University of Oregon
Arkansas
Ducks' Comeback Falls Short as Arkansas Wins 65-62
12/21/04 | Women's Basketball
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. ? Again, it was a tale of two halves for the University of Oregon women's basketball team. The Ducks nearly overcame an abysmal turnover-laden first half, but their comeback fell short as Arkansas won 65-62 before 2,501 fans at Bud Walton Arena.
The Ducks, who trailed by 17 with 11 minutes left in the game, whittled the Razorbacks' lead to 63-62 with 28.8 seconds left. After an Arkansas free throw, Oregon senior Cathrine Kraayeveld tried to give the Ducks the lead but missed a 3-pointer. Another Razorback free throw with 12.5 seconds left was followed by a 3-point attempt from freshman Kristen Forristall, who had it blocked as time expired.
"We know we needed a three and we were without timeouts," said Oregon coach Bev Smith, whose team lost its second straight and fell to 7-2. "We could have run a set play. But our team got back into the game on emotion and playing into a rhythm. One thing we might have been able to do differently is pull Gabe Richards out (to shoot the 3-pointer). I thought we got a good look. If we had to do it over again, we may have done it a bit differently."
It looked grim for Oregon at the game's onset. The Ducks had more turnovers (17) than points in the first half, as Arkansas (9-1) led 31-15 at halftime, spurred by its signature pressure defense. Oregon didn't score its first basket until more than four minutes into the game on a Kraayeveld lay-in. The Ducks, who missed all six of their 3-point attempts in the half, later went on a seven-and-a-half minute scoring drought until a Gabrielle Richards lay-up at the 4:36 mark to cut Arkansas' lead to 21-13.
"That's our game, to pressure the guards," Arkansas coach Susie Gardner said. "I didn't think we'd play man the whole game, but we did. Our pressure was a factor in the win."
Arkansas forced Oregon into a season-high 26 turnovers. The Razorbacks, though, committed 19 of their own.
"I'll give all the credit that is deserving to the University of Arkansas," Smith said. "They played very well. They were very aggressive and had lots of movement. They were the aggressors in the first half."
The Ducks caught fire in the second half, scoring 47 points ? 25 of them combined from Kraayeveld and Forristall, whose career-high 10 points all were in the second half. Oregon used a young lineup for much of the second half, with Forristall, Richards (seven points) and Kaela Chapdelaine (eight points) ? all freshmen ? playing most of the minutes.
"In the second half, we kept the ball off the floor," Smith said. "We penetrated and got to the free throw line and got our inside-outside game going, which we never got in the first half. Our team was prepared for this game. We had watched tape and looked at the film. We got some leadership out there (after halftime) and it became a basketball game."
Oregon went on a 17-2 run midway through second half to climb back into the game, as Kraayeveld scored 12 of those points on three 3-pointers, a driving layup and a free throw as the Ducks trailed just 47-45 with 5:15 on the clock.
"We felt good about the way we were playing and taking it to the hoop and drawing fouls," said Kraayeveld, who had game-highs of 20 points and nine rebounds. "We just went out and played our game in the second half."
It was Kraayeveld's third straight game with at least 20 points.
Ruby Vaden came off the bench to lead Arkansas with 12 points and seven rebounds. Rochelle Vaughn (11 points) and Kristin Peoples (10 points) paced the Razorbacks, who haven't lost a non-conference home game since 2001.
The Ducks open Pac-10 play Monday against California at McArthur Court. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. Oregon then will face No. 2-ranked Stanford on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
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