Ducks Head to Bay Area
THIS WEEK
The Ducks (13-7, 4-6), searching for their first Pac-10 road win of the season, head to Stanford and Cal. Oregon will face the No. 15 Cardinal on Thursday evening, followed by the Golden Bears on Saturday afternoon.
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT PRACTICE
Oregon’s home practice schedule this week is as follows:
Tue., Jan. 31, 1-2:45 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 1, TBA
Practices at McArthur Court are open to the media and interviews may be conducted at the conclusion of each session. Please contact Andy McNamara (541-346-2253) if you plan on attending. All times are subject to change.
SCOUTING THE CARDINAL
First-place Stanford (14-5, 9-2) split its road series with the SoCal schools, losing at UCLA, 90-80, on Friday, Jan. 27, before rebounding with a 78-69 win over USC on Sunday, Jan. 29. JR C Brooke Smith recorded her league-leading seventh double-double of the season with a 26-point, 17-rebound effort against the Bruins. SO G Candice Wiggins also notched 26 points, converting 10-of-12 attempts from the free throw line. FR G Rosalyn Gold-Onwude was 3-of-4 from downtown, recording a career-high 14 points in the victory over the Trojans on Sunday. Wiggins, ranked fourth in the nation in scoring, led all players with 18 points, becoming just the 26th player in Stanford history to surpass the 1,000-point plateau. Wiggins now has 1,017 points through 54 games played. The 15th-ranked Cardinal is doing a solid job taking care of the ball, leading the Pac-10 in assist/turnover ratio at 1.18, while ranking fifth in the Conference in turnover margin at +1.89. Gold-Onwude continues to pace the Pac-10 in assist/turnover ratio at a 1.86 mark.
All-Time Series: STAN leads 32-7
Last Meeting: STAN 76-64, Jan. 7, 2005, in Eugene.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS
California (14-7, 6-5) earned a road split against the LA schools, notching a 72-67 win over USC on Friday, Jan. 27, before falling, 90-87, in overtime on Sunday, Jan. 29 to UCLA. The Bears occupy sixth place in the conference, but are just one game out of second. FR G Alexis Gray-Lawson averaged 20.5 points on the week, scoring a game-high 19 against USC. In both games, Gray-Lawson shot 44.7 percent from the floor (17-of-38) and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc (5-of-12). FR C Devanei Hampton averaged 17.5 points on the weekend. For at least the second time in the last three games, the Bears have struggled from the line, making just 57.7 percent of their free throws against the Bruins (15-of-26). Cal has an important homestand this weekend against the Oregon schools. The Ducks are the only team in conference to have beaten the Bears by more than 12 points.
All-Time Series: UO leads 29-11
Last Meeting: UO 70-41, Jan. 5, 2005, in Eugene.
LAST WEEK
The Ducks survived a Civil War slugfest against Oregon State, earning a split. The two intrastate rivals faced off twice in four days with each team protecting its home court. The Beavers won Wednesday’s contest, 63-61, and the Ducks prevailed on Saturday, 54-45.
LEADERS OF THE PAC
Heading into this week’s action, the Ducks lead the Pac-10 (all games) in scoring defense (56.5), field goal percentage defense (.341), three-point field goal percentage defense (.281), free throw percentage (.767), defensive rebounds (27.4) and blocked shots (4.00) ... The Ducks are third nationally in free throw shooting and fourth in FG pct. defense ... In Pac-10 games only: Oregon leads the conference in field goal percentage defense (.381), free throw percentage (.801) and defensive rebounds (27.2).
INDIVIDUAL ACCOLADES
Wagner ranks 13th in the nation and leads the Pac-10 (all games) in three-point field goal percentage at .451, while Davis ranks sixth at .411 ... Wagner is fourth in three-pointers made at 2.16 per game ... SO C Gabrielle Richards ranks first in free throw shooting at .878 and fifth in overall field goal percentage at .517. JR F Eleanor Haring is tenth in field goal shooting at .485 ... JR F Jessie Shetters and Richards ranked sixth and seventh in blocks (overall) at 1.15 and 1.05 per game, respectively ... In Pac-10 games only: SO G Kaela Chapdelaine is the leader in three-point percentage at .481 ... Richards lead in free throw accuracy (.920) ... Shetters is third (1.30) and Richards ninth (0.80) in blocks ... Richards is tenth in rebounding (6.6).
WAGNER ON THE VERGE
SR G Chelsea Wagner is two three-balls away from cracking the single-season top 10 list for three-point field goals. The Springfield, Ore., product has 41 treys on the season, two shy of SR Brandi Davis’ 43 in 2003-04. Jamie Craighead (2000-01) is the school record holder with 81 in a single season.
DAVIS GUNNING FOR 1,000
Davis is looking to become the 19th member of Oregon’s 1,000-point club. Davis, who has 941 points, is currently seventh on the Pac-10’s active scoring list. She ranks third on UO’s career three-point FG list with 168.
WAGNER NOW FIFTH
Wagner’s first three-pointer at Arizona on Saturday, Jan. 14, was the 110th of her career, moving her into sole possession of fifth place on UO’s all-time list. She now has 117, which is 27 shy of Shaquala Williams (1998-2002) for fourth position.
GANES NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
JR C Carolyn Ganes was named Pac-10 Player of the Week for the week ending Dec. 18 after leading the Ducks to consecutive road wins. She posted team-highs of 20.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, hit a game-winning three-pointer at Saint Mary’s (CA), and scored a career-high 26 points at Idaho State. She also set career-highs for assists (4), blocks (2), FG made (11) and attempted (23) against the Bengals.
CENTURY MARK
Oregon’s 102-point outburst vs. Prairie View A&M (12/10) at the Pap? Jam was the Ducks’ first 100-point game since Feb. 4, 1999, a 106-79 win over No. 7 UCLA. It was also the first 100-point game of head coach Bev Smith’s NCAA coaching career.
RECORD DEFENSE
The Ducks set a team record for fewest points allowed in a half, when they held St. Francis (Pa.) to 10 points in the first half of their 80-30 win on Nov. 11. The previous mark was 12 by Gonzaga on Dec. 14, 1996.
SHARING THE BASKETBALL
One of the biggest things head coach Bev Smith preached on offense heading into the season was sharing the ball. The Ducks responded in their first game of 2005-06 by dishing out 26 assists on 33 field goals, marking the most assists in a game by Oregon since dropping 27 dimes at Gonzaga Nov. 25, 2003.
EARLY SIGNINGS
Oregon inked a pair of highly regarded recruits during the early signing period in November. G Taylor Lilley (Newhall, Calif.) and F Mary Sbrissa (Castelfranco, Italy) will suit up for the Ducks as freshmen in 2006-07. Lilley, a 5-6 sharpshooter, played three years for nationally ranked club team Cal Swish. The 6-2 Sbrissa, a banger on the inside, played club ball for San Martino Di Lupari, near Venice, and is currently enrolled as a student at UO.
