University of Oregon
Stanford
Ducks Complete Comeback, Stun No. 5 Stanford, 62-58
12/29/04 | Women's Basketball
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) Andrea Bills had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Oregon overcame a 14-point first-half deficit to upset fifth-ranked Stanford 62-58 Wednesday night.
Cathrine Kraayeveld added 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Ducks (9-2, 2-0 Pacific-10), who had not defeated a team ranked so high since 1983.
Candice Wiggins had 16 points to lead Stanford (9-2, 1-1), which scored the fewest points in a game all season. It also was the eighth time this year Oregon has held a team to under 60 points.
The Ducks pulled within 42-41 on Eleanor Haring's layup. But she hit just one of two subsequent free throws, missing a chance to put Oregon in front.
The Ducks did pull ahead when consecutive 3-pointers by Kaela Chapdelaine made it 53-51.
Oregon led by as many as four points down the stretch. T'Nae Thiel missed the first of two free throws with 1:32 left, keeping Stanford down 59-58.
After Kraayeveld's driving basket made it 61-58 for Oregon with 1:06 left, Corrie Mizusawa missed three of four foul shots. But it didn't matter, and the Ducks lingered on the court celebrating long after the final buzzer.
"Oregon played very well," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "They hurt us at every position. Their point guard was able to run the offense. They hit big shots. They got it inside and they are big. They are not easy to defend."
Stanford opened its Pac-10 schedule with an 83-45 rout of Oregon State on Monday, regrouping from a 70-67 loss to Tennessee last week that dropped the Cardinal from the No. 2 spot in the AP poll.
The Ducks were also coming off a victory in their conference opener, an 81-50 win over California.
Oregon's shooting was cold early, and the team hit on just one shot in 20 attempts over a nearly 11-minute stretch to open the game.
"Our shots weren't falling in the first half," Kraayeveld said. "But we knew that if we stayed smart and aggressive at the defensive end, and kept ourselves in the ball game, our shots would start falling and we could make a run at them."
Stanford took advantage and went on a 14-0 run to go up 20-6 before Bills snapped the drought with a layup with 8:20 left.
But the Cardinal also struggled to land shots, and the Ducks narrowed it to 27-21 on Mizusawa's two free throws.
"Our players were not able to get into a comfort zone shooting the basketball," VanDerveer said. "And people were taking off-balance and bad shots. This is the most upset I have been with this team this season."
Stanford led 29-22 at the half, shooting 37.5 percent. Oregon shot a dismal 20.6 percent, and was 0-for-10 from 3-point range.
"We knew (our shots) would eventually drop, so we kept taking the same shots (in the second half)," Mizusawa said. "We stayed in it with our defense. We played one of the best games defensively yet."
Last season, Oregon beat then-No. 10 Stanford 67-66 during the Ducks' final homestand at McArthur Court. Mizusawa won it with a layup with 8.2 seconds left.
The last time Oregon beat a top-5 team was Dec. 29, 1983, when the Ducks defeated fifth-ranked Maryland.
The Ducks travel to play USC (6-4, 0-1) on Sunday at 2 p.m. and then No. 23-ranked UCLA (7-3, 1-0) on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
