Oregon Weekly WBB Release - Week 11
01/20/11 | Women's Basketball
THIS WEEK
Oregon (11-6, 2-4) gets the chance to play its opener in Matthew Knight Arena on Sunday, as the Ducks host Oregon State (7-10, 0-6) in the first round of Civil War action with tip-off scheduled for noon. The Ducks are looking to rebound after dropping a pair of games in Los Angeles last week.
Oregon State at Oregon
Oregon at UCLA
• TV: Fox Sports Net; TV Talent: Jim Watson, Mary Murphy
• Radio: OSN - THE SCORE 95.3 FM; Terry Jonz, play-by-play
• Live Audio: O-Zone on www.GoDucks.com; Terry Jonz, play-by-play
• Live stats: www.GoDucks.com
PROMOTIONS
On Sunday, the Ducks will be giving away women's basketball trading cards to the first 3,000 fans through the doors.
In addition, the “Student Fan of the Game” will win a round-trip ticket to their choice of Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles or San Francisco courtesy of Allegiant Air. Students will also receive 100 personal pan pizzas - ready to be served - at halftime of the game courtesy of Papa's Pizza.
TICKETS
All advanced-sale general admission and reserved tickets are currently sold out. A limited number of tickets may go on sale at 11:45 a.m., Sunday at the Matthew Knight Arena north ticket box office.
UCLA RECAP
The ninth-ranked UCLA Bruins defended their home court and forced Oregon out of its rhythm as the Ducks suffered an 87-57 loss on last Saturday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion.
Facing their first ranked opponent of the season, the Ducks (11-6, 2-4) committed a season-high 31 turnovers as the Bruins scored 33 points off Oregon's miscues.
No. 9 UCLA (15-1, 5-0) applied full-court pressure and worked hard to keep the ball out of Oregon point guard Nia Jackson's hands.
Jackson was held to a season-low seven points as her 17-game double-figure scoring streak was snapped, although the Seattle native led the Ducks with a game-high tying five assists.
Junior forward Amanda Johnson fell one rebound short of a double-double, leading Oregon with 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
UCLA finished with five players in double figures led by Markel Walker's game-high 14 points off the bench, while Doreena Campbell added 13 points and a game-high tying five assists. Atonye Nyingifa and Darxia Morris each scored 12 points apiece for the Bruins, while Jasmine Dixon added 11 points and five rebounds.
Senior Nicole Canepa scored eight points off the bench as did senior guard Kristi Fallin.
UCLA shot 52.7 percent (39-of-74) from the floor and outrebounded the Ducks 43-32. UCLA also scored 16 second-chance points on 19 offensive rebounds.
PREVIEWING OREGON STATE
Oregon State (7-10, 0-6) has yet to pick up a win in Pac-10 play, and is currently on a six-game losing streak. The contest between the Beavers and the Ducks is expected to be a test of wills as the league's highest-scoring offense in Oregon (83.1 ppg), is set to go up the conference's second rated scoring defense in Oregon State, as OSU allows just 53.6 points per game.
Oregon swept Oregon State last season as the Ducks prevailed 82-62 in Eugene on Feb. 6, 2010 in the last meeting between the two squads.
Freshman guard Alyssa Martin leads OSU averaging 14.6 points per game, while redshirt sophomore Sage Indendi is also scoring in double figures, averaging 10.6 points per game.
INJURY UPDATE
Oregon head coach Paul Westhead currently has all 15 student-athletes on his roster available to play.
NOTEABLES
• The Oregon women said goodbye to Mac Court with an all-time record of 338-127. The Ducks defeated Washington, 68-64, in front of a season-best crowd of 2,854 at The Pit on Jan. 8 , 2011.
• Last weekend, Oregon was swept in Los Angeles for the first time since the 2007-08 season. The Ducks are now 0-4 in Pac-10 play on the road.
• Junior guard Nia Jackson was held to a season-low seven points at No. 9 UCLA last Saturday, snapping her double-figure scoring streak at 17 games. The last Oregon women's player with double-figure scoring in at least 17 straight games was Shaquala Williams between January 4 - March 3, 2002.
• Oregon tied a program single-game record and knocked down a season-best 15 three-pointers in last Thursday night's loss at USC.
• For the first time this season, Oregon lost after leading at the half, and after shooting a higher percentage (.362/.359) than its opponent at USC last Thursday.
JACKSON IGNITES JETS
Junior guard Nia Jackson recorded the second double-double of her career last week, scoring a season-high 25 points while matching a career best with a game-high 11 assists in the Ducks' 79-76 loss at USC on Thursday night.
Jackson ranks fourth in the Pac-10 averaging 16.3 points per game, but also leads the conference with 5.9 assists per game - a mark thank ranks 13th nationally. With a total of 101 assists, Jackson could break into the Oregon single-season top-10.
The Seattle native is one of two student-athletes in the Pac-10 this season (the other Arizona's Davellyn Whyte) to record a double-double in points and assists this season. Jackson's five 20-point efforts rank third in the Pac-10, while she leads the league with two double-figure assist performances.
Jackson's 2.7 steals per game ties for second in the Pac-10 with teammate Amanda Johnson, while Jackson's 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio tops the league and ranks 30th in the nation.
MILESTONES
• Freshman Deanna Weaver scored the 100th point of her Oregon career with a lay-up at the 12:11 mark of the second half last Saturday at UCLA.
• Jasmin Holliday scored the 500th point of her career by opening up the second half with a lay-up at the 19:50 mark of the second half at UCLA.
• Senior Victoria Kenyon scored the 500th point of her career with a 3-pointer at the 11:13 mark in the first half of Saturday's loss at UCLA.
• During the Ducks' 109-94 loss at Arizona on Dec. 31, Amanda Johnson eclipsed the 900-point threshold for her career after scoring a team-leading 16 points. In 81 career games, Johnson has scored 948 points for Oregon. If Johnson is able to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career this season, she will become the ninth player in UO history to complete the feat in their junior year, and the first since Shaquala Williams during the 2001-02 season.
• Currently, Johnson's 17 career double-doubles tie for seventh in Oregon history with Renae Fegent, and her 99 career 3-pointers rank 10th in UO all-time history.
• Nia Jackson became the first Oregon player since Corrie Mizusawa (Feb. 5, 2005), to record double figures in assists when she posted the first double-double of her career with 17 points and a career-best 11 assists in Oregon's Dec. 19, 100-71 win at Saint Mary's. The Seattle native did it again last Thursday with a season-high 25 points and 11 assists at USC.
LEADER OF THE PACK
Junior forward Amanda Johnson recorded her 14th double-figure scoring game, leading the Ducks with 12 points in last Saturday's loss at No. 9 UCLA.
Johnson's 16.4 points per game lead Oregon and rank second in the Pac-10, while the Santa Rosa, Calif., native's 8.5 rebounds per game lead the Ducks and rank fourth in the league.
Johnson's 2.7 steals per game tie for second in the Pac-10 as Oregon's starting forward has recorded five double-doubles and six 20-point games this season.
FULL-COURT PRESSURE
The Ducks are using their full-court pressure defense and up-tempo offense to disrupt opponents. Currently Oregon is forcing opponents into 24.6 turnovers per game, while the Ducks are second in the Pac-10 and seventh in the country averaging 13.3 steals per game.
UP-TEMPO OFFENSE
Oregon has reached triple digits in scoring three times this season, and is currently averaging 83.1 points per game to lead the Pac-10 and rank ninth in the nation. The Ducks' 8.1 three-pointers per game lead the Pac-10 and rank ninth in the nation, while UO's 16.2 assists per game rank third in the Pac-10 and 29th in the country.
THE STARTING FIVE
Head coach Paul Westhead's starting five has a new look for the 2010-11 season. The Ducks returned three starters from last year's squad, including Nia Jackson, Amanda Johnson and Victoria Kenyon, but lost 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 8.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. At shooting guard, junior college transfer Ashley Buis has knocked down 30 three-pointers, and is averaging 8.2 points per game, having reached double figures in seven contests.
THE ROOKIES
Oregon head coach Paul Westhead has been adamant about using a deep bench this season. All five newcomers, including four freshmen, have seen action on the floor.
Deanna Weaver, who can play either forward position, is currently averaging 6.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game off the bench. Guard Ariel Thomas is averaging 4.8 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.
CALLING IN THE RESERVES
Oregon has scored 1,412 points this season, with 473 of those points coming from the reserves. In 17 games, Oregon's bench has outscored the opponent's bench 473-372. The Ducks' reserves have been outscored only four times this season, and UO has an 1-3 record in those games. Oregon is 10-2 when its bench outscores the opponent, and 0-1 when the teams' benches are equal in points scored.
WALKING THE RED CARPET
Two members of the Oregon women's basketball team have received Pac-10 Player of the Week honors this year. Junior forward Amanda Johnson was named Pac-10 Women's Basketball Player of the Week for the week on Nov. 29, after helping Oregon to a 3-1 record. Johnson was voted the Oregon Invitational's Most Valuable Player, and led the Ducks in scoring (20.5 ppg), rebounding (10.8 rpg), steals (15) and blocks (6) during UO's four games from Nov. 22-28.
Junior point guard Nia Jackson was named Pac-10 Player of the Week on Jan. 10, after leading the Ducks to a sweep of the Washington schools, averaging 22.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 5.0 steals per game. Jackson was also named to the Oregon Invitational all-tournament team.
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, scoring average, field goals made, 3-point field goals made, rebounds and steals.
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.
