Oregon’s 72-54 embarrassment of Stanford Saturday at McArthur Court finished off one of the worst weeks in Cardinal history.
A 16-point loss to the lowly Beavers in Corvallis last Thursday surprised the highly publicized Stanford club, which was projected to finish atop the Pacific-10 Conference this season.
And finishing the road trip in front of 7,602 Duck fans was not the best situation for head coach Tara VanDerveer, who has lost her last three games at The Pit and is 0-6 on the road this season.
But that’s not even the beginning of Stanford’s uncharacteristic start this season (7-7 overall, 1-3 Pac-10). A knee injury to freshman Susan King ended her season on Dec. 27, and recurring concussions to 1999 Freshman of the Year Jamie Carey forced her to retire from basketball, thus leaving the former Pac-10 powerhouse without a true point guard.
“We have a lot of players that take pride in what they do, so this is very painful for people,” VanDerveer said. “This is a challenge for us, but I believe that our players will rally.”
Thankfully for Cardinal fans (and those Duck fans who like the rivalry), it can only get better.
Nicole Powell, a 6-foot-2 freshman who has never played the point, was thrown into the role just before the beginning of conference play. She is still adjusting to the position.
“I believe in Nicole,” VanDerveer said after Powell’s first game at point guard on Dec. 30. “She has a feel for the game that you can’t teach … I think she’s fabulous. I really have tremendous confidence in her as our floor leader.”
Powell led Stanford with 12 points and nine rebounds against the Ducks and is considered to be the future of the program.
“Like what happened to me, too, is when you first step into the role you’re a little uncomfortable,” said Oregon point guard Kourtney Shreve, who also had to adjust to being thrown into the starting role this season. “It was to our advantage for them to not have a point guard. You could see out there that because they didn’t have one, they were a little panicked and confused at times.”
Stanford’s current three-game losing streak is its first since the 1986-87 season, which was also the last time that the Cardinal was swept at both Oregon schools.
“It’s just so difficult to play without someone who isn’t used to handling the basketball at this level,” Oregon head coach Jody Runge said after the game. “To lose two point guards and then try to have a freshman — who’s doing a heck of a job — is a tough, emotional adjustment that will take some time for them.”
Runge expects a much closer contest when Oregon and Stanford meet again Feb. 8 in Palo Alto, Calif., where the Ducks have not won since 1987.
“I think this team is really dangerous,” Runge said of Stanford. “I think they’ll be a better team as they go along. … They’ll be a lot different basketball team the second time around.
“Some people think the measuring stick in this conference is Stanford, and that’s certainly been true in the past,” Runge added. “But we’ve beaten them at home now three times, but have yet to beat them at their place, which will be another milestone.”
VanDerveer said she sees a much more competitive conference this season and hopes that she’s seen the worst of it.
“It’s going to be a blood bath,” said VanDerveer, who has won two national titles and eight Pac-10 titles at Stanford. “We have our work cut out for us, but I think we’ll accept the challenge.”