University of Oregon
Brigham Young
Ducks Toe the Line, Beat BYU 70-61
12/31/06 | Women's Basketball
EUGENE, Ore. ? It didn't matter that BYU made more field goals, shot a higher percentage, had more rebounds, more steals and held host Oregon without a field goal for the final four minutes and 11 seconds of the game.
The Ducks grabbed an early lead, dug in, and willed their way to the free throw line enough times to secure the 300th home women's victory in the history of McArthur Court, 70-61, in front of a season-high 3,100 on Saturday night.
Oregon (9-3) converted 26-of-31 attempts from the charity stripe (84 percent), the most makes for a Duck squad since 29 (in 37 attempts) against UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 22, 2000.
“Going into the game, we knew we matched up very evenly with them in points scored and points allowed,” said UO sixth-year head coach Bev Smith. “We saw the potential to tip the scales by using our quickness and getting to the line and it paid off.”
Ironically, Eleanor Haring, who led the Ducks with 16 points, only had two of her team's free throw attempts. But the senior Aussie post paid big dividends in the second half, scoring 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
“They were a physical side, but we didn't let that get to us,” Haring said.
On the contrary, Oregon was happy to take the contact if it meant a trip to the line. UO's starting backcourt of sophomore Tamika Nurse and senior Cicely Oaks combined to hit 14-of-14 free throws.
Nurse finished with 11 points and Oaks had 12 to go with a career-high six assists. Junior wing Kaela Chapdelaine also cracked double figures with 11 points, including 6-of-8 shooting from the stripe.
“Everyone chipped in tonight,” Chapdelaine said. “We are at our best when we play together and get everyone involved.”
The rare non-conference game in the midst of the Pac-10 schedule also featured the return of freshman shooting guard Taylor Lilley, who had missed six games with a broken left hand. After a couple of early turnovers, Lilley knocked the rust off with a 2-of-3 shooting performance from three-point range and ended the night with eight points.
The Cougars (9-4), who saw their five-game winning streak go up in smoke, out-rebounded UO, 37-29, and made five more field goals. But they made two fewer three pointers and were a pedestrian 9-of-15 from the foul line.
Both teams shot 41.7 percent for the game with Oregon hitting on 20-of-48 and BYU converting 25-of-60.
The Ducks led 30-23 at the half despite shooting 40 percent to the Cougars' 46 percent. BYU failed to capitalize on superior shooting largely due to 14 turnovers.
Oregon led 14-8 midway through the first half as BYU turned the ball over nine times before the 10:00 mark.
A driving basket by Jamie Hawkins put the Ducks back up by six and a catch-and-shoot three-pointer by Lilley gave UO its largest lead to that point at 23-14 with under six minutes to play.
BYU answered by scoring the game's next seven points before senior Jessie Shetters stopped the run with a backdoor layup off a pass from Haring, putting the Ducks up 25-21.
Haring pushed Oregon's lead into double digits at 40-30 on a rebound basket with 14:09 to play.
After the Cougars cut the deficit to five, Lilley bombed in a three-pointer from the left wing and ended up on her back for a 45-37 UO advantage.
BYU again whittled away at the Ducks lead, climbing within four on two different occasions, but Haring's 17-footer at 6:46 was good for another 10-point spread at 53-43.
After an Oaks jumper made the score 59-48 at the 4:11 mark, Oregon scored its final 11 points from the free throw line.
Oregon resumes conference play on Jan. 5 at Southern California.
QUACK TRACKS: Oaks set a career-high in assists for a second straight game ... Shetters reached double-digit rebounds for the seventh time in her career ? all this season ... The Ducks faced a non-conference opponent (regular season) after the start of Pac-10 play for the second straight year and fourth time in history ... The game was UO's second against a team named the Cougars (Washington State on Dec. 23) Former UO 1,000-point scorer Brandi Davis, a member of the L.A. Sparks (WNBA) in 2006, was in attendance.
