Sports Editor:
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
Monday, January 13,2003
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Sports
Best bet
Oklahoma
at Oklahoma State
6 p.m. ESPN
UO blown out of Bay Area by Stanford
The Ducks suffer their second
straight loss, an 81-57
blowout in Palo Alto,
and fall to 1 -3 in the Pac-10
Peter Hockaday
Sports Editor
STANFORD, Calif. — Luke Rkl
nour hobbled through a tunnel at
Maples Pavilion after answering the
media's questions Saturday night,
his head down, leaning on assistant
coach Mark Hudson for support.
lie found his way to the basket
ball floor, where his parents were
waiting for him. They gave him a
big. long hug.
1 Ie needed it.
Despite Kidnour's best efforts,
No. 12 ()regon was blown out of the
Hay Area, suffering its second loss
of its first Pacific-10 Conference
road trip of the season. This one
was an (SI-57 loss to Stanford in
front of a national television audi
ence and 7,054 fans in Palo Alto,
hut it felt eerily similar to the
Ducks’ loss Thursday in Berkeley.
(fpponent lights it up. ()reyon can’t
respond. 1 kicks yet buried early.
It must he had when the normally
soft-spoken Kidnour says this: "We’re
pissed off. We got our ass kicked
twice in a row on this trip."
Indeed. ()regon went down by 10
points eight minutes into Satur
day's contest, and never put togeth
er an offensive run to get back into
the game. The Ducks shot just dd.d
percent from the floor, and Kidnour
was the only Oregon player to
score in double digits, lie had 10
points in dd minutes, despite
spraining his left ankle in the Cali
fornia game.
“Mentally, we re all down, 1 know
I m down,” Oregon head coach
Ernie Kent said. “Physically, I can’t
say enough about Luke Uidnour. Hut
we re a little banged up.”
Oregon was banged up on the
boards all night by Stanford, anoth
er item to file in the “broken record”
Turn to Men's, page 9
Powell’s free throws sink UO women
Oregon comes back from
1 5 down but can’t pull out
a win over No. 6 Stanford
Women’s basketball
Hank Hager
Sports Reporter
It was a bittersweet ending to an
otherwise spectacular game for the
(fregon women’s basketball team.
Nicole Powell's tree throws with
1.3 seconds left ended an Oregon
comeback from 15 down, ce
menting a 75-74 No. 6 Stanford
victory Saturday night in front of
a season-high crowd of 5,253 at
McArthur Court.
All of this after the Ducks seem
ingly had iced the game on Car
olyn Canes’ free throws with 3.3
seconds left.
“You’re always thinking about
(the win) at that point, but
you're also thinking three sec
onds is a long time," senior Alis
sa l-'.dwards said.
On the immediate inbounds —
after a Stanford timeout — T’Nac
Thiel’s hail-Marv pass fell into the
hands of Powell and in front of
sophomore Kedzie Cunderson
near Oregon’s three-point line.
Powell, with a clear path to the
hoop, streaked toward the basket.
With Cunderson trailing, Powell
went up for a layup, but was
blocked by sophomore Brandi
Davis, much to the delight of most
in attendance. However, with Ore
gon (6-b overall, 2-4 Pacific-10
Conference) fans and players cele
brating, Cunderson was called for
a foul with 1.3 seconds left, putting
Powell at the free-throw line.
“It felt like I got hit on the catch,
dribble and shot,” Powell said. “I
know (Davis) got the ball, but it
was body too. 1 just thought it had
to be a foul and turned around and
saw the ref running up.”
"It was just one of those
instances where I knew the ball
was going to her,” Cunderson
said. “I thought I would get in
front of her and get the ball. I
tried to grab anything possible
and grabbed her shorts."
“We talked about keeping the
ball in front of us," Oregon head
coach Bev Smith said. "It was a
"We fought hard.
We did everything
we could. We had
people step up big
on offense. We gave
it all we could."
Alissa Edwards
senior
Adam Amato Emerald
Brandi Davis (21) tights for a loose ball with Stanford's Sebnem Kimyacioglu in the Cardinal's 75-74 win.
hull of a pass anti a hull of a catch.
Kudziu probably did the right
tiling. Certainly, wu'd like to have
that onu over and had wu huun
able to kuup it in front of us. the
outcome would've* huun different."
Oregon trailed 62-47 with 10:36
left. Hut that's w here the Ducks be
gan their comeback.
Oregon went on a 14-4 run
over the next four minutes to pull
within five.
They weren't done there as
sophomore Andrea Hills' jumper
with 3:57 left got the Ducks.within
one, 69-6<S. Neither team would
trail by more than three from that
point on.
“We fought hard," Ivdwardssaid.
“We did everything we could. We
lint! people step up big on offense.
We gave it all we could."
A layup by freshman Yadili ()k
wumalnia with 1 :A2 gave the
I )ueks the lead, but Stanford's ( 12
1,4-0) (Ihelsea Trotter then scored
two of her 10 points on a layup to
give the lead back to the Cardinal.
Then it was (lanes’ turn with
three seconds left, and two free
throws that looked to be enough,
lvnough, at least, for two seconds.
“Players win games.” Smith
said. “Plays don't win games.’’
Kd wards led the Ducks with a
career-high 17 points on 6-of-N
shooting and was on fire from be
yond the A-point arc. The guard
made 5-of-0 from downtown.
“Alissa Kdwards hit some great
"Alissa Edwards hit
some great shots.
She had that look
in her eye!'
Bev Smith
head coach
shots,” Smith said. “She had that
look in her eye.”
Hills had 16 tor the Ducks, while
(lanes (14 points) and (iunderson
(Id) also came through on offense.
On the night, Oregon shot 51 per
cent from the field and was h-of-16
from three-point range.
However, the Duck free throw
Turn to Women's, page 8
Fans help
Oregon in
comeback
Oregon’s sixth man rocks
The Pit as the Ducks rally late,
only to fall to No. 6 Stanford
Women’s basketball
Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
Not even 5,253 fans at MeArthur
(iOiirt could help the ()rcgon women’s
basketball team overcome No. 6 Stan
ford on Saturday night. Hut they came
awfully close.
With 1.3 seconds left, and the
Ducks leading by one, Mac Court
erupted in cheers in hopes that Stan
fords Nicole Howell, the reigning Pa
cific- 10 C< inference I ’layer < if the Year,
would miss at least one of her final two
free throws. Hut she didn’t.
And Oregon suffered a heartbreak
ing loss to the Cardinal, 75-74.
The loss seemed as hard for ()rc
gon’s crowd as it was for the Ducks
themselves. ()regon gave its fans plen
ty to cheer about as the team kept the
game close and put up the kind of tight
that was somewhat unexpected.
With more than 10 minutes gone in
the first half, senior Alissa Edwards hit
a three-pointer to tie the game at 16
16 and the crowd erupted in cheer. It
was going to be one of those wild
nights at The Pit.
“The fans are always what help us
and we love playing at home,” sopho
more Ked/.ie (iundcrson said. “Hav
ing them get fired up whenever we
make a stop, they are up on their feet
cheering and that just makes us want
to play even harder.”
Hut Stanford finished the first half
on a 14-4 run to deflate the Oregon
faithful and sent the Ducks into the
locker room down 39-2S.
With 10:36 left in the game, Stan
ford's (Ihelsea Trotter hit a three-point
er to give the Cardinal a 62-47 lead.
The crowd went silent.
Then, Oregon went on a 21-7 run
in the next seven minutes. The I Kicks
got right back in it, trailing by one at
6N-69. Absolute pandemonium blast
ed from the season-high crowd that
packed into Mae Court.
“Our fans really helped us,” Ed
wards said. “Stanford had a hard time
trying to get into offenses because they
couldn't hear anything. The fans were
so loud."
()regon (6-9overall, 2-4 l’ac-10) took
a 74-73 lead after two free throws by
(lan >lyn (lanes with three sect aids left.
“That was the most amazing thing
I have seen from a crowd in a basket
ball game,” Canes said. “The back
Turn to Comeback, page 10