackson's lay-up with 8:35 remaining, the Ducks ran out of options. Appel and Ogwumike each hit for a pair from the charity strip, then Ogwumike hit for two more following an old school style three point play from Appel and the Ducks were on the ropes, 91-79.
Lilley's lay-up at the 5:48 mark were the last points Oregon would score from the field and the Cardinal stretched the lead from there to the final margin of 20.
"I thought they played as well as they could," said Westhead of his team. "I said to them you played so hard you ran out. I mean you were out of gas, missing shots that in the first half we make. Just look at the box score - 50 (points) in the first half, 30 in the second."
"It wasn't like your play went down, or your execution went down, or your shots you were taking in the first half weren't the shots you took in the second. Our team is still in the learning process. They need to play this press, run high quality high energy game and make shots. Its something they are in the process of learning."
Another look at the box score shows five Stanford players in double figures and the Cardinal owning a 48-36 advantage on the boards. Nia Jackson's 26 points paced the Ducks with Micaela Cocks adding 17 and Taylor Lilley 16. Oregon shot 38% from the floor while the Cardinal hit for an even 50% on 35-70.
The Ducks face UCLA and USC before returning to host Oregon State in the last Civil War match-up at McArthur Court on February 6. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 and the game will be broadcast by Comcast SportsNet.
