If only they could just erase those first six minutes.
The Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team fell down 20-0 to No. 8 Stanford on the road and although they made a valiant effort the rest of the way, the Cardinal came away with an 88-63 win.
It was a historic victory for Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer as she collected win No. 1,202, which ties her with former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski for all-time wins in college basketball.
For Oregon, however, it was just another loss down on The Farm, a place the Ducks have won just three times in their history. They fell to 11-8 overall and 2-4 in Pac-12 play.
The game was over in that initial 20-0 run, but then Stanford’s All-American Cameron Brink injured her knee and didn’t come back rest on the night. With Stanford’s post player out, the Ducks went on a 15-2 run and cut that deficit in half at the end of the first quarter at 25-15.
Oregon eventually cut the lead to eight, but could never make a further dent in the deficit. The Ducks could have easily thrown in the towel, but they kept on playing and gained confidence which will hopefully carry over to the next game at California on Sunday.
Chance Gray led the Ducks with 19 points on 6-of-14 from the floor and 3-of-5 from three-point land. Phillipina Kyei was the only other Duck in double figures with 14 points.
The Ducks will next battle the Bears on Sunday for a noon tip-off.