Shorthanded Ducks Fall at No. 9 Stanford, 70-48

Thursday, January 18

Palo Alto, Calif.

7 p.m.

University of Oregon

Stanford

Photo by: Associated Press

01/19/07 | Women's Basketball

By: GoDucks.com

STANFORD, Calif. – In their first game since learning senior post Jessie Shetters would likely be sidelined for six weeks with a stress fracture, the Oregon Ducks were outgunned by No. 9 Stanford 70-48 on Thursday night at Maples Pavilion.

The Ducks (10-7, 2-5 Pac-10), to their credit, ended the game on a 13-0 run and held the Cardinal (15-3, 8-0) without a point for the final 4:46. Prior to that late surge, however, Stanford showed why it's the class of the conference.

“We knew it was going to be tough out there without Jess,” said sixth-year head coach Bev Smith. “Stanford has a lot of different options in the post and they were able to use that to their advantage with her out of the lineup.”

Nine different players scored for the Cardinal, who received a team-high 14 points from reserve guard Cissy Pierce. All-Pac-10 post Brooke Smith and 6-4 freshman Jayne Appel had 12 points apiece, and Kristen Newlin pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.

Oregon's Carolyn Ganes and Eleanor Haring paced the Ducks with 15 points each. The senior duo combined for 13 of UO's 20 field goals on the night. Freshman Taylor Lilley had 10 points off the bench and hit on both of her three-point attempts.

“If one person gets hot, it opens things up for everyone else,” Ganes said. “But we didn't have anyone shooting well early that really hurt us.”

It was a rough night for Oregon's perimeter players as its starting backcourt of Tamika Nurse and Cicely Oaks were a combined 2-of-15 from the floor.

Stanford, which led by as many as 35 points, held a commanding 55-37 advantage in rebounds. The Cardinal shot 38.2 percent for the game, while Oregon shot 31.7 percent overall after making only 19.4 percent in the first half.

The Cardinal pushed its lead to 20 points at the outset of the second half and touched 30 points for the first time on a three-pointer by Pierce at 11:05, making the score 54-24.

Stanford led 31-12 at the half, holding Oregon to the fewest points in a half since the beginning of women's NCAA play. Smith led all scorers with eight points and Newlin grabbed 10 rebounds.

Stanford jumped out to an 8-0 lead before a Ganes layin five minutes and 20 seconds into the first half. The Ducks missed their first nine attempts from the field, but converted on three straight possessions and held the Cardinal scoreless to climb within two.

The two teams combined to make seven of their first 35 field goal attempts over the opening ten minutes, which prevented either side from taking control. Smith and Pierce proceeded to get hot, leading the Cardinal on a 20-4 run to end the half.

QUACK TRACKS: Ganes played a career-high 34 minutes … JR G/F Kaela Chapelaine did not attempt a field goal for the first time this season … Shetters missed her second game of the season … Oregon's players all wore a piece of tape on their ankles with Shetters' number '43' written on it … The Cardinal started two Oregon natives, Jillian Harmon (Lake Oswego) and JJ Hones (Beaverton) … The Ducks last win at Stanford was March 5, 1987 … There was a WNBA scout at the game, scouting two of Oregon's players … UO fell to 3-4 when wearing yellow uniforms.