After splitting the weekend against the Arizona schools, No. 6 Oregon women’s basketball returned home to Eugene for a marquee matchup against No. 3 Stanford on Thursday night.
The Ducks (14-2, 4-1 Pac-12) dominated the Cardinal (15-2, 4-1 Pac-12) to the tune of an 87-55 beatdown to secure their first top-10 win of the season.
Here are three takeaways from Oregon’s dominant performance:
A 3-point turnaround
Oregon entered its game against Stanford as the 31st-best 3-point shooting team in the nation.
The Ducks ended the first quarter shooting an abysmal 11.1% from beyond the arc, but the second quarter was a completely different story.
After beginning the second quarter down by four points, the Oregon offense found its rhythm.
The Ducks finished the second quarter shooting 60% from the 3-point line, and shooting 52% from the field gave them a 36-30 lead heading into halftime. Oregon, also, was able to stymie Stanford’s shooting, and the Cardinal finished the second quarter shooting 20% from three.
“The three is a still a big part of our game, but we’re not making it the most important part of our game,” head coach Kelly Graves said.
It may not be the most important part of Oregon’s game, but it did help turn the momentum in its favor and open up the floor.
Oregon’s ability to open the floor, along with its stout defense, began an avalanche that Stanford couldn’t dig itself out of. The Ducks outscored the Cardinal 29-18 in the third quarter and 22-7 in the fourth quarter. Oregon’s ability to go on long scoring runs helped bury Stanford.
“To do this, in this moment, I think really shows the character that this team has,” Graves said. “What you saw was a phenomenal, phenomenal game tonight.”
Oregon’s new all-time leading scorer
Coming into this game, Sabrina Ionescu was given many titles: triple-double queen, presumed No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft, the best player in NCAA women’s basketball, and so on. But tonight she gave herself another title: Oregon women’s basketball’s all-time leading scorer.
Before the game, Alison Lang, who had 2,252 career points, held the title.
Coming off a career-high 37-point performance, Ionescu sits atop the throne. She helped the Ducks offense roll as she chipped in seven assists and 11 rebounds to add to her career-night.
After the night Ionescu is now the all-time UO leader in points, assists, 3-point field goals made, double-figure scoring games and triple-doubles
“It’s honoring and humbling to be able to be at the top,” Ionescu said. “I think we have bigger plans and bigger goals, so I’m not really focused on one particular achievement that I’ve done.”
A new scene to women’s basketball
The 12,218 in attendance at Matthew Knight Arena let Stanford know that they were there.
After every big point, defensive play and key moment in the game, Oregon fans roared.
This has not always been the case in Eugene. Following Graves’ first year as head coach in 2014-15, Oregon averaged 1,501 fans over 17 home games. After building a powerhouse, and having the most prolific player in all of college basketball, Oregon has averaged 10,101 in nine home games this season.
“What a fantastic experience for people,” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said. “The rest of the country is seeing Pac-12 basketball at the highest level and it’s spectacular. The crowd was loud, but the crowd can’t score.”
The crowd did not contribute on the stat sheet, but Stanford allowed the 12,218 to get into the game.
“The crowd, I think, played a role that we needed to figure out,” Stanford guard Lexie Hull said.
Whether or not the crowd played a role, Stanford was out of character. The Cardinal committed 18 turnovers that turned into 22 Oregon points. And the Ducks were able to out rebound the Cardinal 35-26.
The Ducks will look for a weekend sweep of the NorCal teams with a matchup against Cal on Sunday at 2 p.m.
