A trio of late three-pointers helped No. 16 Stanford escape upset Saturday night against Oregon. Stanford’s Candice Wiggins sank two of the three-pointers en route to a game- and career-high 37 points, leading Stanford to a 76-64 victory.
The Ducks led for most of the second half but could not keep the defending Pacific-10 Conference champions down. Oregon scored on its first two possessions of the game before the Cardinal went on a 12-0 run to take a 15-5 lead. It was the first of many scoring droughts Oregon suffered.
“I think we played a good game of basketball for about 34 minutes,” Oregon coach Bev Smith said. “We made poor mistakes, and they capitalized on them.”
The Ducks took command early in the second half, jumping to a seven-point lead, their biggest of the night. They battled Wiggins, who showed why she garnered Pac-10 Player of the Year honors last season. The sophomore guard guided Stanford (10-4 overall, 5-1 Pac-10) back in front 57-56 midway through the second half.
“She’s just such a great player,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “What separates Candice from other players is her competitive desire. She plays with such intensity and has the ability to make other players around her better.”
With 6:22 left in regulation, senior forward Carolyn Ganes tipped in a short field goal giving Oregon (10-4, 1-3) a 60-57 lead. From there, Wiggins and Krista Rappahahn got the Cardinal offense moving. The two guards led Stanford on a 10-0 run. VanDerveer aided the offense by switching to a full-court press that overwhelmed Oregon. Stanford forced nine turnovers in the final nine minutes of the game. The Ducks were held to one field goal in the final two minutes.
“I knew she (VanDerveer) was going to call it, and we just threw the ball away,” Smith said. “We were deer in the headlights, and we absolutely have to be stronger than that because good teams are going to do that to you.”
VanDerveer feels the full-court press made the difference in the game.
“I didn’t want to come out with it early in the second half and tire out the team,” VanDerveer said. “I thought we brought it out at the right time and it was key in the win.”
The 5,062 fans on hand marked the biggest crowd to watch a women’s basketball game at McArthur Court this season. They witnessed Stanford defeat Oregon in Eugene for the first time in three years. The Ducks had not lost at home since Nov. 12 against Temple.
“Oregon is always a tough matchup for us coming up here, and this year was no different,” VanDerveer said. “This is a huge win for us and I think this is our biggest win of the year so far.”
On offense, senior Chelsea Wagner and Ganes led the Ducks with 15 points apiece. Wagner made five of nine shots including three of six from beyond the arc. Ganes grabbed seven rebounds, Wagner ended with five.
Center Brooke Smith dominated on offense in the first half for Stanford. The junior from San Anselmo, Calif., played the entire period, scoring 13 points and forcing five turnovers. She added one more in the second half to end with six.
Smith and her teammates limited Richards and Cicely Oaks to less than 10 points each. Stanford is the first team to accomplish this feat since St. Mary’s on Dec. 12. Richards ended with eight points and three rebounds. Oaks managed four points, her lowest scoring total since St. Mary’s held her to three. She missed all four attempts from three-point range.
The Cardinal has now won four straight games and sits atop the conference standings. Oregon has lost three of its last four Pac-10 games. Stanford returns to the Bay Area next week to face its rival California on Jan. 14. Oregon visits the Grand Canyon State to take on Arizona State Thursday and Arizona Saturday.

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