Despite trailing by as many as 14 points in a cold shooting first
half, the
Oregon women’s basketball team notched one of the biggest victories
in the
program’s history as they defeated No. 5 Stanford 62-58 Wednesday
night
at McArthur Court.
“This is pretty special and it is a big win for us,” Oregon head
coach Bev Smith
said. “It was a tough start, but we were very disciplined
defensively and didn’t
let them get too far ahead.”
The Ducks (9-2 overall, 2-0 Pacific-10 Conference) shot 20.6 percent
from
the field in the first half, including 0 for 10 from behind the arc,
but rallied
with a strong second half effort and monster games from seniors Andrea
Bills
and Cathrine Kraayeveld along with late clutch shooting from freshman
Kaela
Chapdelaine.
Bills recorded 18 points and 15 rebounds while Kraayeveld added 16
points
to go along with 15 rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.
“Rebounding is about effort and determination and they just led us
tonight
and refused to lose,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said of the two
seniors.
“That kind of leadership really tugs at your heart and makes you
realize how
great these young women are.”
While Bills and Kraayeveld were working on the inside, Chapdelaine
came off
the bench in the second half to score eight consecutive points for
Oregon,
including two three pointers within 30 seconds, and give the Ducks the
lead
for good 55-53.
“After you make one you feel good about your confidence and it made
feel
good about taking the second one,” Chapdelaine said.
Chapdelaine added that her looks were much in part of the passing
skills of
senior point guard Corrie Mizusawa, who led the Ducks with nine
assists.
“Corrie does a great job of finding the open person,” Chapdelaine
said.
Oregon and Stanford (9-2, 1-1) traded baskets for the first over the
first
three minutes of the contest and would be tied at 6-6.

The Cardinal then surged with a 14-0 run over the next eight minutes
to give
Stanford its biggest lead at 20-6.
The Ducks would have open looks, but nothing seemed to fall.
“For awhile it felt like their was a cover over the hoop,” Smith
said. “We just
talked about not taking the first open look, to spread the floor, move
the ball,
set some screens and spread them out and tire them out a bit and then
go
inside.”
And that is what they did after the drought and Bills and Kraayeveld
went to
work.
“When you’re not hitting from the outside you should start with
the inside
and get those down and make the defenders sag off a bit and an open
shot
will come,” Bills said.
The Ducks are especially proud of their defensive effort against the
fifth-
ranked team in the nation. They held Stanford to their lowest point
total of
the season.
It is also the eighth time this season that Oregon has limited a team
to less
than 60 points in a game.
“That was probably the best game that we have played defensively and
that is
against Stanford, a top-10 team,” Mizusawa said.
The Ducks now travel to California to face USC and UCLA, starting with
USC
on Sunday.

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