COVERAGE: PAC-12 NETWORKS, ESPN2

UP NEXT: OREGON STATE, OREGON

After a pair of convincing wins over No. 25 Arizona State and Arizona, Stanford women’s basketball (14-8, 8-2 Pac-12) now heads north to take on No. 16 Oregon State (16-5, 7-3) on Friday before taking on conference-leader and sixth-ranked Oregon (20-3, 9-1) on Sunday.

Currently, Stanford is tied for second in Pac-12 standings. The Cardinal are tied with UCLA, who is preparing for a pair of games against rival USC. Oregon is the sole conference leader for now, boasting a one-game advantage on UCLA and Stanford. Oregon State is still in the mix, lurking behind the Cardinal and the Bruins, trailing by a single game. In case the Cardinal win both games, the team would be leader of the conference (or tied for first place).

However, both of the team’s opponents have been excellent at home this season. The Ducks haven’t lost any of their 13 home games so far, and the Beavers’ only home loss came at the hands of then-No. 2 Notre Dame. As a result, the Cardinal will need two strong performances to emerge from the road trip as conference leaders.

To emerge as winners of the game, Stanford will go to its scoring leaders, senior Brittany McPhee, junior Alanna Smith and freshman Kiana Williams. Nonetheless, the team will need everyone to step up on both ends of the floor to pull of the upsets. In particular, the Cardinal hope to repeat their “Warrior-ish” performance from last Sunday against Arizona. Against top teams like the Beavers and Ducks, Stanford will definitely needs to move the ball and limit turnovers.

The action on Friday starts at 6 p.m. and will be televised on Pac-12 Networks. Sunday’s game will be broadcasted on ESPN2 starting at noon.

 

Contact Alexandre Bucquet at bucqueta ‘at’ stanford.edu.