The Oregon women committed a season-low eight turnovers – two in the first half – against the Stanford Cardinal on Thursday. On many nights, keeping the number of turnovers in single digits allows for an excellent chance at a win.
But while the Ducks (7-10, 4-3 Pacific-10 Conference) shot only 31.6 percent from the field, compared to 56.5 percent for the Cardinal (14-4, 5-1), Oregon lost the battle of the boards, 47-22. The 25-rebound deficit is the largest suffered by the Ducks this season, and it came in a game where every extra possession counted.
“We didn’t crash the offensive boards very well,” said freshman forward Amanda Johnson, who led the Ducks with four rebounds. “That’s something we need to focus more on: having our three, four, five (positions) in the paint when the shot goes up. And on the defensive end, we just gotta practice more on getting our bodies into people.”
The rebounding battle was an uphill struggle before the game started, as the Ducks had to contend with the Cardinal’s tall starting front court of senior forward Jillian Harmon (6-foot-1), sophomore forward Kayla Pedersen (6-foot-4) and junior center Jayne Appel (6-foot-4). As Stanford expanded on its 10-point second-half lead, head coach Tara VanDerveer gave extended minutes to redshirt sophomore forward Michelle Harrison (6-foot-3) freshman forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike (6-foot-2) and freshman center Sarah Boothe (6-foot-5). Oregon, once again without Nicole Canepa (6-foot-5, the team’s tallest player) because of an ankle injury, could not match Stanford’s depth or their height.
Oregon head coach Bev Smith used sophomore center Ellyce Ironmonger (6-foot-4) and junior forward Lindsey Saffold (5-foot-10) to relieve sophomore forward Ellie Manou (6-foot-3) and Johnson (6-foot-2) as the game remained within reach.
Appel stole the show in the first half, as the Ducks held Stanford in check for the first 16 minutes. Appel posted eye-popping statistics, with 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists in 18 minutes. Stanford had 24 rebounds to the Ducks’ 12, including six offensive rebounds to Oregon’s two, but the Ducks’ 10-point halftime deficit looked deceptive when factoring in shooting percentages (51.6 percent for the Cardinal, 32.1 percent for the Ducks).
“We tried to cover down on her, which I thought was really good for the first half,” Smith said. “Although she had 18, I think she got eight of those on offensive boards.
“That’s what our next step has to be: When you double in (defensively) and she kicks it out, you’ve gotta be in position to take away that offensive rebound by her,” Smith continued. “And that’s no easy task by any means. I think it’s a task that we’re capable of doing if we have that focus and physicality that you need to attack her.”
Appel finished with a double-double (22 points, 10 rebounds), but Pedersen was the game’s leading rebounder with 13, supplementing 14 points. Harmon also grabbed seven boards in 28 minutes.
When the Ducks take on No. 6 Cal on Saturday, they will have to contest senior forward Ashley Walker and junior forward Lauren Greif for rebounds, two of the top 10 in the conference. The Bears are second in the Pac-10 heading into Thursday in rebound defense (31.3 per game). Still, the Stanford game serves as valuable experience to fall back on.
“We were with them for a good chunk of the first half,” Johnson said. “There’s something there.”
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