Stanford had a chance to take a significant step toward a regular season conference championship. But it's always a defensive struggle against this OSU team, and Sydney Wiese may have an odd looking left-handed shot, but she's a dynamic scorer. Oregon State does everything they can to get her looks at the basketball.
An added difficulty wasn't just a road game against a top-10 team. It's even harder when it's a packed arena with 9,600 people. Corvallis is a true college town that has become very supportive of the women's basketball program. The crowd also gave Tara VanDerveer a standing ovation before the game.
Stanford's offense really never got going, but several players had big plays down the stretch. Brittany McPhee is best when she's attacking the basket and she carried the offense through part of the fourth quarter. Nadia Fingall and Alanna Smith, a freshman and sophomore respectively, each had big shots to put Stanford ahead or tie the game.
In the end the game shows that there is a lot to like about this Stanford team, but they are not the dominant force of some of VanDerveer's previous best teams. They are capable of beating any team, with the caveat that until you see someone beat UConn it doesn't seem likely to happen.
An added difficulty wasn't just a road game against a top-10 team. It's even harder when it's a packed arena with 9,600 people. Corvallis is a true college town that has become very supportive of the women's basketball program. The crowd also gave Tara VanDerveer a standing ovation before the game.
Stanford's offense really never got going, but several players had big plays down the stretch. Brittany McPhee is best when she's attacking the basket and she carried the offense through part of the fourth quarter. Nadia Fingall and Alanna Smith, a freshman and sophomore respectively, each had big shots to put Stanford ahead or tie the game.
In the end the game shows that there is a lot to like about this Stanford team, but they are not the dominant force of some of VanDerveer's previous best teams. They are capable of beating any team, with the caveat that until you see someone beat UConn it doesn't seem likely to happen.
