LOS ANGELES – Jasmin Holliday had her own personal cheering section inside Pauley Pavilion. On Sunday afternoon, her performance was worthy of a standing ovation.
Holliday had 14 points, including an important three-pointer late, which helped extend Oregon’s lead in a 73-56 upset of host UCLA.
“All the support – it just fired me up,” Holliday said. “I was super excited to play in front of my family and I wanted to put on a show.”
The freshman Holliday, who hails from Chino Hills, Calif., was joined in the strong showings by local’s category by Taylor Lilley, who had a team-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
Lilley, from nearby Newhall, Calif., was part of a consistent Oregon offensive attack that cut down its 24 three-point attempts Friday against USC to 10 against UCLA as the Ducks (4-8, 1-1 Pac-10) focused on getting to the basket.
Guard Micaela Cocks had 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
Little seemed to faze Holliday, who like fellow freshman Amanda Johnson, is going through the Los Angeles road trip for the first time as Oregon Ducks.
“I love it,” said Holliday of playing close to home. “I love the adrenaline – all the crazy fans. It just pumps me up. It makes me want to play better. I don’t get nervous.”
Coach Bev Smith was left impressed by her team’s composure against UCLA’s pressure, offensive execution down the stretch and Johnson’s passing on Oregon’s backdoor cuts.
And in many ways this could be a springboard for Oregon going forward.
“It has to be,” Smith said. “As I told them in the locker room, remember how good it feels to win but also remember what you felt like with nine minutes to go. What was your mindset? How hard was it going to be? Where was your focus?
“We were in the moment. We took care of business.”
Like the USC contest, Oregon came out firing and jumped out to an 8-2 lead only to see the opponent push and climb back in.
This time Oregon answered UCLA’s push with sharp shooting guard Lilley playing the role of facilitator, while providing her customary offense.
Holliday splashed a shot off a Lilley drive and kick. Lilley stole the ball up top and sprinted down court for a fast break layup. On the ensuing possession, Lilley fed a streaking Tatianna Thomas for a layup and followed it up by driving and passing to an open Cocks for a jumper.
The offensive activity added up to a 20-11 Oregon edge. UCLA narrowed it to six on a three-pointer by Doreena Campbell and the lead hovered around six the rest of the half.
In an indication of Oregon’s guard-heavy offense, Lilley and Cocks combined for 17 of Oregon’s 32 first half points on 7-of-10 shooting with seven assists.
The second half brought more of the same from Oregon, who continued to attack the basket with positive results.
Lilley made consecutive layups for a 36-28 Oregon lead, and after UCLA narrowed it to 36-32, Oregon again responded. They upped their advantage to 44-33 on a Holliday layup off a Lilley dish and a Lilley backdoor layup.
Oregon again went without center Nicole Canepa, who sat out the USC loss with a sprained ankle sustained on Thursday in practice, and is questionable to return for next weekend’s home stand with the Arizona schools.
Ellie Manou and Amanda Johnson proved more than capable of holding their own against UCLA’s bigger, physical post players in 6-foot-6 Moniquee Alexander and 6-foot-4 Chinyere Ibekwe. Manou nearly completed a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds, while Johnson collected seven points and five rebounds.
“Getting physical,” said Lilley was huge. “Matching their physicality and really just not giving up down there. Our bigs did a pretty good job at really getting physical and Jasmin getting some boards. (Amanda) just going in there kamikaze style and just getting some more possessions for us.”
UCLA placed a large amount of pressure on the wings, allowing the quick Duck guards to sprint by for layups or find cutters backdoor for wide-open shots. Oregon had 14 assists to UCLA’s eight.
“We haven’t had the best preseason,” Cocks said. “We had quite a few losses so to get this win feels really good.”
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