The Stanford women have just about everything.
The No. 2 Cardinal are 22-1 overall, and 12-0 in Pacific-10 Conference play. The team has won its last 14 games since a 68-62 loss to then-No. 2 Tennessee on Dec. 16.
And the team’s top two players — Lindsey Yamasaki and Nicole Powell — are in the top 10 in the conference in scoring.
Just about the only thing Stanford doesn’t have is a win at McArthur Court since 1998.
“I think we play better as an underdog,” Oregon senior Jamie Craighead said. “They come in and they haven’t won here in three years, so we kind of have our own streak going. We’re just going to give it all we have.”
Perfect on the road, the Cardinal come to McArthur Court tonight at 7 p.m. to challenge the Ducks in what could be the most important game of the season for Oregon.
The Ducks (12-10 overall, 7-6 Pac-10) are falling fast, having lost their last two games by a combined 25 points.
However, Oregon played their toughest game of the season Jan. 13 when they visited Stanford at Maples Pavilion. The Ducks stayed close to the Cardinal before losing by 15, but that margin was not indicative of the way they played.
“We watched film after that game, and we just did the little things wrong,” senior Alyssa Fredrick said. “If we can correct those, I think we’ll be in pretty good shape against them this time.”
In their first meeting, the Ducks were able to hold Yamasaki, an Oregon native, to 12 points in 21 minutes. However, Powell lit the Ducks up, collecting a Stanford-record 21 rebounds and posting 23 points.
The two represent a majority of the Stanford offense, but certainly not all of it.
“They are pretty well-rounded as a team,” Fredrick said. “Even if we stop (Powell and Yamasaki), I’m sure they’ll have (Lauren) St. Clair shooting threes. We just have to focus on them as a team, not individuals.”
The Cardinal, who haven’t won a national championship since the 1991-92 season, are on a roll and almost a cinch to win the conference title, as they are three-and-a-half games ahead of second place Arizona State (18-6, 9-4).
“We have to look at Stanford and break them down and see what their strengths our and how to take them away,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “We need play against those strengths that they have instead of playing against the whole Stanford tradition.”
Of concern to the Ducks is the size of the Stanford frontcourt. The Ducks have outrebounded their
opponents in four of their last five games, but have not played a team with Stanford’s ability.
But the one place Oregon may have the advantage is in the backcourt. Senior Edniesha Curry and junior Shaquala Williams are two of the Pac-10’s best guards. Stanford has St. Clair and freshman Kelly Suminski, but is relatively young at the position.
“I think their size hurts us because they will post up Yamasaki and Powell against our smaller guards, but I think we can challenge them with our quickness,” Smith said.
Whatever the result, if Oregon plays well against the vaunted Cardinal, it could be a confidence builder for the team’s remaining four games.
“I think it’s a huge game for us in the sense that we have to compete and see where it takes us, and we might play our best friggin’ game of the year, but that doesn’t mean we’ll win,” Smith said.