STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford was unable to hold onto a 13-point, second-half lead and the Cardinal’s season ended with a 69-68 overtime loss to Portland in the first round of the WBIT on Thursday night.
Stanford was down one midway through the second quarter when Emme Shearer drained a 3-pointer, but closed the half on a 16-4 run to take a 40-29 lead into halftime.
Nunu Agara made the Cardinal’s first shot of the second half to push the advantage to 13. Following that bucket, Stanford would miss its next 12 shots and saw its lead dwindle to four, 42-38 late in the third quarter.
Stanford was up by as many as six in the final period and five with 3:23 to go. The Pilots made each of their final four shots in the fourth, culminating with a Shearer score in the paint to force overtime, 60-60.
Shearer scored all of Portland’s nine points in overtime, including the game-winning free throw with 1.8 seconds to go to seal it. She had a game-high 28 on 12-of-18 shooting.
Agara returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Feb. 6 and had 21 points and 12 rebounds. Elena Bosgana had 19 points and eight boards, while Chloe Clardy added 11.