Stanford women hang on against Oregon 81-60

STANFORD - Alanna Smith scored 14 of her career-high 24 points in the fourth quarter, and No. 10 Stanford beat Oregon 81-60 on Friday night for its 21st victory in the past 22 meetings between the schools.

Stanford hasn't lost at home to the Ducks in nearly 30 years, but Oregon made the Cardinal sweat before they finally took charge and pulled away in the fourth period at Maples Pavilion.

Briana Roberson added 15 points and Erica McCall had 14 for Stanford (13-2, 3-0 Pac-12).

Mallory McGwire had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Ducks (11-5, 0-3), and fellow freshman Sabrina Ionescu scored 14.

For most of the night, the game was nothing like recent Oregon trips to Stanford.

The Cardinal had won 14 in a row by double digits, prevailing by an average margin of 27.5 points.

But the Ducks were down just two points midway through the second quarter, then fought back from a 15-point deficit to get within seven late in the third before Stanford took command.

BIG PICTURE

Oregon: The young Ducks, with three freshmen in their starting lineup, beat then-No. 24 Michigan State in late November but since then have lost to top-10 teams Mississippi State, Washington and Stanford. Oregon is improving, but not quite ready to get over the hump against the elite.

Stanford: Coach Tara VanDerveer earned her 993rd career victory and needs seven more to become the second NCAA women's coach to reach 1,000 wins. She is 993-227 in 38 seasons at Stanford. The late Pat Summitt won 1,098 games during her career at Tennessee.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Stanford's victory against a team it has historically dominated won't provide much of a bump for the Cardinal. Their chance to climb in the rankings comes Sunday when No. 16 Oregon State visits Maples Pavilion.

UP NEXT

Oregon plays Sunday at No. 20 Cal (13-2, 1-2), which will be eager to secure a weekend split.

Stanford faces No. 16 Oregon State (14-1, 3-0) on Sunday evening. Stanford and OSU split two games last season after the Cardinal had won 29 meetings in a row through 2015.