In each of the two games the Oregon women’s basketball team played at McArthur Court last weekend, the last five minutes of the game told the story.
Against Arizona State (10-5, 4-0 Pacific-10 Conference) on Thursday, Jan. 2, Oregon only scored four points in the last five and a half minutes in its 63-50 loss to the Sun Devils.
On Saturday, against a depleted Arizona (6-9, 0-4 Pac-10) team fielding only seven players, the Ducks (8-6, 2-1 Pac-10) made seven free-throws in the last five minutes to hold off the surging Wildcats for a 59-53 win.
“We knocked down our free-throws when it counted,” sophomore guard Taylor Lilley said after Saturday’s win.
“When we needed a big stop we made a stop,” Oregon coach Bev Smith said. “When we needed to get a rebound we got a rebound, when we needed to really break the press we wound up with a wide-open shot.
“Getting this win against Arizona was fundamental for us.”
That wide-open shot against Arizona – a press-breaking pass in to guard Tamika Nurse, who made a layup without a defender in sight – gave Oregon a 58-53 lead with 50 seconds left in the game and solidified the win for the Ducks.
Nurse also made two free-throws down the stretch that helped pad the Oregon lead, and added to Nurse’s 12 points in the game, a team high. Arizona guard Ashley Whisonant led all scorers in the game with 17 points.
After a 16-point halftime lead and a second half plagued with missed shots, though, there was concern from both Smith and the players about their intensity beginning the second half.
“We came out so great, we needed to carry that over to the second half,” senior forward Kaela Chapdelaine said.
“At halftime nobody expected it to be that kind of game, but with the way that we came out, our intensity was low,” Lilley said, “but we got the win, so that’s what matters.”
The lack of intensity was noticeable compared to the way the Ducks began the game. Oregon went on a 9-0 run beginning in the first minute that had both freshman center Ellyce Ironmonger and freshman forward Victoria Kenyon score on jumpers.
Neither Ironmonger or Kenyon scored in the Thursday loss to Arizona State, and both players contributed from the get-go Saturday – with Ironmonger giving a fist-pump running up the court after her basket.
The Ducks ran ahead to a 16-point halftime lead. But Arizona, employing a fierce full-court press, whittled the lead down to just three points with 2:11 left. The Ducks were able to withstand the press, but shot for a poor percentage – just 21.4 percent in the second half – and sent the Wildcats to the line down the stretch after Oregon picked up its seventh team foul with 9:55 left in the second half.
Winning over Arizona helped ease the pain of the loss to Arizona State two days prior. In a back-and-forth contest, Oregon, despite relying on Lilley for offense throughout, was within four points with five minutes left before hitting the wall.
Arizona State was led by forward Lauren Lacey, who was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points, as the Sun Devils inside game pounded Oregon’s front line. Center Ironmonger and forwards Kenyon, freshman Ellie Manou, and freshman Nicole Canepa combined for 8 points on 3-for-13 shooting from the field.
Oregon returns to the hardwood with games in the Bay Area this weekend. The Ducks play California at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 10 and take on Stanford at 2 p.m. on Jan. 12.
[email protected]