The good news is that Oregon, the worst rebounding team in the Pacific-10 Conference, finally won the battle of boards Saturday.
The bad news is the Ducks (12-9 overall, 5-6 Pac-10) lost 68-57 at California despite leading by a dozen in the second half. The loss is Oregon’s fourth straight, its longest skid in five years, and its first loss to Cal under head coach Jody Runge.
Oregon is below the .500 mark this late in conference play for the first time in Runge’s eight-year tenure as a Duck.
“It was a very disappointing effort,” Runge told KUGN. “We kept letting them drive, getting fouled and missing offensive rebounds. We’re not weathering the storm.”
With their fourth consecutive win, the Bears (10-11, 6-5) move one-game ahead of the Ducks in the fifth spot of the conference standings.
Out of the locker room, the Ducks quickly pushed a seven-point halftime lead to 12 on a Kourtney Shreve three-pointer at the 18:18 mark. But the Bears used a full-court press to force 23 Oregon turnovers, and took advantage of a 35 percent shooting performance by the Ducks to go on a 14-2 run to pull ahead of 48-47 with 7:07 remaining. The Bears would not look back, scoring 32 of the game’s 42 final points.
Runge showed little optimism after the loss, placing much of the team’s lack of chemistry on the core group of seniors.
“This group of seniors had its share of success as sophomores and juniors, but they’re getting their licks now,” Runge said. “We’ll have to see if this team has the heart to make it happen.
“I’m sick and tried of them crying in the locker room but not making it happen on the court.”
Oregon’s starting guards, Shreve and junior Jamie Craighead, combined to make just two of 20 shots, and had more combined turnovers than points — nine turnovers, seven points. Comparatively, Cal’s back-court combo, Courtney Johnson and Kenya Corley, tallied 39 points with nine turnovers.
Oregon was also just 4-for-20 from three-point land.
Senior forward Brianne Meharry had her first double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 boards, while senior Angelina Wolvert led the Ducks with 18 points. Senior post Jenny Mowe played just seven minutes because of a pulled sartorius muscle.
Cal’s Ami Forney picked up 16 rebounds to go along with 12 points.
“The second half was a lot better than the first,” said Caren Horstmeyer, California head coach. “The team showed a tremendous fight. You just can’t get down against a team like that. To build the lead was fantastic.”
The last four losses have come on the road, where the Ducks are 3-8 this season.
“The road has not been good to us,” Runge said. “This is a tremendous challenge and I’m not sure if this team can get their heads out or not.
“There has been no enthusiasm or energy in practices, and it’s possible that they’ve packed it up.”
Oregon defeated Cal 86-56 at McArthur Court Jan. 11. The Bears last win over the Ducks came on March 13, 1993 in Berkeley.
After the disappointing four-game road swing, the Ducks come home to face the Washington schools on Thursday and Saturday. The Huskies, who have lost 10 straight to Oregon, defeated Arizona State on Saturday to take a share of Pac-10 lead.
“Certainly nobody would like to beat us more than Washington,” Runge said.