Stanford shuts down OSU

They may have won their previous six games, but the Cardinal women came into last night’s contest with Oregon State amid mounting injuries and increasing criticism. In short, they needed a convincing win to build momentum, boost confidence and prove they deserved their No. 2 ranking.

While the Cardinal (16-1, 6-0 Pac-10) certainly came away with a comfortable win, the Beavers challenged Stanford early and held tough until the final stretch, ultimately falling 63-47. Stanford junior forward Kayla Pedersen led her team with 23 points, while Beaver Talisa Rhea scored a game-high 26. Cardinal sophomore forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike posted a game-high nine rebounds.

Despite their recent struggles in conference play, Oregon State (9-7, 1-5) was able to play Stanford almost evenly for much of the game. After jumping out to a 12-2 lead less than four minutes in, the Cardinal could not extend its lead to double digits again for the rest of the half.

The Beavers began to tighten up on defense soon thereafter, holding the Cardinal scoreless for eight minutes. Redshirt junior forward Michelle Harrison put in a shot from behind the arc to put Stanford back ahead at 16-14. Rhea scored 17 points in the half, helping to keep the Beavers close, as Stanford only led 29-27 at halftime. Stanford has never been tied or behind at halftime this season and last night’s two-point margin was the lowest it has taken to the locker room.

The second half, for the most part, was a different story. Five minutes in, Stanford extended the lead to 40-32 on a fastbreak three-pointer from freshman Joslyn Tinkle. The forward out of Missoula, Mont. finished the game with nine points, six rebounds and six blocks in 24 minutes.

The Beavers would pull within 42-39 a few minutes later, but Pedersen scored six straight points to put the Cardinal back up, 48-39. Stanford did not look back after that, running away with a 63-47 victory.

While the Cardinal will no doubt be content with a 16-point victory, it stands as the latest in a string of games that have seen the Cardinal perform slightly below its stellar standards. Going into last night’s game, the Cardinal had been averaging 21.6 points per game better than their opponents. Discounting an 80-43 rout of a struggling Washington State team, Stanford has posted an average margin of victory of 13.75 points in its last five contests.

One good sign for the Cardinal, though, was the return of guards JJ Hones and Jeanette Pohlen. Hones, a redshirt junior, had been struggling with a swollen knee and managed to play for four minutes last night. Pohlen missed her first game in 92 games last weekend after injuring her ankle against Washington State, sitting out against Washington two days later. She played for 27 minutes last night and posted a game-high six assists.

Next up for the Cardinal is the Beavers’ in-state counterpart, the Oregon Ducks. After a disappointing 2008-09 season, the Ducks (12-6, 3-3) have rebounded in a big way, posting a 9-3 non-conference record and winning their first three Pac-10 games before dropping two games to the Arizona schools and losing 72-62 to Cal last night.

The last time Stanford faced the Ducks, the Cardinal blew them out at Maples Pavilion in a dominant 72-43 win. This year, though, there is plenty of reason to believe that things could be different.

Oregon was selected in both preseason polls to finish eighth in the conference, but is currently leading the nation in scoring with an average of 87.4 points per game. They have been enjoying contributions from up and down the roster this season, including an impressive four players who are averaging more than 10 points per game, compared to Stanford’s three. One of them, senior guard and Oregon points-leader Taylor Lilley, averages 16.4 points per game and has 44 steals on the year (or nearly three per game).

Stanford will take on the Ducks tomorrow morning at 11 a.m.

The Cardinal could not be reached for comment.