Preview: Stanford Women’s Basketball to battle Oregon at the Chase Center
On Sunday, December 21st at 3:00 PM PT on ESPN, Stanford women’s basketball will battle Oregon at the Chase Center in the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic. That is the home of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries. It will be the first of two games. The second game will be between No. 19 USC and Cal. Approximately 5:30 PM PT on ESPN. Stanford comes in at 10-2 overall and 1-0 in the ACC while Oregon comes in at 12-1 overall and 0-1 in the Big Ten.
Last time out: On Friday, Stanford defeated No. 22 Washington by a final score of 67-62. Lara Somfai led the way for the Cardinal with 14 points and six rebounds.
RECAP: Stanford Women’s Basketball edges No. 22 on The Farm
On Oregon: With head coach Kelly Graves at the helm, you know the Ducks are always going to be tough. This year’s Ducks team is no exception. Their lone loss is to No. 4 UCLA on the road by a final score of 80-59. Aside from that, they’ve been pretty much on cruise control. They defeated Auburn on the road 58-53 and smoked Oregon State at home by a final score of 96-73. They’re currently on a two-game winning streak with wins over Montana State and Portland.
The Ducks have two players scoring in double figures on average: Sophomore guard Katie Fiso (14.6 points & 7.8 assists) and senior forward Mia Jacobs (14.5 points & 6.0 rebounds). Senior guard Elisa Mevius was averaging 12.5 points per game before going down with a season-ending knee injury. With Mevius out, it really is on Fiso and Jacobs to be the one-two punch for the team.
As a team, the Ducks average 79.4 points per game on 47.9% shooting from the field, 33.7% shooting from 3-point range, and 80.5% shooting from the foul line. They’re also averaging 36.7 rebounds, 19.0 assists, 13.0 steals, 3.6 blocks, and 14.8 turnovers per game while averaging a +4.3 rebounding margin and a +7.4 turnover margin. Their opponents average 56.0 points per game on 37.7% shooting from the field, 25.4% shooting from 3-point range, and 69.9% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is hold their own in the paint. Oregon is used to winning the battle in the paint and on the glass. If Nunu Agara is once again out for Stanford, Lara Somfai is going to have to once really deliver in this department.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is shoot an efficient clip from beyond the arc. Oregon holds teams to 25.4% shooting from 3-point range while Stanford shoots 33.0% from 3-point range. If Stanford can shoot as well from the perimeter as they normally do, they should be in good shape.
Finally, Stanford needs to win the turnover battle. Oregon averages a +7.4 turnover margin per game while Stanford averages a +0.4 turnover battle. In their most recent game, Stanford had just 10 turnovers against Washington with a +6 turnover margin. They need to keep that up against the Ducks.
Prediction: Stanford is coming in with a lot of confidence after beating Washington and they have a semi-home court advantage playing at the Chase Center. Stanford 77 Oregon 69 is how I see this playing out.
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