Arizona, Arizona State to Visit Mac Court This Week
What’s Up
The Ducks (10-7, 2-5) play host to the Arizona schools this week. Oregon opens up Thursday with Arizona (14-4, 6-1) at 7 p.m. Fans who stop by Jerry’s Home Improvement in Eugene or Springfield will get a two-for-one ticket deal on reserved seats for the Arizona game. On Saturday, Arizona State (10-6, 4-3) pays a visit to McArthur Court at noon.
Radio/TV
The Oregon-Arizona State game will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net. Mary Murphy and Ann Schatz will call the action. All Oregon women’s basketball games also 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. Arizona
The Ducks lead the series 22-14, but the Wildcats have won the last five. Oregon last beat Arizona on Jan. 4, 2001, during Bev Smith’s first year.
Last Time vs. Arizona
Feb. 1, 2003, at Eugene
Shawntinice Polk had 23 points and 15 rebounds as No. 24 Arizona beat Oregon 71-66. The Wildcats struggled to stay ahead throughout the second half, losing the lead twice to the Ducks. Pol had seven points in an 11-2 run that put Arizona up 48-38 to open the second half. Oregon took a 52-51 lead on Brandi Davis’ 3-pointer with 10:18 left. It was short-lived, with Arizona’s Aimee Grzyb answering with her own 3-pointer. Oregon went ahead 63-61 on Carolyn Ganes’ long jumper with 5:33 left. Dee-Dee Wheeler tied it before Polk hit a lay-in and added short jumper to put Arizona ahead 67-63 with less than a minute to go. With 33.3 seconds left, Ganes’ putback and free throw brought the Ducks to 67-66. But Wheeler and Natalie Jones hit foul shots in the final seconds. Davis led the Ducks with 21 points, while Ganes had 15 points and seven rebounds. Oregon struggled at the start, falling behind 11-4 on Krista Warren’s inside shot for Arizona, but the Ducks responded with a 19-3 run that put them ahead 21-14.
Series vs. Arizona State
Oregon has a 26-13 advantage, but the Sun Devils have won four of the last five.
Last Time vs. Arizona State
Jan. 30, 2003, at Eugene
Oregon played one of its most complete games in 2002-03 as it trounced Arizona State 68-52. Oregon’s defense set the tone early as it allowed the fewest points this season. The Ducks won the rebounding battle (38-32) as Andrea Bills led the way underneath with nine rebounds while Yadili Okwumabua had seven in a reserve role. Oregon, which never trailed in the game, raced to a 20-7 first-half lead on a Brandi Davis basket with 7:55 left in the first half. The Sun Devils didn’t hit double-digits until a Kylan Loney 3-pointer made it 23-12 at the 5:41 mark. ASU cut the lead to 23-16 on an Amy Denson lay-in, but it was as close as it got the rest of the game. The Ducks went on a 12-5 run to close the half thanks to five points and an assist from senior Alissa Edwards, who had a career-high 10 assists. Carolyn Ganes led the Ducks with 13 points, hitting 5-of-7 from the field. Davis scored all 11 of her points in the first half, while Kayla Steen added 10 off the bench. Loney led ASU with 16 points, nailing 4-of-6 from long range. Kristen Kovedsy had 13 points while Denson finished with 10. Oregon, down to nine healthy players, saw its bench outscore ASU’s 18-6.
Boarding Bills
Andrea Bills has led (or co-led) Oregon in rebounding the last 12 games. Bills, the team’s leading scorer (11.9) and rebounder (8.4; fourth in the Pac-10) also leads the team with 12 double-figure scoring games.
Home Cookin’
Oregon is shooting 37 percent from 3-point territory at McArthur Court and 29 percent on the road.
Downtown Davis
Brandi Davis is eighth on Oregon’s all-time list for 3-pointers with 78. Next on the list is current Duck assistant coach Peg Swadener, who made 79 in her career from 1989-93. Davis, a junior, has been heating up lately on the offensive end, scoring in double-figures in three straight and six of the last seven.
The ?D’ is Back in Ducks
The Ducks, who finished ninth in the Pac-10 in points allowed (70.5) last season, are giving up just 63.2 points per game, ranking sixth in the conference. Oregon has held its opponents to fewer than 60 points eight times. The Ducks also were last in the Pac-10 in defending the 3-pointer (.376), but are second this year (.297).
Shooting Struggles
Since leading scorer Cathrine Kraayeveld went down with a torn ACL in early December, Oregon has shot below 40 percent in nine of the 12 games in her absence. The Ducks are 5-7 in that span and have averaged 56.6 points on offense while giving up 64.6 on defense.
Looking Up?
Against Washington State last Saturday, Oregon had a 20-point scorer for the first time since Cathrine Kraayeveld and Andrea Bills each had 20-plus against nationally-ranked LSU in the season’s second game. The Ducks also scored the most points since they had 68 vs. Santa Clara nine games ago.
Down-Under Duck
In seven Pac-10 games, freshman forward Eleanor Haring (Mullaloo, West Australia) has been Oregon’s third-leading scorer (9.4) and second-leading rebounder (5.0). In conference games only, Haring is tied for fifth in offensive rebounding (2.57).
Wagner Wows
Sophomore guard Chelsea Wagner (Springfield, Ore.) is becoming one of Oregon’s top outside weapons. A 5-foot-10 transfer from Hawai`i, Wagner has scored in double-figures twice this season 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 has made 10 in the last four. Sixteen of her 20 field goals are from beyond the 3-point arc. Defensively, she is second on the team with 17 steals. She missed the season’s first three games nursing a leg injury.
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 25 shots from the charity stripe, making 21.
Conference Comparison
In Pac-10 games, Oregon is third in field-goal percentage defense (.407). However, the Ducks are last in shooting percentage (.370).
Live Internet Stats
Media and fans now have access to live in-game statistics (for all home games) on GoDucks.com. Users should click on the “Live” drop-down menu, then select “Live Stats.”
What’s Happened
Ducks vs. Washington State (Sat., Jan. 17)
Brandi Davis scored a season-high 20 points to Oregon to a 60-50 trouncing of Washington State at Friel Court. The Ducks trailed early in the game, down 15-9 after a Adriane Ferguson 3-pointer with 13:31 left in the first half. But Oregon went on an 18-6 run to close the half, initially sparked by eight consecutive points by Davis, including two from 3-point range. The Ducks held an opponent to their second-lowest scoring half of any year as it led 27-21 at intermission. Oregon held its largest lead at 50-29 with 10 minutes left in the game, but Washington State began using a full-court press that caused five turnovers in a four-minute stretch. The Cougars clawed their way back to trail only 54-45 with 4:31 remaining, but they would get no closer the rest of the way. Davis reached double-figures for the third straight game and the sixth out of the last seven. Eleanor Haring was Oregon’s other double-digit scorer with 13 to go with a career-high nine rebounds. Andrea Bills added nine points and nine boards for the Ducks. The Ducks, who had been outrebounded six games in a row, won the battle of the boards 42-39. Oregon’s defense also held an opponent to fewer than 60 points for the eighth time this year. Kate Benz led the Cougars with 19 points while Nikki Stratton added nine points.
