University of Oregon
Southern
Ducks Start Strong, Hold Off Southern 65-52
11/23/04 | Women's Basketball
EUGENE, Ore. ? A strong start was capped by a not-so-strong finish Tuesday, but the University of Oregon women's basketball team still came out on top ? 65-52 over Southern ? before 2,819 fans at McArthur Court.
The Ducks (2-0), which trailed only on the Jaguars' opening basket, jumped out to a 36-21 halftime lead behind the strength of their inside game ? a combined 24 first-half points from Cathrine Kraayeveld, Andrea Bills and Gabrielle Richards.
Oregon enjoyed a 59-40 lead at the 8:17 mark before Southern (1-2) clawed back, going on a 10-0 run over the next five minutes. The Ducks' defense, though, held up and Richards scored four of her game-high 19 in the final 1:56 to help seal the win.
"We've talked about (playing 40 minutes) for a long time," Oregon coach Bev Smith said. "I think we should have really opened (the game) up. We've got to give credit to Southern ? they really slowed the tempo down in the second half."
"It seems like we get a lead and get comfortable and lose our intensity," Richards said. "We needed to stick with what got us the (big) lead."
Nonetheless, it was Oregon's best back-to-back defensive performances in Smith's four-year tenure, giving up a combined 98 points ? the best total since 1999-00.
Richards, a 6-foot-3 post player from Australia, came off the bench to hit 7-of-8 from the field and 5-of-7 from the foul line in 21 minutes.
"Gabe was a real focal point for us," Smith said. "She got better in the second half and played passionately."
Kraayeveld also displayed her offensive prowess from the outside, mid-range turnaround jumpers and low-post lay-ins. She hit her first seven shots of the game and finished 7-of-10 from the floor to go with seven rebounds and two blocked shots. At one point late in the second half, Richards and Kraayeveld were a combined 13-of-13 on field goals. Bills also put in a solid performance with 12 points and a game-best eight rebounds in 18 minutes of action. Bills also entered Oregon's all-time rebounding list, passing Lauri Landerholm for 10th place with 620.
The Ducks struggled from 3-point range, hitting just 3-of-15. Southern wasn't much better, making only 2-of-11.
Oregon senior guard Corrie Mizusawa had five of her game-high eight assists in the second half and turned the ball over once. Ashley Blake led the Jaguars with 16 points while leading scorer Rolanda Monroe had 13 on 4-of-14 shooting.
Oregon will fly to New York City early Wednesday morning as it prepares for the Long Island University Turkey Classic. The Ducks first will play Miami (Fla.) on Friday at 1 p.m. PST. The Miami-Oregon winner will take on the winner of Long Island and Maryland-Eastern Shore on Saturday.
"We need to play like we practice," Smith said. "If we don't, it could be over quickly (against Miami)."
