No. 1 Stanford women's basketball uses big third quarter to defeat No. 11 Oregon

Stanford steps on the gas and finds a turning point in the the third quarter finishing, 60-47. 

At the 5:49 timeout in the fourth quarter, Haley Jones leads with 18 points, six rebounds and two assists. Kiana Williams follows with 10 points. 

Oregon tries to cut the lead, and that's credit to freshman Sydney Parrish. Parrish stepped up with the only eight points in the fourth quarter only playing four minutes so far in this matchup.  

Team-high 14 points for @sydney_parrish after a midrange jumper and a triple 👏

She's into double figures for the third time. Ducks trail 64-55 with 5:49 remaining. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/BRuWSa4NIF

— Oregon Women’s Basketball (@OregonWBB) January 8, 2021

Oregon is without Erin Boley - who is on the bench due to foul trouble (4) and was a spark with eight points for the Ducks in the second half.  

Oregon came out punching in the first quarter.

It was four field goals from the Ducks that extended the lead to 17-11. 

Freshman guard Maddie Scherr hit a buzz-beater to send the Ducks into the 2nd quarter, 20-17. Can the Ducks keep the momentum going against the No. 1 team in the country? 

🚨 MADDIE AT THE BUZZER! 🚨

📺 https://t.co/m7gFTyv2ai#GoDucks x @madd1escherr pic.twitter.com/ESTgg0y7A3

— Oregon Women’s Basketball (@OregonWBB) January 8, 2021

We're minutes away from the tip off of No. 10 Oregon vs. No. 1 Stanford. Here's what I'll be watching in the early going

The last time these two teams met, Oregon was crowned the Pac-12 champs against the Cardinal last season. This year, the Cardinal bring back nine experienced veterans compared to Oregon's nine new Ducks. 

Can Haley Jones get started early? Stanford will look to Jones (its leader in scoring at 14.9 points per game) to make an immediate impact against the Ducks. Jones is also the Pac-12's leader in rebounding (9.8 rpg).

Oregon has scored 186 points off of turnovers in their past nine games. Can they do the same against the top-ranked Cardinal?

Stanford is missing three players because of COVID protocols. We're not sure yet who it is, but that could have an impact.

9-0 Stanford will look to keep an unblemished record when they take on No. 11 Oregon @ 2:30 p.m. on Pac-12 Network. 

University of Oregon athletics

No. 11 Oregon is looking to bounce back from the upset loss last week against UCLA, 73-71, but it doesn't get easier for the rookie Ducks going up against the No. 1 team in the country — Stanford, who has nine veterans. 

Stanford is ranked the top team in the country for the fifth week in a row. The Cardinal is 9-0, which includes double-digit wins over Pac-12 foes Arizona and UCLA.

Oregon walked away with a victory in the Pac-12 Tournament, 89-56, the last time these two teams met. In fact, Oregon has won five of the last six games against Stanford. But we are looking at a different Oregon team in the 2020-21 season. This team features nine new Ducks, which includes five All-American freshmen led by freshman point guard TeHina Pao-Pao. 

Oregon will have to focus on the paint that Stanford's Haley Jones, Fran Belibi and Cameron Brink control down low. All three  are in the Pac-12's top-five shooting percentages. Lexie Hull and Kiana Williams adds to Stanford's scoring depth giving the Cardinal five players who average in double-digit scoring. Stanford outscores its opponents by more than 33 points per game.

Off the glass, Jones and Oregon's Nyara Sabally are both in the Pac-12's top five in rebounds per game. Jones leads the conference overall, grabbing 9.8 rebounds. 

As for Stanford, the Cardinal have to slow down Oregon's three-point shooting. The Ducks shoot 38 percent from beyond the arc — which is credit to Taylor Mikesell shooting 47 percent from three. Mikesell currently leads the Pac-12 with 25 three-pointers made — including 2.78 three-pointers per game. Oregon also does a great job forcing turnovers and capitalizing on the offensive end. The Ducks have scored 186 points off turnovers this season compared to 69 by their opponents. 

Stanford has yet to play a game on their home court due to COVID-19 protocols in Santa Clara County. Instead, the Pac-12 matchup will take place in Santa Cruz, California, at the Kaiser Permanente Arena, where Golden State Warriors' G-League affiliate plays. 

Stanford and Oregon have both played nine games in the 2020-21 season. Here's a breakdown of each team's stats going into Thursday's matchup: 

Here are some numbers to know on Oregon, courtesy of goducks.com

Oregon numbers to Know

• 1.49 - Oregon ranks No. 2 in the Pac-12 and No.8 in the country with a 1.49 assist-to-turnover ratio, paced by FR Te-Hina Paopao (1.91).
• 11 - UO has had 11 different players score in double figures through nine contests after Angela Dugalic's 13-point game vs. UCLA.
• 13 - Oregon has won 13 straight road games, tied with FGCU for the second-longest active streak in the nation (South Carolina, 17)
• 25 - Taylor Mikesell leads the Pac-12 with 25 made three-pointers as well as 2.78 three-pointers per game.
• 49.2% - The Ducks lead the Pac-12 and rank 12th in the nation this season with a 49.2 team field goal percentage.
• 186 - The Ducks have scored 186 points off turnovers through nine games compared to just 69 by their opponents (+117).

And a quick Stanford catch-up, courtesy of gostanford.com

• No. 1 Stanford began 2021 with a road swing in the desert, defeating 6th-ranked Arizona, 81-54, in its largest victory over a top-six team on the road in program history. The Cardinal capped the weekend with a 68-60 win at Arizona State for its ninth victory of the year.
• No. 1 Stanford finished the year 2020 with milestones everywhere you look. Starting on Dec. 12 at California, the Cardinal defeated the Golden Bears 83-38, in a game where Francesca Belibi became the eighth woman to dunk in a college basketball game and first since Britney Griner in 2013, on top of Tara VanDerveer tying Pat Summitt’s all-time wins record.
• That was followed up with VanDerveer’s record-breaking win at Pacific, as Stanford defeated the Tigers 104-61, making her the winningest coach in women’s college basketball history.
• VanDerveer earned win number 1,100 at USC, before Belibi added another dunk before the holiday break at UCLA.
• Stanford has already surpassed the century mark the most times in one season since 2010-11.
• Stanford has not allowed more than 61 points through its first nine games of the season for the first time since 1974-75, its first collegiate season, and has won each of its first nine games by at least eight points for the first time since 2009-10.
• The Cardinal has held its first nine opponents of the season to 40 percent shooting or worse.