Ducks Off to San Jose for Fourth Annual Pac-10 Tourney
What’s Up
The Ducks (19-8, 12-6 Pac-10) claimed the No. 2 seed for the fourth annual State Farm Pac-10 Tournament and will play the winner of Friday’s No. 7-seed Washington (13-15, 9-9) and No. 10-seed Oregon State (6-22, 1-17) game Saturday at 1:15 p.m. at San Jos?’s HP Pavilion. Oregon has won seven of its last nine games as it seeks its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2001. The Ducks’ second-place finish is their highest since winning the Pac-10 in 2000 and they have an opportunity to reach 20 wins for the first time since 2002 and 14th time in the progam’s 32-year history.
Pac-10 Tournament History
Oregon, 2-3 overall in conference tournament games, was the No. 8 seed in last year’s Pac-10 Tournament and lost to No. 9 California 82-57. The Ducks were the No. 5 seed in the 2003 Pac-10 Tournament, losing 71-58 to No. 4-seed UCLA in the first round. Oregon, the No. 7 seed in the inaugural tournament at McArthur Court in 2002, beat Washington State (85-67) and Washington (78-64) before losing to eventual champ Arizona State (64-58) in the semis.
Radio/TV
All Oregon women’s basketball games are broadcast on KSCR (1320 AM) and KUGN (590 AM) in Eugene as well as KUIK (1360 AM) in Portland, with Ray Martin providing the play-by-play for the 10th straight year. If the women’s game conflicts with the Oregon men’s game, KSCR will air the women. 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 fourth year and first U.S. college coaching stint. In addition to having served as the Canadian National Team coach (1997-01), she coached for 15 years in the Italian pro leagues. Smith has been inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2004), 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). 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, 35-34. Washington has won five of the last six. Before the Huskies swept the series in 2002-03 and 2003-04, Oregon had won 14 of 15.
This Year vs. Washington
Feb. 12, 2005, at Seattle
On this day, the cards were stacked against the Oregon Ducks. First, its best player, Cathrine Kraayeveld, sat on the bench with a virally infected left elbow. Second, the team bus broke down on the way to the game. Third, the Ducks ran into a hot Washington squad who pulled away from Oregon in the second half to win 81-57, snapping a four-game win streak for the Ducks. The Ducks were hampered by 20 turnovers, gave up 24 offensive rebounds and shot just 27 percent in the second half as the Huskies extended their 41-34 halftime lead, scoring the second half’s first 12 points, en route to a 75-45 advantage with 5:02 left. Oregon clearly missed Kraayeveld. She played in the Ducks’ win Thursday at Washington State, but developed a swollen elbow ? affecting her range of motion ? Friday and didn’t practice. Freshman forward Kristen Forristall started in Kraayeveld’s place and played admirably, scoring a career-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. She hit her first seven field goal attempts of the game. Washington outrebounded the Ducks 49-36, including a game-high eight from guard Cameo Hicks, who also scored a team-high 14. Dominique Banks added 13 for Washington. Gabrielle Richards was Oregon’s only other double-figure scorer, netting nine of her 10 points in the second half. Jessica Shetters added a career-high seven rebounds in a reserve role for Oregon.
Jan. 13, 2005, at Eugene
Andrea Bills scored a season-high 21 points while Chelsea Wagner had 20 behind a personal-best six 3-pointers as Oregon beat Washington, 86-77. The Huskies went on an 11-2 run to tie the game at 77 apiece with 1:52 left. But Bills hit a basket, followed by an Eleanor Haring 8-foot jumper, then four straight Bills free throws put the game out of reach. Bills scored 17 of her points in the second half and finished making 5-of-8 from the field and a career-best 11-of-15 from the foul line. With the Ducks trailing 48-46 with 16:11 left Wagner took over by scoring 11 points on three 3-pointers and two free throws as Oregon took a 61-52 lead at the 10:36 mark. Wagner, however, went down with 7:54 on the clock with a right knee injury. The Ducks also were without guard Corrie Mizusawa, who had not practiced the last three days because of flu-like symptoms. Kaela Chapdelaine stepped in to make her first career start. She finished with three points and five assists in 35 minutes. Gabrielle Richards came off the bench to score 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting and grab six rebounds in 15 minutes. Cathrine Kraayeveld had another double-double with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Kayla Burt led four Huskies in double-figures with 19, nailing 8-of-13 from the field including 3-of-6 from 3-point territory. Cameo Hicks added 16 while Jill Bell had 12. Oregon shot 8-of-15 from long range while Washington managed just 6-of-21.
Series vs. Oregon State
The Ducks have dominated their series with the Beavers, winning 52 and losing 22. Oregon has won six of the last eight and swept OSU this year for the first time since 2002.
This Year vs. Oregon State
Feb. 5, 2005, at Eugene
It wasn’t graceful. But it was a win ... and the Oregon’s third in a row, as it defeated Oregon State 64-55. Cathrine Kraayeveld, playing in her 100th career game, was the Ducks’ lone double-digit scorer with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting. The Ducks also are 10-1 at home and 7-0 in conference play. The Ducks, who trailed just once early in the game, led 61-38 after two Kraayeveld free throws with 6:12 remaining. Although the game was rarely in doubt, Oregon didn’t finish strong as the Beavers whittled the Ducks’ lead to 62-51 with 1:10 left. Corrie Mizusawa (seven points) notched her third double-digit assist game of the year with 10 on the night and turned the ball over once. She had nine alone in the first half and got her 10th on a skip bounce pass to Cicely Oaks for a 3-pointer with 13:18 left in the game. Shannon Howell led all scorers with 18 points while Mandy Close added 12 and Casey Bunn 10 for the Beavers. Kristen Forristall came off the bench to score nine for the Ducks while Eleanor Haring had eight. Brandi Davis, in her first start of the year, finished with five points and tied a career-high with four steals.
Jan. 8, 2005, at Corvallis
Andrea Bills scored 17 points, had seven rebounds and blocked four shots as Oregon won 82-58. It was the third-largest margin of defeat in any Civil War game and largest since a 25-point Oregon win in 1986. Bills did most of her damage in the first half, scoring 11 points and grabbing all seven of her rebounds as Oregon took a 38-25 lead into the locker room. Bills also became the 17th Oregon player to reach 1,000 points as she notched her 1,001th point on a spinning lay-in with 14:57 to play in the opening half. Despite the early lead, Oregon saw its lead dwindle to 40-34 with 16:37 on the clock. But the Ducks, behind some little-used reserves, went on a 16-2 run over the next six minutes sparked by Cicely Oaks’ three steals, two points and an assist during the stretch. Oaks, who had scored five points in five games this year, finished with a career-high nine points, making 3-of-4 from the field including 2-of-2 from 3-point range. The Ducks shot 55 percent from the floor; the Beavers 39. Oregon, which combined for 40 turnovers in the last two games, had an all-time low six on the day. Chelsea Wagner added 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from long range while also defending the Beavers’ top scorer, Shannon Howell, holding her to 6-of-19 shooting, although she finished with a game-high 19.Cathrine Kraayeveld added 13 points while Eleanor Haring had 11 points off the bench. For Oregon State, Kim Butler had 15 points.
Kraayeveld’s Korner
All-America candidate Cathrine Kraayeveld is ranked in seven Pac-10 statistical categories ? sixth in both scoring (14.2) and 3-point percentage (.367) and second in rebounds (8.5), blocked shots (1.4) and defensive rebounding (6.6) while placing ninth in free throw percentage (.739) and 10th in field goal percentage (.454) . She has scored in double-figures 21 times and has notched eight double-doubles this year (27 overall). Kraayeveld also became the 18th Duck to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career (1,081). She ranks sixth all-time at Oregon in blocked shots (130), eighth in rebounds (747), fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (.385) and ninth for 3-pointers (77).
Bills Paying Her Dues
Senior post player Andrea Bills defines consistency. Bills has played in every contest of her collegiate career (119) and has made a remarkable 99 consecutive appearances in the starting lineup. She will have played in the second-most games ever at Oregon Saturday in the Pac-10 Tourney. Bills also continues to climb Oregon’s all-time rebounding chart with 798, good for seventh all-time. She is 10th in the Pac-10 in scoring (11.4), fourth in rebounding (7.0), fifth in field goal percentage (.506) and ninth in blocked shots (1.0). Bills has scored 1,166 career points.
Dialing Long Distance
The Ducks are the Pac-10’s second-best 3-point shooting team, averaging 6.2 per game.
Home Sweet Home
Oregon went 12-1 at home this year (9-0 in conference play). It marked only the third time in program history the Ducks have finished the Pac-10 home slate undefeated ? it also happened in 1998-99 and 1986-87. Since the Pac-10 began to sponsor women’s basketball in 1986-87, Oregon’s best home record was in 1998-99, where it went 14-1.
Davis Delivering
Brandi Davis has been giving the Ducks a much-needed spark recently. On Feb. 19 vs. Arizona she led the team in scoring for the fourth time in a seven-game stretch with 19 points, preceded by a 16-point game against ASU en route to her second U.S. Bank Pac-10 Player of the Week honor of the year ? only the fourth time an Oregon player has been honored more than once in a season and first since Arianne Boyer did it in 1997 (Kasperski, three times 1989; Landerholm, twice 1987). On Jan. 27, Davis lit up the scoreboard against UCLA with a career-high 28 points. It was the most points scored by an Oregon player since Cathrine Kraayeveld had 33 against Santa Clara in 2002. Davis is in fourth place on Oregon’s all-time 3-pointers list with 140. Davis leads the team with 43 baskets from 3-point range this year, led the team with 43 last year and had 54 in 2002-03.
Passing Fancy
Point guard Corrie Mizusawa, last year’s Pac-10 assists leader, again leads the Pac-10 with a 7.0 assists-per-game average ? fourth in the nation. Her 3.0 assists-to-turnover ratio also leads the league and is third in the nation behind Paige and Villanova’s Betsy McManus. Mizusawa holds the top three marks for assists (although tied with other Ducks) in a single game at Oregon ? 14, 13 and, earlier this year, 12 against Miami. She also ranks sixth all-time in school history with 363 assists, and with 183 on the year (second all-time at UO), is eight shy of breaking Jacquie Semeniuk’s single-season school record of 190.
... More Mizusawa
Corrie Mizusawa also could become one of the very few players in collegiate basketball history ? men or women ? to finish a career with more assists than points and the first to do so since 1990. Based on the criterium of playing in at least two-thirds of his/her team’s games, here’s where Mizusawa stacks up:
Player, School (Years) Assists Points Diff.
1. Mary Gavin, Notre Dame (1984-88) 778 622 +156
2. Crystal Woodard, Mount St. Mary’s (1979-83) 740 603 +137
3. Michelle Koenig, Cincinnati (1988-90) 231 223 +8
4. Corrie Mizusawa (2000-present) 596 599 -3
5. Terry Nashif, BYU (2001-present) 147 152 -5
In the RPI
Getting Defensive Dynamic Duo Injury Update Ducks Finish First in Pac-10 in Attendance What’s Happened Foreign Flavor Ball Control Cat Power
Following its win Saturday over Arizona, Oregon moved up one place to No. 47 in the WBCA/Summerville RPI and fell one spot to No. 50 according to
They say defense wins championships. And the Oregon defense this year has certainly paved the way for success. On Dec. 4, George Washington had its worst scoring game (40) since 1988, also which was the fewest points allowed by a Bev Smith team. The 46-point total for Portland in the season-opener is the third fewest allowed in Smith’s tenure. In the Pac-10 opening week, both Cal (50) and Stanford (58) were contained to its fewest points all season. Oregon has held its opponents to fewer than 60 points 16 times and 50 or fewer in six instances this year. The Ducks also rank third in the Pac-10 in scoring defense (60.9). Just two years ago, Oregon ranked ninth in the league in scoring defense at 70.5.
Cathrine Kraayeveld and Andrea Bills are one of only three tandems in the nation with more than 700 career rebounds apiece. They join an elite group that includes Baylor’s Steffanie Blackmon and Sophia Young along with Kansas State’s Kendra Wecker and Megan Mahoney. They also are one of two duos in the Pac-10 with more than 1,000 career points ? the other is Arizona’s Dee-Dee Wheeler and Shawntinice Polk.
Corrie Mizusawa severely dislocated her right middle finger (middle knuckle) during practice last Friday at Haas Pavilion. She wore a splint on her taped ring and middle fingers in last Saturday’s win at California. Mizusawa finished with nine assists in 38 minutes. Chelsea Wagner, who tore the ACL in her left knee vs. Washington Jan. 13, underwent surgery Feb. 14 in Eugene to repair the ligament.
Road Weary
The Ducks are 19-29 on the road under Bev Smith and 24-33 overall (including neutral sites). After dropping seven of its last nine on the road this year, Oregon is 5-7. Oregon hasn’t been above .500 on the road since going 10-5 in 1999-00.
Oregon’s 3,896 crowd average at McArthur Court ranks first in the Pac-10 and the 27th best in the nation, in unofficial rankings compiled weekly by the University of Wisconsin. Stanford finished barely behind the Ducks with an average of 3,891.
Ducks at California (Sat., Feb. 26)
Oregon won 57-51 on the Bears’ Senior Day. The Ducks, who only trailed early on, could never fashion more than a nine-point lead. The pesky Bears got to three down at 48-45 on a Khadijah Coakley (11 points, 12 rebounds) lay-up with 4:36 left. After two Cal turnovers and a missed 3-pointer by Oregon’s Kaela Chapdelaine, senior Cathrine Kraayeveld calmly buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key off an inbounds pass to give Oregon a 51-46 lead with 2:26 on the clock. Kraayeveld, who had a game-high 14 points, hit a lay-up and a free throw which was followed by a Kristen Forristall (12 points, eight rebounds) 3-pointer with two seconds left on the shot clock to give Oregon an insurmountable 57-49 lead with 26 seconds left. Kraayeveld’s 3-point bomb was much needed, as the Ducks had missed their previous six attempts from long range and were 6-of-24 overall. California outrebounded Oregon 41-33 . But in the end, Oregon’s heart ? Mizusawa played with a dislocated right middle finger suffered during Friday’s practice ? won out. Kraayeveld made 6-of-12 from the floor, had five rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. Brandi Davis added 10 points for Oregon. Not one Cal starter reached double-figure scoring.
With five players from outside the U.S., the Ducks are tied for sixth in the country among Division I programs. Florida International and Long Island share the distinction of having the most foreign players with seven apiece. Arizona is the next Pac-10 team on the list with three foreigners on its roster. Among Canadian players, only Utah (five), Vermont (five), Canisius (four) and Quinnipiac (four) have more than Oregon (three).
Oregon’s six turnovers Jan. 8 against Oregon State were its fewest in a game in school history, according to available records. In addition, the Ducks’ seven-turnover game against nationally-ranked Ohio State was their second-lowest turnover mark ever. The previous low-turnover game was eight, which had happened many times. Oregon has the third-fewest turnovers in the Pac-10 with 433. Oregon is 5-7 when turning the ball over more than its opponent, compared to 13-1 when having the same or fewer.
Cathrine Kraayeveld has been on the watch list for two major national awards this year. Kraayeveld was one of 30 senior candidates for the Senior CLASS Award, given to the top senior player in Division I, but didn't make the final cut. Two others in the Pac-10 were on the list ? Kelley Suminski (Stanford) and Dee-Dee Wheeler (Arizona). Also, she was among 50 of the nation’s top women in contention for the Naismith Trophy, presented annually to the men’s and women’s players of the year. Four others from the Pac-10 made the list ? Nikki Blue (UCLA), Shawntinice Polk (Arizona), Suminski and Wheeler.
