Ducks Host USC, UCLA in Final Tune-up for Pac-10 Tourney
THIS WEEK
The Ducks (14-12, 5-11) are home for the final week of the 2005-06 regular season, hosting USC on Thursday and UCLA on Saturday. Oregon lost to both schools in Los Angeles during the opening week of Pac-10 play, but swept the two schools at McArthur Court last season.
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT PRACTICE
Oregon’s home practice schedule this week is as follows:
Tue., Feb. 21, 1-4 p.m.
Wed., Feb 22, 1-4 p.m.
Thu., Feb. 23, 1:30-3 p.m.
Fri., Feb. 24, 1-4 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 25, 10-11 a.m.
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.
LOOKING AHEAD: IT’S TOURNEY TIME
The State Farm Pac-10 Tournament commences on March 3 and runs through March 6 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. All 10 conference teams will participate and will be seeded No. 1 through No. 10 based on the final regular season standings, and the top six seeds receive a first-round bye. The tourney’s opening day slate will feature No. 7 vs. No. 10 at 6 p.m., followed by No. 8 vs. No. 9 at 8:15 p.m. The winners will face the top two seeds on Saturday, March 4.
JOCKEYING FOR POSITION
Oregon begins the final week of the regular season in eight place, one game behind seventh-place Oregon State. Both teams face the L.A. based schools this week and are locked into playing first-round games at the Pac-10 tournament. If UO and OSU finish with identical conference records, the Ducks would earn the No. 7 seed based on the tie-breaker scenario.
INJURY UPDATE
SR G Chelsea Wagner, who suffered a concussion Feb. 12 against Arizona State and has missed the last two games, has been cleared to practice this week. Her status for Thursday’s game vs. USC is probable.
SCOUTING THE WOMEN OF TROY
USC (16-9, 10-6) completed the season sweep over UCLA, picking up a 77-73 victory over the Bruins on Feb. 18 to improve to 10-6 in Conference, 16-9 overall. JR C Chlo? Kerr scored a career-high 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor, 3-of-4 from the free throw line as the Women of Troy defeated the Bruins for the third consecutive game. It was the fifth consecutive L.A.-matchup in which the game was decided by four points or less. JR G Shay Murphy recorded her fourth double-double of the season as she scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. SR G Meghan Gnekow and JR G Allison Jaskowiak both scored in double-figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively. USC was hot from downtown, hitting 50 percent of its three-point attempts (7-of-14), including two a piece from Murphy, Jaskowiak and JR G Jamie Hagiya. The team paces the Conference in three-point field goals made, making over seven a game, while ranking fourth in three-point field goal percentages with a season clip of .329.
All-Time Series: USC leads 24-15
Last Meeting: USC 78-42, Dec. 22, 2005, in Los Angeles.
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
Despite a game-high 28 points from JR G Noelle Quinn, UCLA (15-10, 10-6) could not hang on for the win, losing 77-73 to USC on Feb. 18. The Bruins are now tied for fourth place headed into the last weekend of regular season play with USC. Quinn recorded her seventh double-double of the season and 18th of her career when she scored 28 and pulled down 11 rebounds. She also added six assists and zero turnovers. SR G Nikki Blue was one rebound shy of her first career triple-double, scoring 10 points, dishing out 11 assists and recording nine rebounds in Saturday’s game with the Women of Troy. Blue moved past Hall of Famer Ann Meyers into second place on UCLA’s career charts for assists with 533. Blue also moved into a tie for second place on the Pac-10 career steals chart with 309. She and SR G Lisa Willis should finish their careers ranked 1-2 in the conference all-time in steals.
All-Time Series: Tied 20-20
Last Meeting: UCLA 82-63, Dec. 20, 2005, in Los Angeles.
LAST WEEK
The Ducks fell at Washington, 61-55, and Washington State, 68-53.
DUCKS DOWNED BY COUGARS, 68-53
GAME RECAP - FEB. 18, 2006
PULLMAN, Wash. ? The University of Oregon’s final opportunity for a Pac-10 road win fell short as last-place Washington State fought its way to a 68-53 win in front of 681 fans at Beasley Coliseum.
The Ducks (14-12, 5-11 Pac-10) finished their regular season conference road schedule at 0-9 and remain in the Pac-10’s eighth spot with two games to play.
“We did not play with any fire or heart out there today, and we need to find those things in a hurry,” said Oregon head coach Bev Smith, not mincing any words or masking her disappointment. “The University of Oregon, the Oregon women’s basketball program and our fans deserve a better effort than this.”
The Cougars (8-17, 2-14) outrebounded their taller counterparts, 49-20, and matched UO’s entire output with 20 boards on the offensive glass.
“We didn’t box out and didn’t get bodies on the people we needed to,” said junior forward Jessie Shetters, who equaled her career high with eight points.
Oregon never led and trailed by 20 points at 41-21 with 16:30 to play before mounting a comeback, cutting WSU’s lead to nine at the 6:14 mark. But that was as close as they came.
Junior forward Kate Benz had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and senior guard Crystal Blue came within a point of her career high with 17 points to lead the Cougars.
For the Ducks, junior center Carolyn Ganes came off the bench to score 11 points. She also had a team-high four rebounds. Freshman guard Tamika Nurse had nine points and went 6-of-8 from the free throw line.
WSU led 33-21 at the break thanks to a massive rebounding advantage of 26-10. Benz led all players with 13 points and eight boards through the game’s first 20 minutes.
An 8-0 run gave the Cougars an early 10-2 lead, but the Ducks responded with eight straight of their own to tie the score with 14 minutes left in the half. WSU scored the next four points and never relinquished the lead for the remainder of the period.
HUSKIES STAGE COMEBACK, DEFEAT DUCKS 61-55
GAME RECAP - FEB. 16, 2006
SEATTLE ? The University of Oregon women’s basketball team appeared poised to sweep its season series with rival Washington, but an incredible late run by the Huskies propelled the home side to a 61-55 Pac-10 win in front of 2,591 at Bank of America Arena.
“We are fortunate to have won it,” said UW head coach June Daugherty. “Hats off to Oregon for as well as they played.”
All things considered, Oregon indeed played very well despite missing its top two perimeter threats in senior guards Chelsea Wagner and Brandi Davis. Wagner missed the game with a concussion and Davis caught a flu bug on Thursday, did not practice and only saw the floor in the final minute with the Ducks desperate for a three-pointer.
The Ducks (14-11, 5-10 Pac-10) controlled the bulk of the contest, peaking at a 47-33 lead with 12:07 to play. But the Huskies (17-7, 10-5) mounted runs of 13-0 and 22-4 to take a 55-51 lead, receiving a combined 19 points from Jill Bell and Andrea Plouffe during the decisive spurt.
Bell finished with a career-high 18 points to go with a team-high 10 rebounds, and Plouffe scored 13, including nine in the second half.
Oregon sophomore center Gabrielle Richards had her fifth double-double of the season, posting game-highs of 20 points and 11 rebounds. Richards, who made 8-of-11 from the field, was the only Duck in double figures.
Junior forward Eleanor Haring had eight points. Four other Oregon players finished with five points apiece.
The Ducks took a 31-22 lead into the break after shooting 52 percent and holding the Huskies to 25 percent from the field. Oregon controlled the block, outscoring UW 20-4 on points in the paint.
Richards led all players with 12 points and six rebounds in the opening stanza.
Still looking for that elusive win on the road in Pac-10 play this season, the Ducks final opportunity will come Saturday at last-place Washington State.
“We’ve got one more chance and it’s all or nothing,” Richards said. “We’re going after it and we’ve got nothing to lose.”
BRANDI’S GRAND FINALE
Due to illness last week, SR G Brandi Davis was limited to a total of 14 minutes over two games and scored just two points. As a result, her attempt to become the 19th player in Oregon women’s basketball history to score 1,000 points will take place at Mac Court this week. Davis enters Thursday’s game against USC needing 13 points to join the UO century club.
ONE WIN AWAY
The Ducks are one win away from clinching their 24th winning season. Oregon has had only seven losing seasons and two .500 campaigns in the women’s basketball program’s 32 years.
DUCKS HISTORICALLY IN THE PAC-10 TOURNEY
In the four previous Pac-10 tournaments, Oregon’s seeding has been 7 (2002), 5 (2003), 8 (2004) and 2 (2005), respectively. The Ducks have a record of 3-4 in seven tournament games, having reached the semifinals in 2002 and 2005. Oregon is the only No. 7 seed in the event’s four-year history to knock off a No. 2 seed in the quarterfinals, a feat they accomplished at Mac Court against Washington in 2002. The Ducks are 1-3 in games played at the tournament’s current site - the HP Pavilion.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Heading into this week’s action, the Ducks lead the Pac-10 (all games) in scoring defense (57.9) and field goal percentage defense (.353).
DIALED IN
As a team, Oregon has been dialed in at the free throw line all season long. The Ducks continue to pace the Pac-10 with a .751 mark, which also places them among the top foul shooting teams in the nation.
INDIVIDUAL ACCOLADES
As of Feb. 20, SO C Gabrielle Richards leads the Pac-10 (all games) in free throw shooting at .898 and ranks third in field goal percentage at .516 ... SR G Chelsea Wagner is fourth in three-point field goal percentage at .440, while Davis ranks seventh at .389 ... JR F Jessie Shetters and Richards rank sixth and eighth in blocks at 1.19 and 0.96 per game, respectively.
LEADING THE PAC AT MAC
The Ducks lead the Pac-10 in home attendance with an average of 3,729 fans per game thus far in 2005-06. That mark places Oregon 27th nationally among all NCAA Division I women’s basketball programs. Tennessee is the leader at 15,118 per home contest.
WAGNER MAKES HER MARK
Wagner now ranks seventh on the single-season three-point field goals list with 51 so far in 2005-06. Jamie Craighead (2000-01) is the school record holder with 81 in a single season.
WAGNER FIFTH ON CAREER LIST
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 127, which is 17 shy of Shaquala Williams (1998-2002) for fourth position.
?O’ WHAT A NIGHT
Oregon’s 20-point home win over Arizona on Feb. 9 was impressive enough based on the final 78-58 score, but how the Ducks scored more than half of those points was remarkable. UO drained a school-record 15 three-pointers, eclipsing the old mark by two, and Chelsea Wagner equalled the single-game individual mark by going 8-of-11 from downtown. Wagner’s effort was a Mac Court women’s record.
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.
SMITH HONORED WITH SISLEY AWARD
Oregon head coach Bev Smith was honored as the recipient of the seventh annual Becky L. Sisley Award at a brunch before UO’s Feb. 12 game against Arizona State. The award, named after the University’s first director of women’s intercollegiate athletics, is awarded annually to a former women’s athlete commemorating community involvement, career development and support of University ideals.
