The University women’s basketball team ran into a buzz saw the color of crimson Thursday night.
In front of 2,339 rowdy fans at McArthur Court, the Ducks lost to No. 11 Stanford, 85-57, in what turned out to be a game dominated by the post play of the Cardinal.
Led by junior center Jayne Appel’s 22 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, Stanford outscored Oregon 32-10 in the paint.
“We tried to establish a presence in the post, but we were out-muscled,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “When you get out-rebounded, that’s as good an offense as anything.”
Why Oregon lost
– | The story of last night’s game was in the paint. Oregon sophomore forward Ellie Manou only played 17 minutes, and Stanford established its posts early in the game. The Cardinal out-scored the Ducks 32-10 in the key, and out-rebounded Oregon 47-22. |
– | “Their size was a pretty big problem for us,” freshman forward Jasmin Holliday said. |
– | Stanford posts scored a combined 65 points, compared to 23 points for Oregon. |
The rebound disparity spoke volumes about the size of the Cardinal front line. Stanford out-rebounded Oregon by 25, led by Appel and sophomore forward Kayla Pederson, both of whom stand tall at 6-foot-4. Freshman forward Amanda Johnson led the Ducks in rebounding with four.
“We didn’t crash the boards on offense very well,” Johnson said. “That’s something we need to get better at. On the defensive end, we need to sacrifice our bodies so someone else can get the rebound.”
The Ducks kept Stanford at bay for most of the first half. After falling down 13-7 with 15 minutes to go, Johnson started a 5-0 run that got Oregon to within one point with 12:34 left in the half.
The team even took the lead at 19-18 on a three-pointer from junior guard Taylor Lilley with 8:27 to go, but the Cardinal out-scored the Ducks 20-9 in the last eight minutes to take a 10-point lead into the locker room. Appel had 18 points at the intermission, and senior forward (and Oregon native) Jillian Harmon added nine points for Stanford.
“We played only one half of basketball tonight,” Smith said. “Against a team like Stanford, you have to play two to win.”
The 10-point halftime deficit ballooned into 15 points in 3 1/2 minutes. Stanford started the half on a 5-0 run, and Appel added a layup with 16:24 left to give the Cardinal a 45-30 lead.
Freshman forward Jasmin Holliday tried to spark the stagnant offense, getting two consecutive baskets, but Stanford used a 16-2 run with 6:33 left to play to put the Ducks on ice.
“We didn’t come out with energy (in the second half) and that set us back,” Holliday said. “It’s something that we need to focus on, so we can carry our energy through the whole game.”
Johnson agreed.
“We talked about coming out with energy, but (Stanford) came out more focused and determined and we were taken aback,” Johnson said.
Holliday led the Ducks with 12 points. Johnson and Lilley both had nine points. As a team, Oregon shot just 31.6 percent from the field, and Smith says that was a big reason why they were blown out.
“We got good looks, but it was just not our night for the ball to go down,” she said. “I think that the end of the first half led to our spiral in the second. If we would have been able to make a few more shots, it would have led us to panic less.”
Next up for Oregon is No. 6 California on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Eugene. The Golden Bears beat Oregon State last night in Corvallis, and they are coming off a thrilling two-point win over Stanford last weekend.
“We are going to take this focus and the game plan from tonight and prepare for another tough game,” Smith said.
What she didn’t mention was that the game Saturday is just the second game of a three-game stretch for the Ducks. After Cal, they have the University of Portland on Monday night in Eugene.
But for right now, all Smith is worried about is shoring up the post defense and preparing for another ranked opponent.
“This team has always been able to pull out the positives and get better from it,” Smith says.
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