University of Oregon
Washington State
Haring and Help Down Washington State, 66-55
12/24/06 | Women's Basketball
Haring and Help Down Washington State, 66-55
EUGENE, Ore. ? As has typically been the case for the Oregon Ducks, senior forward Eleanor Haring had a strong game scoring the basketball.
But unlike UO's play during a recent two-game slide, Haring had plenty of company on the final stat sheet as the Ducks used a balanced attack in Saturday's 66-55 Pac-10 win over Washington State at McArthur Court.
The wiry Australian post led four players in double figures, finishing with 20 points and five rebounds to help even the Ducks' (8-3, 1-1 Pac-10) conference mark following Thursday's setback to Washington in their Pac-10 opener.
“She is always going to be a focus for the defense and we need to make sure we have other people step up,” head coach Bev Smith said of Haring.
Step up they did as sophomore guard Tamika Nurse scored a season-high 13, senior forward Carolyn Ganes ended a recent shooting drought with 12 and senior center Jessie Shetters broke double digits for the first time in Pac-10 play with 11 points.
“You can't score any points if you don't shoot the ball,” Shetters said, taking a jab at herself. Added Ganes: “Everyone, especially the post players, came to play hard today, and Jess established a presence inside which opened up outside shots for everyone.”
The Cougars (5-7, 1-1) were led by a pair of young guards, getting 14 points from freshman Marisa Stotler and 12 from sophomore Amanda DuRocher, who was 4-of-8 from three-point range.
“We needed to control tempo and we tried to take their strengths away, and we did a good job at that,” Smith said.
The Ducks held senior post Kate Benz to only four points and six rebounds. Last year, the two-time All-Pac-10 honorable mention forward from Portland averaged 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds against her home state team.
Shetters played a big role in that and finished the game just one rebound shy of her third career double-double. Her nine boards were still a game-high.
“We challenged the team in practice yesterday to play with the same intensity they showed during non-conference play, and that was the difference tonight,” Smith said.
As a team, UO shot a season-high 51 percent (22-of-43) from the field while holding the Cougars to 38 percent (22-of-58). There was a big discrepancy at the free throw line, where the Ducks converted 18-of-27 (67 percent) compared to just 5-of-14 (36 percent) for WSU.
Oregon started the second half with a 9-1 run, increasing a one-point to eight at 35-27 with 16:48 left. WSU ripped off the next six, but Haring stopped the spurt with jump shot in the paint, sparking UO's own 8-2 run to take a 43-35 lead with 12:04 to play.
Washington State refused to go away quietly, pulling within two points once again on a three-point banker by DuRocher to make the score 45-43 Ducks at the 10:09 mark.
Ganes answered for Oregon with a three-ball of her own to give Oregon a five-point cushion, 48-43, with 9:51 left. Ganes wasn't done from behind the arc, draining another long ball four and a half minutes later for a 54-46 Duck lead.
The Cougars would never get closer than five points the rest of the way.
The Ducks squeaked out a 27-26 halftime lead, thanks to 10 points from Haring and six from Shetters, despite being out-rebounded, 16-10. The senior duo recorded all but two of UO's field goals in the first half.
WSU scored the game's first five points before the Ducks countered with a 7-0 run to take their first lead. The Cougars regained a two-point advantage at 11-9 before Haring knotted the score with a fall-away 12-footer.
The Cougars jumped ahead 16-11 on an Adriane Ferguson three-pointer and inside basket from Ebonee Coates at the 12:35 mark. Haring cut the deficit to three with her fifth field goal of the half, giving her 10 of UO's first 13 points.
Oregon drew even at 19-all on back-to-back layups from Shetters, but WSU scored on its next two possessions to reclaim a four-point advantage.
Another Shetters bucket, followed by an 18-foot jumper by Ganes to beat the shot clock, squared the game, 23-23, with 3:42 to play in the period.
The Ducks took their second lead of the game at 25-24 on a pair of free throws from Nurse with under three minutes remaining. Two more foul shots by Nurse gave UO its biggest lead of the half, 27-24.
Oregon's next conference game isn't until Jan. 5 at USC, but the Ducks are in action at home next Saturday, Dec. 30, against BYU. Tipoff at McArthur Court is set for 7 p.m.
QUACK TRACKS: Haring recorded 20 or more points for the fourth time in her career ... Shetters reached double digits in scoring for the third time this season and third time in her career ... the win by UO snapped an eight-game losing streak against Pac-10 teams and seven-game streak in Pac-10 play ... FR G Taylor Lilley missed her sixth consecutive game due to a broken left hand, but is likely to see action Dec. 30 against BYU.
