University of Oregon
Washington State
Davis' 19 Helps Ducks Defeat Washington State 62-47
02/10/05 | Women's Basketball
PULLMAN, Wash. ? The road hasn't exactly been kind to the Oregon women's basketball team in past years. So any win away from the friendly confines of McArthur Court is gravy. And the Ducks poured it on Thursday with a 62-47 win over Washington State before 585 at Friel Court.
With USC and UCLA both losing tonight, Oregon claimed sole possession of third place in the Pac-10 and improved to 16-6 and 9-4. Washington State lost for the ninth straight time to the Ducks and fell to 5-18 and 1-13.
The Ducks, who have won four straight conference games for the first time since 2001, knew the game wouldn't be easy as the Cougars have given many teams a scare this year, including two near upsets in Los Angeles last week.
"It was an important game for us," said Oregon senior Corrie Mizusawa, who had nine points and eight assists. "They've been playing really well the last few weeks, so it's nice to get a win on the road."
Brandi Davis scored 14 of her game-high 19 points in the first half as Oregon led for nearly the final seven minutes and never lost its advantage. Davis has scored 24, 20 and now 19 points in successive years at Friel Court. Davis hit 8-of-13 from the floor and 3-of-5 from 3-point range as well as tied a season-high with six rebounds. Davis is 17-of-34 overall on 3-pointers in the last seven games.
Cathrine Kraayeveld, battling the flu, and Andrea Bills both gave gutsy performances for the Ducks. Kraayeveld hit three 3-pointers in the first half and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
"We tried to manage (Kraayeveld's) minutes as best we could," Oregon coach Bev Smith said. "Cat did a good job finding that space to hit those 3-pointers."
Meanwhile, Bills had 10 points, eight rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots.
"I was just there for my teammates," said Bills, who had seven of her rebounds after halftime. "When somebody drove past them I wasn't going to let them score."
Oregon held its opponent to fewer than 60 points for the 13th time this year and held a team to zero 3-pointers for the first time in at least two seasons. The Cougars missed all 14 attempts from beyond the arc.
"Our ability to not shoot in our own gym, I don't have the answer," Washington State coach Sherri Murrell said. "We show up and we don't give our best and it showed up on the free throw line as well (15-of-24). Oregon is a good team. We had to play a tough game to beat them and we did not do that whatsoever. Oregon deserved every bit of this one. This team was a disgrace to coach."
Despite the win, the Ducks got sloppy with the ball, committing 22 turnovers ? their eighth with at least 20 in a game this year, seven of them being away from home.
"We have to take care of the ball," Smith said. "We turned the ball over too many times. We really try to do things too quickly on the road, rather than play deliberately and patiently."
Oregon next takes on Washington on Saturday at 1 p.m. in a game nationally televised by Fox Sports Net. The Huskies crushed the Ducks last year at Seattle, 95-50.
"Washington is a big rivalry for us," Smith said. "To go up there and win on their floor would be a big statement."
