No. 2 Stanford Stops Oregon

Stanford finally figured out how to beat Oregon at MacArthur Court: Make free throws.

Lindsey Yamasaki scored 24 points, and second-ranked Stanford overcame an early deficit to beat Oregon, 77-72, Thursday night at Eugene, Ore. and remain unbeaten in the Pacific Conference.

The Cardinal made 17 of 19 free throws in the final 3:58 to end a three-year winless streak at Oregon.

The game was tied at 58 when a layup by Yamasaki put the Cardinal ahead for good. That was Stanford’s last field goal. Nicole Powell, who made eight of 11 free throws, scored 20 points for Stanford.

Stanford (23-1, 13-0) led, 38-31, at halftime. But Oregon (12-11, 7-7), led by Shaquala Williams with 22 points, made its first seven shots of the second half to take a 45-44 lead with 16:03 left.

Oregon’s Alissa Edwards made a layup, a three-point basket and a jump shot to put the Ducks ahead, 50-46, with 12:42 left before Stanford rallied.

No. 3 Tennessee 93, Arkansas 65--Kara Lawson scored a career-high 30 points, including 19 in the second half at Knoxville, Tenn., for the Lady Vols (19-2, 8-1 SEC).

No. 5 Duke 83, Wake Forest 60--lana Beard scored nine of her 15 points during a 16-2 run in the first half, and the Blue Devils clinched a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference title at Winston-Salem, N.C. Duke (20-3, 12-0) has won 10 in a row and 16 of 17.

No. 7 Purdue 80, Illinois 69--Shereka Wright tied a career high with 26 points and the Boilermakers (19-3, 10-2 Big 10) used a 9-0 run down the stretch to pull away at Champaign, Ill.

No. 8 Louisiana Tech 82, Hawaii 53--Cheryl Ford had 17 points and 12 rebounds at Ruston, La., leading the Lady Techsters (17-3, 12-0) to their 75th consecutive Western Athletic Conference victory.

No. 9 South Carolina 64, No. 22 Georgia 59--Shaunzinski Gortman scored 18 points and led a pressing attack that forced 26 turnovers as the Gamecocks won at Columbia, S.C. With the game tied at 47, South Carolina (19-3, 7-2 Southeastern) turned on the pressure, forcing five Georgia turnovers in three minutes to spark an 11-2 run.

No. 19 Colorado State 58, Utah 53--Ashley Augspurger had 19 points and seven rebounds, and Angie Gorton made four free throws in the final minute for the Rams (18-4, 7-1) at Fort Collins, Colo.

No. 18 Minnesota 79, Ohio St. 64--Janel McCarville had 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Gophers (18-4, 8-3) at Minneapolis.

Iowa 76, No. 21 Wisconsin 64--Jennie Lillis and Jerica Watson each scored 18 points for the Hawkeyes at Madison, Wis. Iowa handed Wisconsin its sixth consecutive loss after a 16-1 start. Iowa is 14-8, 7-5 and Wisconsin is 16-7, 7-6.

Alabama 92, No. 25 Mississippi St. 86--LaNisha Cartwell had 19 points and the Crimson Tide (14-8, 4-5) overcame 33 points by the Bulldogs’ LaToya Thomas at Tuscaloosa, Ala.