Updated Dec 17: Added links to stories from Palo Alto Online, Corvallis Gazette-Times and Stanford Athletics
No need for halftime adjustments tonight. The Cardinal put the pedal down as they stepped on the court and never let up. They led 4-0 after four minutes, were ahead by 20 points at the half and by 33 at the end. Stanford 78, OSU 45.
The Beavers employed the same clog-the-paint and close-the-perimeter zone defense that almost downed the Cardinal in January. Not so tonight. It worked pretty well for a while, but then Nneka broke through on the inside and Toni, Bonnie, Lindy and Sara got hot beyond the arc.
The Cardinal defense was as strong as I've ever seen. Time after time, a Beaver tried to penetrate to the basket and came smack-up against one or several cardinal jerseys. The defense from every Cardinal on the court held the Beavers to 33.3% shooting, far below their season average of 43.7%, and forced 18 turnovers.
Nneka was amazing again. She forced her way around, over, and seemingly through her defenders and got the ball into the basket ten times. She drew six fouls and made seven of her eight free throws. Total: The game-high 27 points. She needs just 21 more to move past Kate Starbird into second place on the Stanford career scoring list.
Toni led the offense superbly again. She had seven assists with zero turnovers, stole the ball three times, and scored nine points on three from beyond the arc.
Joslyn was a rebounding machine. She grabbed a career-high 14 — more than a third of the Cardinal total. She also scored seven points.
Toni, Bonnie, Lindy and Sara found their outside game tonight. They made ten of 18 three-points attempts – a very handsome 55.5%! Toni and Bonnie each sank three of them. Lindy and Sara got two apiece.
Here are game reports:
- No. 3 Stanford Cruises Past Oregon State, 78-45 from the Associated Press
- No. 3 Stanford blows away Oregon State 78-45 in women's basketball by Paul Buker (The Oregonian)
- Beaver bashing in Corvallis by Wally Mersereau
- Smooth sailing for Stanford's 12th consecutive title from Palo Alto Online
- Stanford too much for Beavers as Cardinal cruise to lopsided win by Steve Gress (Corvallis Gazette-Times/)
Hitting The Road With Stanford Women's Basketball by Aaron Juarez (Stanford Athletics), an account of the team's travel from Maples Pavilion to the hotel in Eugene.
And photos by Don Ryan (AP Photo):
Chiney is quadruple-teamed
Tara applauds the team
Chiney on defense
A disappointed bench
A happy bench
Chiney & Nneka wave to the Cardinal fans
No comments:
Post a Comment