When sophomore forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike was asked if it felt like Stanford had actually won by 20 points, she chuckled.
“No,” she said. “But at the same time I didn’t feel like we were losing. I felt like we were taking care of the ball, more times better than others. But the game felt close the whole time, and I like that feeling, it’s getting us ready for the future.”
Indeed, for a team that has struggled to find a consistent rhythm in the past few weeks, a game against the high-octane Ducks may have provided a much-needed boost.
“I think it’s a step in the right direction,” senior center Jayne Appel said. “I don’t think it’s going to change in one game, but it was definitely a higher-intensity game.”
From the moment the game started, Stanford knew it was in for a challenge. The Ducks, desperate for a win after dropping three straight, were flying around the court and clearly disrupting the Cardinal rhythm.
“It’s different,” Cardinal head coach Tara VanDerveer said. “You know you’re playing (at McArthur Court), and it might have been different if we had played the first time at our place against them to get used to (Oregon’s style).”
By halftime, Stanford had built a 54-50 lead, but also had 11 turnovers. Oregon had 17 points off of those giveaways, and VanDerveer knew that something was going to have to change.
“I thought we did a better job of getting the ball inside (in the second half),” VanDerveer said. “We tried to emphasize, ‘Get the ball to Jayne’, and she and Nnemkadi stepped up really well in the second half. Once we broke their pressure, then we could do what we wanted to do.”
“In the second half we handled their pressure a lot better,” Appel said. “That’s important to showing improvement.”
Ogwumike and Appel led the way for the Cardinal, scoring 30 and 17 points, respectively. Ogwumike’s point total set a new career high, and she also added 23 rebounds.
Appel, meanwhile, battled foul trouble throughout the first half and played only four minutes. She found her rhythm in the second half, and as she improved, so too did the team.
Of course, much of what Ogwumike and Appel were able to do was keyed by the play of Stanford’s guards.
“Our guards are stepping up,” VanDerveer said. “That’s what we need them to do to open things up for Jayne and Nnemkadi and different people inside.”
VanDerveer was particularly impressed with the play of Rosalyn Gold-Onwude. The senior guard drew the tough assignment of guarding Taylor Lilley and also hit key shots going down the stretch.
“I thought (Rosalyn) played a hell of a game,” VanDerveer said. “Her defense was really what was the difference for us, she guarded whoever was hot.”
For her part, Gold-Onwude came away with a new respect for Oregon’s players.
“(Lilley’s) an amazing player,” Gold-Onwude said. “If she gets going, that team is really
different, and they’re scary.”
If nothing else, Oregon forced Stanford to play with a heightened energy level. Though considerably drained after the game, the Cardinal players seemed unanimous in their appreciation of Oregon’s hyperactivity.
“This game, I think people really stuck together,” Gold-Onwude said. “(We) fought hard, worked hard, I think this is one of the best energy wins we’ve had in the season, and I think it’s a good way to go into the rest of the Pac-10 season.”
Stanford is, without a doubt, the class of the Pacific-10 Conference. Still, on Saturday the team learned that it will have to work hard to keep things that way.
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