[WBB fan]

Some games are "won" when your team scores fewer point than the opposition. This was one of those games.
In many ways this game was a set-up. Oregon had beaten Stanford by more that thirty points a few weeks earlier. At the beginning of the season, Oregon had beaten the US National Team that had been selected to represent the US in the coming Olympics. Tonight's game was being televised nationally by ESPN, not to highlight Stanford, but to feature a talent-ladened team led by the national player of the year, Sabina Ionescu. Ionescu had just flown up from LA where she had given a eulogy for Koby Bryant in the largest memorial ever given to a basketball player. Stephen Curry was court-side at Maples to see the Oregon star for the second time in three days. No one expected Stanford to win.
Things didn’t go Stanford's way much of the game. Oregon dominated at times while Stanford played uncharacteristically tight and out of sorts. Stanford fell roughly twenty points behind. Many players would have hung their heads at this point and given up.
But this team is not about quit! Tara adjusted the game strategy, the players dug deeply into their basketball souls and elevated their game. They scrambled, they fought, they gave up their bodies, they played hardnose defense, and hit difficult shots. In the final quarter, they outscored Oregon 28-18. This team refused to give up.
When the final buzzer sounded, Stanford came up eight points shy of their opponent's score. But they weren’t a beaten team. They walked off the court in gratitude, smiling and waving to their fans. 
Some games are won when your team scores fewer points than the opponent. This was one of those games.

Well said. Thank you. I totally agree, and this thread desperately needed more of this perspective.

[WBB fan]

Some games are "won" when your team scores fewer point than the opposition. This was one of those games.
In many ways this game was a set-up. Oregon had beaten Stanford by more that thirty points a few weeks earlier. At the beginning of the season, Oregon had beaten the US National Team that had been selected to represent the US in the coming Olympics. Tonight's game was being televised nationally by ESPN, not to highlight Stanford, but to feature a talent-ladened team led by the national player of the year, Sabina Ionescu. Ionescu had just flown up from LA where she had given a eulogy for Koby Bryant in the largest memorial ever given to a basketball player. Stephen Curry was court-side at Maples to see the Oregon star for the second time in three days. No one expected Stanford to win.
Things didn’t go Stanford's way much of the game. Oregon dominated at times while Stanford played uncharacteristically tight and out of sorts. Stanford fell roughly twenty points behind. Many players would have hung their heads at this point and given up.
But this team is not about quit! Tara adjusted the game strategy, the players dug deeply into their basketball souls and elevated their game. They scrambled, they fought, they gave up their bodies, they played hardnose defense, and hit difficult shots. In the final quarter, they outscored Oregon 28-18. This team refused to give up.
When the final buzzer sounded, Stanford came up eight points shy of their opponent's score. But they weren’t a beaten team. They walked off the court in gratitude, smiling and waving to their fans. 
Some games are won when your team scores fewer points than the opponent. This was one of those games.

Well said. Thank you. I totally agree, and this thread desperately needed more of this perspective.