When the Oregon State Beavers came to McArthur Court for the Jan. 31 iteration of the women’s basketball Civil War, the Ducks were looking to avoid a third straight Pacific-10 Conference loss after a promising 4-2 start to the Pac-10 season. The Beavers, 2-6 in the conference at the time, promptly responded by kicking the Ducks in the teeth.
“Oregon State came in here with a very good game plan,” head coach Bev Smith said of the 61-42 defeat. “They were very intense, they were really focused, and they really got after us in the first 10 minutes.”
The Ducks and Beavers were tied 7-7 after the first five minutes before Oregon State embarked on a three-minute, 8-0 run. The Ducks got caught up in the deficit, which increased as the Beavers closed out the first half on a five-minute, 13-1 run to end the half ahead, 32-18.
Oregon couldn’t bring the deficit within 10 points at any point in the second half.
“The Civil War game occurred at a time when we weren’t in a good place,” freshman forward Amanda Johnson said. “Our energy was down. We were a little demoralized from our losses.”
Oregon State (16-10, 6-9 Pac-10) is at a size disadvantage compared to the Ducks, but the Beavers got the job done in that game thanks to perimeter defense and post offense. Fourth in the conference in scoring defense (56.3 points per game) and second in three-point defense (allowing 29.2-percent shooting), Beavers guards Brittney Davis, Mercedes Fox-Griffin and Talisa Rhea pressured Oregon into 9.1-percent three-point shooting (1-11). Seven of the Ducks’ 18 first-half field-goal attempts were three-points, with one made, by junior guard Micaela Cocks.
Of the Beavers’ four double-digit scorers in the game, a combined 22 points came from senior center Tiffany Ducker (10; 6.4 ppg season average) and sophomore center Alex Mitchell (12; 11.4 ppg).
“They were able to do quite a lot of damage early,” sophomore forward Ellie Manou said. “They didn’t do as well defending us inside last time, so hopefully we’ll make them pay for that, and that’ll open up the outside for us.”
Beyond removing that dimension from the Beavers’ offense, Oregon post players have to limit the rebounds for Ducker and Mitchell, who rank eighth and 12th in the conference respectively in that category.
“(We have to) make them do what they’re not used to,” Manou said.
Stopping Davis (13.8 points per game) and Rhea (13.7) offensively tops the priority list for Oregon’s backcourt. Davis cut up the Ducks for 16 points despite only taking nine shots, and while Cocks held Rhea scoreless in the first half of the Jan. 31 Civil War, Rhea hit two critical three-pointers in the waning minutes of the game.
Most importantly, the Ducks face the potential ignominy of the first Oregon State sweep of the Civil War since 1993. Smith, whose Ducks lost twice to Oregon State in her tenure as a player (1978-82), will make sure to emphasize the rivalry aspect if it hasn’t been done already.
“I think it’s in our players’ minds,” Smith said.
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