All Kaela Chapdelaine could do was sit there and watch.
She picked up her fifth foul in the last two minutes scrambling for a loose ball. Her pained expression told a lot about another frustrating afternoon for the Oregon women’s basketball playing without the urgency of a team striving for postseason play.
In losing 53-34 Saturday afternoon to visiting California, it likely eliminated any hopes Oregon had of earning a spot in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.
“You can see that we’re drained,” coach Bev Smith said.
Oregon slipped to 10-14 overall and 4-9 in the Pacific-10 Conference with five games left to play. California, in first in the Pac-10, improved to 21-3 and 12-1.
The final score hid what was a close game through the first 20 minutes. Cal led by four, 23-19, at halftime, but much like the way Oregon opened the Stanford game, they emerged from halftime lacking energy and Cal broke the game open.
Read more in the Daily Emerald on Monday.