PORTLAND — There’s nothing a little WD-40, super glue and duct tape can’t fix. Bev Smith must have had them all handy last week, and she’s hoping the stick doesn’t wear off tonight against No. 8 Texas Tech.
Four days after a 77-73 loss to Portland — the Pilots’ second win over the Ducks in 18 years — the Oregon women’s basketball team surprised Texas Christian with a 75-63 victory Saturday at the Papé Jam.
The Ducks, 2-2 overall this season, are undefeated in four tries in the annual Jam at Portland’s Rose Garden.
“We have a very unique and dynamic team and we’re just starting to understand that,” said Smith, Oregon’s first-year coach. “TCU was a highly touted team, but we didn’t pay attention to that. We kept our focus on our game plan.”
Senior guard Edniesha Curry scored eight points, including back-to-back three-pointers, in the first three minutes of the game as Oregon jumped out to a 13-4 lead — and the Ducks never looked back.
Oregon held the Horned Frogs (2-1 overall) to 25 percent shooting in the first half, taking a 34-21 lead into the locker room. In its first two games against Sam Houston State and Air Force, Texas Christian averaged 94 points and more than doubled its opponent’s scoring.
“We were very aware that this was no Sam Houston,” TCU head coach Jeff Mittie said. “We dug a hole early and Oregon didn’t let us out of it.”
Particularly, Mittie said he was surprised by the play of Oregon’s guards, Curry and Shaquala Williams, who combined for 43 points on 13-of-25 shooting.
“We’re still finding our chemistry with each other,” Curry said of Williams. “I think today was the first game that we both clicked on all cylinders.”
Texas Christian center Sandora Irvin, niece of former NFL star Michael Irvin and a high school All-American last year, scored 20 points for the Frogs. But she was held in check for most of the game by Oregon’s posts, senior Alyssa Fredrick and freshman Andrea Bills.
“We knew they were a very athletic team and when you have teams like that, their goal is to get out in transition,” Williams said. “Our goal was to improve on our defensive transition, slow them down and make them beat us in a five-on-five situation. And we did all those things.”
Offensively, the Ducks were able to establish presence in the paint, which opened the outside game for the guards. Oregon shot better than 45 percent from the floor and 44 percent from three-point range.
“We realize that this season wasn’t going to be easy, that there would be a few bumps, and that we might not come out of the preseason in great form,” Williams said. “We just wanted to improve every game and I think we’ve done that.”

Texas Tech
Improvement will be key tonight as the Ducks host Texas Tech at 7 p.m.
Last year, in Lubbock, Texas, the then-14th-ranked Ducks fell to the 11th-ranked Lady Raiders, 79-75, in overtime. This year, Texas Tech (1-1 overall) — a 64-60 winner over Oregon State on Saturday — comes to Eugene as the favorite.
Like Oregon, the Raiders are anchored by their backcourt. Sophomores Natalie Ritchie and Jia Perkins lead the Raiders with a combined 35.5 points per game.