January 17, 2016

Beavers dam the Cardinal

The Cardinal opened strong in a fast, ferociously athletic game. We had expected a close and competitive game and it was through the first quarter, which ended 12-11. In the second quarter, very much not as we'd expected, Stanford hit a lot of shots — a three from Brittany, a three from Alanna, and most pleasantly unexpected, three mid-range jumpers by Erica. At the half, Stanford led 30-21.

The Stanford offense and defense continued well through the media timeout in the third quarter, when the score was 38-23. This was to prove the Cardinal's high-water mark.

Jamie Weisner opened the fourth quarter with a pair of free throws. A minute later, she sank a jumper and the large crowd in Gill Coliseum erupted. Lili quieted the crowd with a jumper, Kailee quieted them again with four free throws, and the Cardinal were still ahead by 11.

Then the wheels came off the Cardinal wagon. From a score of 46-35 at the 7:00 mark, the Beavers held the Cardinal scoreless until the 1:30 mark. During that five and a half minutes, the Cardinal missed five shots and turned the ball over twice while the Beavers scored 17 points.

The final score, after some miscellaneous fouls and incidental scoring, was 50-58.

The Stanford highlight was Kailee, who had a career-high 14 points and was eight of eight on free throws, also a career high for free throws attempted and made.

Here are game reports and commentary:

The box score and play-by-play,

The OSU postgame press conference, with Scott Rueck, Deven Hunter and Jamie Weisner.

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