Emergent Cazorla Leads Ducks To Desert

Friday, February 3

Tucson, AZ

5:00 PM

University of Oregon

Arizona

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

02/02/17 | Women's Basketball, @GoDucksMoseley

Oregon Game Notes at Arizona

Sophomore Maite Cazorla was outstanding in Oregon's encouraging Civil War doubleheader, and leads the Ducks at Arizona on Friday (5 p.m., Pac-12).

By: Rob Moseley

A week ago, the Oregon women's basketball team was riding a wave of optimism into a Civil War week doubleheader with Oregon State.

The Ducks had won four of five games entering their rivalry week. And though they were swept in their series with the then-No. 11 Beavers, the good vibes haven't stopped flowing for the UO women.

In both games, the team of Ducks that includes three freshman starters took the reigning Final Four participants down to the wire. Oregon fought back from double-digit second-half deficits in each game, and had the lead in the fourth quarter of both, if briefly.

"They made us better," UO coach Kelly Graves said Thursday, before the Ducks left for this weekend's road trip to Arizona. "Oregon State forced us to be better last week. That's what I'm most encouraged about. If we can play as hard and execute as well as we did last week, especially on the defensive end, if we can do that this week than we're going to be in great position."

The UO women (14-8, 4-6 Pac-12) will try to get back to their winning ways when they return to action at Arizona on Friday (5 p.m., Pac-12 Network). The Wildcats, who knocked Oregon out of the conference tournament last season, have lost four straight on the road and are 11-10 overall, 2-8 in the Pac-12.

A key reason for Oregon's competitiveness against the Beavers last week was the play of sophomore guard Maite Cazorla. The Spaniard has been battling a foot injury in recent weeks, but was the most productive she's been since conference play began, providing 20 points, seven assists and commendable defense on OSU star Sydney Wiese for much of the doubleheader.

"If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't play her 40 minutes (Sunday in Corvallis)," Graves said. "But she played great for 40 minutes. When Maite plays like that at both ends of the floor, and she's aggressive, then we're a much better team."

Cazorla was hardly able to practice at all around the first of the year due to the foot condition. The injury has healed a bit since, but only offseason rest will stem the pain completely.

Until then, she's learning how to play through it.

"It's more mental," Cazorla said. "I have to get through it, give everything I have. If my foot hurts or not, I just have to focus on the game and what I need to do. I think I've learned that if I'm really focused, I can do whatever they want."

With Cazorla returning to form, the Ducks have another weapon to complement freshman distributor Sabrina Ionescu. And Cazorla can help limit the attention opponents are paying to Lexi Bando on the perimeter and Ruthy Hebard in the post.

Hebard, one of the most efficient scorers in the country, has begun drawing double-teams in the post despite being a freshman. And Bando has been dogged by opposing guards playing denial defense on the Ducks' best three-point threat.

With her own three-point ability and crafty nose for the goal, Cazorla provides yet another option.

"She's slowly starting to get that back," Ionescu said. "She stepped up late last year for them, and that's what she's doing for us now, defensively and offensively. She's stepping up big-time."

Cazorla's emergence last week against Oregon State is just one of many reasons Graves feels good about his team's progress entering this week's trip to Arizona, despite the two losses to the Beavers.

"We were encouraged by the way we played," Graves said. "We had our chances to win both games, and didn't, so that part's disappointing. But our kids, we don't focus as much on the winning aspect; we focus every day on trying to get better, and that's what you do with a younger team."