Women's Basketball Off to Washington This Week to Play Huskies, Cougs
What’s Up
The Ducks (9-6, 1-4) return to the road this week as they will play Washington (8-7, 1-5) Thursday at 7 p.m. and Washington State (4-11, 0-6) Saturday at 2 p.m.
Radio/TV
All Oregon women’s basketball games are broadcast by either KUGN (590) or KSCR (1320 AM) in Eugene and KUIK (1360 AM) in Portland, with Ray Martin providing the play-by-play for the ninth straight year. Radio broadcasts also can be heard on GoDucks.com for premium-service subscribers.
Coach Bev Smith
Oregon’s fifth women’s basketball coach, Bev Smith leads her alma mater in her first U.S. college coaching stint. In 2001, she joined two other first-year Pac-10 coaches who won at least 20 games?in 1993-94, USC’s Cheryl Miller (26 wins) and Oregon’s Jody Runge (20 wins). In addition to having served as the Canadian National Team coach (1997-01), she has coached 15 years in Italian pro leagues. An inductee into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame (2003) and Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame (2001), Smith was the head coach at the University of British Columbia for one year (1988-89). She will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in June 11-12, 2004, in Knoxville, Tenn. As a Duck, Smith earned first-team All-America honors twice and still holds school records for rebounds (1,362), assists (443) and steals (349).
Series vs. Washington
The Ducks hold a slim series lead over the Huskies, 34-31. Washington swept the season series last year after a long dominance by Oregon which had it winning 14 of the last 15.
Last Time vs. Washington
Feb. 22, 2003, at Eugene
Loree Payne scored 24 points and Kellie Dalan added 23 as No. 23 Washington snapped a 10-game losing streak at McArthur Court with a 75-59 victory Saturday over Oregon. The Duckswere sunk early with just 19 percent shooting in the first half, and they never fully recovered. Kedzie Gunderson hit a pair of free throws midway through the second half to bring the Ducks within 50-40, but Dalan responded with a short jumper and Payne hit a 3-pointer for the Huskies. Andrea Lalum’s 3-pointer with 5:18 to go gave Washington a 68-47 lead ? its biggest of the game. Washington appeared sluggish at the start, and held an 18-16 lead with 5:25 to go in the first half after Oregon’s Brandi Davis hit a 3-pointer. But Dalan and Payne took over, and the Huskies began a 16-4 run capped by Dalan’s 3-pointer with a little more than a minute left to put Washington ahead 34-20. The Huskies shot 42.4 percent for the first half to take a 38-23 lead at the break. For the game, Oregon shot a season-low 31 percent from the floor, while the Huskies shot 42 percent. Andrea Bills had 14 points and eight rebounds for Oregon, while Cathrine Kraayeveld, making her second start since returning from knee injury, added 11 points and seven rebounds.
Series vs. Washington State
The Ducks lead the series with the Cougars 44-9 ? Oregon’s most wins against any Pac-10 school. Oregon has won the last five. WSU last won Feb. 15, 2001, at McArthur Court as the Cougars won the season series for the second time.
Last Time vs. Washington State
Feb. 20, 2003, at Eugene
In an impressive ? perhaps unprecedented ? offensive display, Oregon won 85-52 before 4,087 fans at McArthur Court. The Ducks had six players in double-figure scoring ? something not officially accomplished since before the Jody Runge era began in 1993 ? led by Brandi Davis’ 17. Cathrine Kraayeveld, making her first start since Dec. 22, along with Carolyn Ganes and Amy Taylor, all scored 13 points. Andrea Bills added 11 and Kedzie Gunderson 10 to lead the Ducks’ offense. Oregon’s defense shut down WSU leading scorer Bianca McCall, holding her to two points and 1-of-7 shooting. Oregon, which never trailed in the game, jumped out to a 16-6 lead with 13:40 left in the first half behind seven points and an assist from Kraayeveld. Holly Harris led the Cougars with 13 points and six rebounds while Jessica Perry chipped in 11 points.
Overall, the Ducks nailed 11-of-21 from 3-point range, led by Davis’ 4-of-7 night. Oregon had season-highs of 59 percent shooting and 26 assists as well as tied a season-best with 85 points.
In the Rankings
The Ducks received three votes in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and eight in the ESPN/USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll.
Foul-Line Regulars
Oregon has attempted 67 more free throws than its opponents this year (271-204).
The ?D’ is Back in Ducks
Oregon, known for its smothering defense during their NCAA Tournament run from 1994-2001, appears to be getting back into form this year. The Ducks, who finished ninth in the Pac-10 in points allowed (70.5) last season, are giving up just 62.0 points per game, ranking fifth in the conference. Oregon has held its opponents to fewer than 60 points seven times. The Ducks also were last in the Pac-10 in defending the 3-pointer (.376), but are second this year (.289).
Boarding Bills
Andrea Bills has led (or co-led) Oregon in rebounding the last 10 games. Bills, the team’s leading scorer (12.1) and rebounder (8.3) also leads the team with 11 double-figure scoring games.
Road Woes
The Ducks are 12-19 under Bev Smith on the road and 16-22 overall (including neutral sites). UO hasn’t been above .500 on the road since going 10-5 in 1999-00.
Wagner Wows
Sophomore guard Chelsea Wagner (Springfield, Ore.) is becoming one of Oregon’s top weapons off the bench. A 5-foot-10 transfer from Hawai`i, Wagner has scored in double-figures twice this season ? both occuring in the last two games with 12 vs. UCLA and 15 in a win over Oregon State. After making six 3-pointers in the season’s first 13 games, Wagner is 9-of-21 in the last two. Fifteen of her 18 field goals are from beyond the 3-point arc. Defensively, she is third on the team with six blocked shots and 13 steals. She missed the season’s first games nursing a leg injury.
Downtown Davis
Brandi Davis is eighth on Oregon’s all-time list for 3-pointers with 73. Next on the list is current Duck assistant coach Peg Swadener, who made 79 in her career from 1989-93. Davis, a sophomore, has been heating up lately on the offensive end, scoring in double-figures in four of the last five games.
Shooting Struggles
The Ducks, normally a good-shooting team, recently have struggled from the field. Since leading scorer Cathrine Kraayeveld went down with a torn ACL in early December, Oregon has shot below 40 percent in seven of the 10 games in her absence. The Ducks are 4-6 in that span and have averaged 56.9 points on offense while giving up 63.0 on defense.
Down-Under Duck
In four Pac-10 games, freshman forward Eleanor Haring (Mullaloo, West Australia) has been Oregon’s third-leading scorer (9.0) and second-leading rebounder (4.6).
Freebies Increase
Brandi Davis, Oregon’s co-leading scorer from a year ago, shot just 18 free throws in 28 games last season. Already this year, she has attempted 21 shots from the charity stripe, making 17.
What’s Happened
Ducks vs. Oregon State (Sat., Jan. 10)
Brandi Davis scored 12 of her season-best 16 points in the final six minutes ? including a game-winning 19-footer with 4.9 seconds left ? as Oregon defeated Oregon State 56-54 before a season-high crowd of 5,097. Oregon State’s Leilani Estavan tried to send the game to overtime, but her running 17-foot jumper skipped off the rim, giving the Ducks their second in a row over the Beavers. Oregon trailed 45-37 after a basket by Oregon State’s Shannon Howell (24 points) with 11:24 left in the game. After two free throws by Kayla Steen, Davis began her hot shooting, as she nailed a 3-pointer to cut the Beavers’ lead to 45-42. Chelsea Wagner, who also gave a huge lift to the Ducks with a season-high 15 points, hit a 3-pointer from the corner. Davis then hit another one from the top to give Oregon its first lead, 48-47, since the game’s first basket. The Beavers regained the lead at 54-52 on a Howell lay-in with 3:51 left. Carolyn Ganes countered with a 12-footer to tie it at 54 with 3:31 on the clock. Davis, who hit 6-of-11 from the floor and 2-of-3 from long range in 16 minutes off the bench. Howell, the Beavers’ leading scorer, scored 15 of her 24 points in the second half and shot 9-of-20 from the floor and hit 5-of-5 from the foul line. Wagner scored all of her points from beyond the 3-point arc, making 5-of-11. The Ducks hit on 8-of-18 from long distance, while the Beavers struggled, making just 1-of-11. Oregon shot 25 percent (7-of-28) in the first half, but converted on 57 percent in the second half. Andrea Bills was the Ducks’ other double-digit scorer with 11 to go with a team-high six rebounds. Brina Chaney added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Beavers.
