Ducks Open with No. 25 Cal at 2007 State Farm Pac-10 Tournament
Note: This is an abbreviated version of Oregon's Weekly Basketball Notes. For the complete release, including stats, box scores, player capsules, etc., please view the PDF.
DUCKS FACE NO. 25 CAL IN PAC-10 QUARTERS
The Oregon Ducks avoided the first round of the Pac-10 Tournament for the third time in the event’s six-year history and begin play in the quarterfinals as the No. 6 seed, taking on third-seeded California on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. The winner between the Ducks and Golden Bears will face the winner of the 1:15 p.m. Saturday game which pits No. 2 seed Arizona State against either No. 7 UCLA or No. 10 Washington State.
ON THE AIR
Saturday's game will be broadcast on KSCR 1320 AM in Eugene, and on Oregon Sports Network (OSN) affiliate stations across the State. The game will not be televised.
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT PRACTICE
Oregon’s upcoming practice schedule is as follows:
Thu., March 1, 7:30-9:30 a.m. at McArthur Court
Fri., March 2, 12:40 p.m.-1:25 p.m. at HP Pavilion
Sat., March 3, TBA
Practices 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.
DUCKS AT THE PAC-10 TOURNEY
In the five previous Pac-10 tournaments, Oregon’s seeding has been 7th (2002), 5th (2003), 8th (2004), 2nd (2005) and 8th (2006), respectively. The Ducks have a record of 3-5 in eight tournament games, having reached the semifinals in 2002 and 2005. Oregon is the only team to advance to the semifinals from one of the bottom four seeds in the event’s five-year history, a feat they accomplished when the tournament was held at Mac Court in 2002. The Ducks are 1-4 in games played at the tournament’s current site - HP Pavilion.
2006 ? at HP Pavilion, San Jose, Calif.
First Round
#9 Arizona 64, #8 Oregon 57
2005 ? at HP Pavilion, San Jose, Calif.
Quarterfinals
#2 Oregon 64, #7 Washington 50
Semifinals
#3 Arizona State 54, #2 Oregon 47
2004 ? at HP Pavilion, San Jose, Calif.
First Round
#9 California 82, #8 Oregon 57
2003 ? at HP Pavilion, San Jose, Calif.
Quarterfinals
#4 UCLA 71, #5 Oregon 58
2002 ? at McArthur Court, Eugene, Ore.
First Round
#7 Oregon 85, #10 Washington St. 67
Quarterfinals
#7 Oregon 78, #2 Washington 64
Semifinals
#3 Arizona State 64, #7 Oregon 58
QUICK QUACK
Oregon returns six players from last year’s squad, which went 14-15, 5-13 in the Pac-10. Of UO’s nine active players, five are seniors, including F Eleanor Haring, a former Pac-10 All-Freshman team honoree.
CLIPPED WINGS
SR F/C Jessie Shetters (stress fracture), who had been out since Jan. 17, played three minutes vs. Stanford on Feb. 17 and seven minutes at WSU on Feb. 22. She is expected to be available at the Pac-10 Tournament. FR G Taylor Lilley will be day-to-day for the remainder of the season with a precursor to a stress fracture in her right leg.
SERIES VS. CALIFORNIA
UO leads the all-time series with Cal 35-15, including a 22-3 mark in Eugene. The Bears won this season’s first meeting in Berkeley, 65-56, on Jan. 20. Lauren Greif led Cal with 19 points, and Carolyn Ganes and Tamika Nurse nabbed 14 points apiece for UO. The Ducks responded with a 62-42 shellacking on Feb. 15, paced by 17 points from Eleanor Haring. Devanei Hampton led Cal with 27 points and 13 rebounds in a losing cause. The Golden Bears are 1-0 vs. UO on neutral courts, downing the Ducks 82-57 in the first round of the 2004 Pac-10 Tournament.
WNIT TO ANNOUNCE FIELD ON MARCH 12
The newly expanded 48-team field for the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) will be announced on Monday, March 12, one day after the NCAA Tournament selection. First round games will take place between March 14-16.
BACK-TO-BACK PAC
Oregon’s win over Washington State on Feb. 22 gave the Ducks back-to-back conference road victories for the first time since 2004, when UO earned consecutive victories over Washington State (Jan. 17) and UCLA (Jan. 29).
BEAR TRAP
Mac Court has become one giant bear trap for the California Golden Bears. The 62-42 beatdown of No. 22 Cal on Feb. 15 was Oregon’s 13th straight home win in the series. The last two victories have been by a combined 49 points and the Bears have scored a total of 83 points over those 80 minutes.
NURSE NAMED PAC-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
SO G Tamika Nurse was selected as the Pac-10 Player of the Week for the week ending Feb. 4 after helping the Ducks defeat UCLA and USC at home. Nurse scored a career-high 22 points against the Bruins and grabbed a career-best six rebounds against the Women of Troy. Over the two games, the Hamilton, Ontario native was 24-of-26 at the foul line. Nurse was UO’s first weekly honoree this season and first since SR F/C Carolyn Ganes took home the hardware Dec. 19, 2005. It was the first weekly award for Oregon to come during Pac-10 play since Brandi Davis won for the week of Feb. 12, 2005.
DUCKS ADD AUSSIE KENYON
G/F Victoria Kenyon, a 17-year-old Australian from Brisbane, Queensland, joined the Ducks prior to the start of winter term and will redshirt the remainder of the 2006-07 season. Kenyon, who comes to Eugene from the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS), will participate in all practices and travel with the team.
GOODBYE GARBY
SR G Nicole Garbin has called it a career and will not continue to play basketball for the Ducks. Garbin, a sixth-year senior, played in three games this season following a standout soccer career at UO.
MAC COURT 300
Oregon’s win over BYU on Dec. 30 was the program’s 300th home victory at McArthur Court. The Ducks have an all-time Mac Court mark of 304-104 (.745).
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
The Ducks have had plenty of success outside of the Pac-10 Conference in recent years and this one is no different. Over the past three seasons, UO is a combined 26-8 in non-league games. Oregon is 8-2 in non-conference games this year with its next such contest coming in March at the Pac-10 tournament.
PAP? PLAYER
SR F Eleanor Haring earned the MVP award at the ninth annual Pap? Jam at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Dec. 9. Haring led all scorers with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting as she paced the Ducks to a 70-60 victory against Big 12 side Colorado.
ALL TOURNEY
SR F/C Carolyn Ganes was the Ducks’ representative on the Oregon Thanksgiving Tournament All-Tournament team after averaging 13.5 points and 4.0 rebounds as the Ducks went 1-1 to take third place. Pittsburgh won the tourney with wins over Utah and Boise State.
2007 RECRUITS
Oregon inked one of its most impressive recruiting classes in recent years, signing four prep players to National Letters of Intent during November’s early period.
6-4 post Nicole Canepa (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep), 5-7 guard Nia Jackson (Seattle, Wash./Chief Sealth), 6-2 post Ellie Manou (New South Wales, Australia/Australian Institute of Sport) and 5-11 wing Tatianna Thomas (Newhall, Calif./Hart) will be incoming freshmen in the fall of 2007.
UO’s class was ranked 31st nationally by recruiting outlet Blue Star Basketball.
