Much like the season so far, Saturday night’s game
against Utah began very slowly for the Oregon women’s
basketball team.
And much like the season so far, the Ducks picked up
their play when they needed to.
Oregon (5-3) erased a 14-point first-half deficit to
defeat the Utah Utes, 63-55, in front of 4,366 fans at
McArthur Court. The Ducks have now won three straight
and four of their last five.
Junior guard Shaquala Williams led the Ducks with 19
points Saturday, including three straight buckets
toward the end of the first half, and the Oregon
defense was relentless after a slow start, allowing
the Utes (4-3) to shoot just 37 percent from the floor
in the final frame.
“We shut them down and didn’t allow them to score,”
first-year Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “That
momentum carried into our offense. We got some big
transition scores which are so important.”
Senior guard Edniesha Curry’s three-pointer at the
15:37 mark of the second half gave the Ducks their
first lead of the game at 36-34, and they did not look
back.
Senior post Alyssa Fredrick scored all 14 of her
points in the final 12 minutes, including 6-of-6 free
throws. As a team, the Ducks were 14-for-14 from the
foul line, two shy of a team record.
“Their quickness was the difference,” said Utah head
coach Elaine Elliott, one of the top candidates for
the Ducks’ head coaching position after Jody Runge
resigned last spring.
“They made too many plays for us to counteract a steal, a strip or a block. That’s the best team we’ve played (this year).”
Oregon outrebounded the Utes 36-33 and had seven
blocked shots for the third time this season.
“We had a hard time sticking to our game plan early
on,” Smith said. “We seemed kind of nervous and shy
for playing at Mac Court. But we turned that corner
tonight.”
With the win, the Ducks avenged a 63-48 loss to the
Utes in Salt Lake City last year. Oregon’s next game
is Wednesday at Brigham Young.
Women hoopsters sink UTAH in second half
Daily Emerald
December 8, 2001
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