Ducks Travel North To Play Undefeated Pilots
11/21/10 | Women's Basketball
THIS WEEK
Oregon (2-0) ends its road trip at Portland (4-0) on Monday night. The Ducks will then return to McArthur Court to host the three-day Oregon Invitational, Friday-Sunday. UO welcomes in Cal State Bakersfield, Idaho and Sacramento State.
OREGON at Portland - LIVE COVERAGE
• TV: None
• Radio: OSN - THE SCORE 95.3 FM; Terry Jonz, play-by-play
• GoDucks.com: Live audio (O-Zone) and live stats
• Video: www.portlandpilots.com
• Live Blog: www.GoDucks.com
TICKETS
Tickets can be purchased by clicking HERE, calling 1-800-WEB-FOOT, or in person at the Casanova Center ticket office. Tickets can also be purchased at the McArthur Court ticket window 90 minutes prior to game time. The doors to Mac Court open 60 minutes prior to tip.
OREGON INVITATIONAL
Promotions - Food For Lane County
The Ducks return to Mac Court to host the Oregon Invitational, Friday-Sunday, Nov. 26-28. UO will welcome Cal State Bakersfield, Idaho and Sacramento State to the tournament.
Fans are asked to help ease hunger in Lane County by donating non-perishable food items to Food for Lane County. Donate three items at the McArthur Court entrance to receive $3 off the general admission ticket price each day of the tournament.
Promotions - Arizona Ticket Stub
Fans can also bring their ticket stub from Friday's football game vs. Arizona, and receive a free general admission ticket to Saturday's game vs. Cal State Bakersfield, scheduled for a 2:15 p.m. tip.
SAYING GOODBYE TO McARTHUR COURT
Oregon will play its final game at McArthur Court hosting the University of Washington on Jan. 8, 2011. Before the grand finale, the Oregon women's basketball program will welcome back former players Karen Ada Piers Peterson and Jamie Craighead to The Pit during the Oregon Invitational. Peterson is currently an assistant coach at Idaho, while Craighead is in her second season as head coach at Sacramento State.
HELLO MATTHEW KNIGHT ARENA
The Ducks will make their first appearance at Matthew Knight Arena hosting Oregon State in Civil War action on Jan. 23, 2011. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net as UO attempts to Pack The Pit. General admission tickets are currently available online for $2, and will be available on the day of the game at the ticket box office. Fans will also be able to show their BI-Mart card while purchasing a reserved ticket to the Oregon State game on Jan. 23, and will receive a free general admission ticket to the game against California at 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 29.
The school's sparkling new 12,500 seat venue is scheduled to make its grand opening on Thursday, Jan. 13, when the Oregon men's basketball team faces USC, with tipoff for that contest scheduled for 8 p.m.
LONG BEACH STATE RECAP
The Oregon women's basketball team secured its third consecutive 2-0 start to the season with an 88-76 road victory over Long Beach State at Walter Pyramid on Friday night.
Junior guard Nia Jackson led UO with 21 points, while dishing a game and career-high tying eight assists. The Seattle native also was perfect from behind the three-point arc, knocking down a career-best three 3-pointers.
Junior wing Jasmin Holliday also posted career highs recording the second double-double of her career with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Freshman forward Deanna Weaver earned her first collegiate double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while junior guard Ashley Buis added 15 points.
The 49ers shot 40.9 percent from the floor compared to the Ducks' 32.6 percent output. UO had a decided edge in three-point shooting, draining 9-of-27 trifectas while holding LBSU to 3-for-18 from beyond the arc. Long Beach State held a 66-55 advantage in rebounding. The Ducks' pressure defense forced 31 49er turnovers while the offense only had 16 miscues of its own.
PORTLAND PREVIEW
Portland is off to a blazing start with an undefeated record of 4-0. The Pilots have opened their season with wins over Boise State, Eastern Washington, Washington State and most recently Air Force.
UP is outscoring opponents 78.2-66.2 points per game, led by junior Natalie Day's 16.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Junior guard ReZina TecleMariam is averaging 14.0 points and 6.5 assists per game, while junior guard Nakeisha Brown is averaging 14.0 points per game and shooting 58.8 percent (10-17) from 3-point range. Junior forward Alexis Gannis is just shy of averaging a double-double scoring 10.5 points and grabbing 9.5 rebounds per game.
The Pilots are shooting 41.3 percent from the floor and averaging 15.8 assists per game.
INJURY UPDATE
The Oregon women's basketball team begins the 2010-11 season with 15 student-athletes on the roster, including six seniors. Fourth-year senior Ellyce Ironmonger is currently rehabbing from offseason surgery on her right ankle. She is not expected to return to the court for at least two weeks.
FULL-COURT PRESSURE
In two games, Oregon's full court pressure has forced opponents into 65 turnovers, an average of 32.5 turnovers per game. The Ducks have managed to score 67 of their 198 points (34 percent) off opponents' errors.
Oregon is also averaging 17.0 steals per game as opponents are managing just 11.5 assists per contest.
UO is averaging 99.0 points per game, while holding opponents to a 73.0 ppg scoring average and .360 shooting percentage.
THE STARTING FIVE
Head coach Paul Westhead's starting five has a new look for the 2010-11 season. The Ducks return three starters from last year's squad, including Nia Jackson, Amanda Johnson and Victoria Kenyon, but lose guards Taylor Lilley and Micaela Cocks to graduation.
Oregon's first player off the bench last season, junior wing Jasmin Holliday, now has a starting spot, and is averaging a double-double with 14.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. At shooting guard, junior college transfer Ashley Buis has knocked down five 3-pointers, and is averaging 14.5 points per game.
SCORING FROM THE POINT
Junior point guard Nia Jackson is currently leading the Ducks averaging 16.5 points and 7.0 assists per game. The Seattle native recorded the third 20-point game of her career, leading UO with 21 in the Ducks' 88-76 win at Long Beach State on Friday night.
Jackson is shooting 55.0 percent (11-20) from the floor, and on Friday night was a remarkable 3-for-3 from behind the arc, breaking her career record for 3-pointers in a single game.
In addition, Jackson is near perfect, shooting 8-of-9 from the free-throw line, and is also averaging 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game.
DOUBLE FIGURES
In two games, Oregon has already tallied three double-doubles. On Friday, junior Jasmin Holliday recorded the second double-double of her career, and posted career highs in scoring (17), rebounding (15) and assists (5).
Freshman Deanna Weaver, currently the only non-starter averaging double figures scoring 13.5 points per game, earned her first double-double at Long Beach State on Friday scoring 11 points and adding 10 rebounds.
Junior Amanda Johnson earned the 13th double-double of her career with 18 points and a game-high 11 rebounds in the Nov. 13 win over Western Oregon.
3-POINT THREAT
In just two games with the Ducks, junior college transfer Ashley Buis has already made an impact. The native of Linden, Indiana is averaging 14.5 points per game, and has started the season by knocking down five 3-pointers.
ON AND OFF THE COURT
Junior Amanda Johnson returns as one of Oregon's most experienced student-athletes, leading the returners in several career categories; points (697), scoring average (10.6 ppg), field goals made (275), 3-point field goals made (76), free-throw percentage (.772), rebounds (469; 7.1 rpg) and steals (105).
Off the court last season, Johnson flourished in the classroom, becoming the first Oregon women's basketball player since 1990 to be named to the 2009-10 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® University Division second team. The Santa Rosa, Calif., native, was also named to the Pac-10 All-Academic First Team, and was awarded the Doyle Higdon Memorial Trophy, given annually to a University of Oregon sophomore for excellence in athletics, scholarship and citizenship.
During the summer, Johnson was awarded her undergraduate degree Summa Cum Laude, graduating in the top two percent of her class with a double major in psychology and sociology. She is now pursuing her master's in couples and family therapy.
On the court last year, Johnson was named Pac-10 Honorable Mention after averaging 12.7 points per game with a team-leading (3rd Pac-10) 8.5 rebounds per game. Her 290 total rebounds tied for ninth in Oregon's single-season record book, and she also finished the season with 11 double-doubles, 24 double-figure scoring games and five 20-point efforts.
2009-10 SEASON REVIEW
The Ducks finished the 2009-10 season with an 18-16 record, the program's highest win total since the 2004-05 campaign, and were invited to participate in the Women's National Invitation Tournament – the team's first postseason appearance since 2007.
Head coach Paul Westhead's influence was apparent immediately as Oregon's scoring offense ranked in the top-5 of the nation for the majority of the season. Oregon finished the 2009-10 season averaging 81.4 points per game, second in the country behind Oral Roberts (85.1 ppg). The Ducks' scoring average was the fourth best in program history (best since 1981), as Oregon sank a new UO and Pac-10 record 284 three-pointers.
2009-10 RECORD BREAKERS
Westhead's high-scoring offense was a welcome sight at Mac Court. The Ducks reached the 100-point plateau on three occasions, scoring the most points (2,767) in program history. The Ducks' full-court style produced 1,351 rebounds per game, a mark that ranks third in program history as well as 322 assists, a total that lists fifth in program history.
UO's fast-paced offense totaled a program-record 2,354 field goal attempts, while the Ducks set Oregon and Pac-10 records by knocking down 284 three-point field goals and attempting 799. The Ducks also tied a program record winning 14 games at historic Mac Court.
In addition, Oregon's 119-112 loss at Arizona became the highest scoring game involving a Pac-10 team, and the Ducks'112 points was the highest scoring total for a losing team from the Pac-10.
Taylor Lilley and current senior Nicole Canepa also tied the Oregon single-game mark for points in a game with 38 on two different occasions. Lilley dropped 38 on March 23 in a WNIT second round victory over New Mexico, marking the highest point total an Oregon player has scored in a postseason game. Canepa scored 38 in the record-shattering loss at Arizona, becoming the first UO player to score 38 points in a Pac-10 Conference game. Lilley also crushed the 3-point single-game record with nine in a win at USC on Jan. 30.
