It was a bittersweet ending to an otherwise spectacular game for the Oregon women’s basketball team.
Nicole Powell’s free throws with 1.3 seconds left ended an Oregon comeback from 15 down, cementing a 75-74 No. 6 Stanford victory Saturday night in front of a season high 5,253 in attendance at McArthur Court.
All of this after the Ducks seemingly had iced the game on Carolyn Ganes’ free throws with 3.3 seconds left.
“You’re always thinking about (the win) at that point, but you’re also thinking three seconds is a long time,” senior Alissa Edwards said.
On the immediate inbounds — after a Stanford timeout — T’Nae Thiel’s hail-mary pass fell into the hands of Powell and in front of sophomore Kedzie Gunderson near Oregon’s 3-point line. The forward, with a clear path to the hoop, streaked toward the basket.
With Gunderson trailing, Powell went up for a layup, but was blocked by sophomore Brandi Davis, much to the delight of most in attendance. However, with Oregon (6-9 overall, 2-4 Pacific-10 Conference) fans and players celebrating, Gunderson was called for a foul with 1.3 seconds left, allowing Powell to the free-throw line.
“It felt like I got hit on the catch, dribble and shot,” Powell said. “I know (Davis) got the ball, but it was body, too. I just thought it had to be a foul and turned around and saw the ref.”
“It was just one of those instances where I knew the ball was going to her,” Gunderson said. “I thought I would get in front of her and get the ball. I tried to grab anything possible and grabbed her shorts.”
“We talked about keeping the ball in front of us,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “It was a hell of a pass. Kedzie probably did the right thing. Certainly, we’d like to have that one over, and had we been able to keep it in front of us, the outcome would’ve been different.”
Oregon trailed as much as 15, 62-47, with 10:36 left. The Ducks then went on a 14-4 run over the next four minutes to pull within five.
They weren’t done there, as sophomore Andrea Bills’ jumper with 3:57 left got the Ducks within one, 69-68. Neither team would trail by more than three from that point on.
“We fought hard,” Edwards said. “We did everything we could. We had people step up big on offense. We gave it all we could.”
A layup by freshman Yadili Okwumabua with 1:32 gave the Ducks the lead, but Stanford’s (12-1, 4-0) Chelsea Trotter then scored two of her 16 points on a layup to give the lead back to the Cardinal.
Then it was Ganes’ turn with three seconds left, and two free throws that looked to be enough.
“Players win games,” Smith said. “Plays don’t win games.”
Edwards led the Ducks with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting and was on fire from beyond the 3-point arc. The guard made 5-of-6 from downtown.
“Alissa Edwards hit some great shots,” Smith said. “She had that look in her eye.”
Bills had 16 for the Ducks, while Ganes (14 points) and Gunderson (13) also came through on offense. On the night, Oregon shot 51 percent from the field and was 9-of-19 from 3-point range.
However, the Duck free-throw shooters were off target. Oregon combined to shoot 3-of-9 from the charity stripe, including an 0-for-5 night from Bills.
Thiel led the Cardinal with 18 points while Powell — who scored a combined 43 points in two games against Oregon last season — was held to 10 points. Sebnem Kimyacioglu was a thorn in Oregon’s side, scoring 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, but 4-of-8 from 3-point range.
“Regardless of the outcome, it was a great game tonight,” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said. “Our kids played with a lot of heart, and theirs did, too.”
The Ducks were understandably upset at the result of the game, but understand that one play did not decide the outcome. Still, Oregon will be thinking about the final play of the game for some time.
“We have got to keep getting better,” Smith said. “(But) this is what we are capable of.”
“It was a fun game to be a part of.”
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