Don’t let Oregon State’s record fool you. Though the Beavers are 2-6 in the Pacific-10 Conference, their overall record is 11-7, the only non-conference loss coming at the hands of No. 10 North Carolina. If Oregon wants to achieve a 5-4 mark at the conference games’ halfway point (it would be the first such achievement since 2004-05), the Ducks will have to look beyond the Beavers’ conference mark.
Oregon State employs a three-guard backcourt, and sophomore guard Talisa Rhea will be the Ducks’ defensive fixture. She is fourth in the Pac-10 in scoring (14.8 points per game), and she recorded the highest point total by a Pac-10 player this year with a 42-point outburst against Sacramento State on Nov. 16. Senior guard Brittany Davis (12.6 points per game) is second to Rhea on the team in scoring, and senior guard Mercedes Fox-Griffin (4.4 assists per game) will be the Beavers’ primary distributor.
“They are a dynamic backcourt,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “They’re going to be some pretty difficult matchups for us with that backcourt.”
Up front, the Ducks will have to contend with senior center Tiffany Ducker and 6-foot-4 sophomore center Alex Mitchell for the rebounding edge. Ducker leads the team with 6.6 per game, and Mitchell averages 11.6 points to go with 5.6 rebounds.
“The inside game seems to have improved game in, game out,” Smith said.
Oregon does get some assistance with Mitchell and Ducker with the return of sophomore center Nicole Canepa, who is expected to make her first appearance in a conference game this season after nursing a right ankle injury. Canepa practiced with the team Wednesday and Thursday and is expected to see minutes off the bench for the Ducks.
Junior guard Taylor Lilley, however, was listed as “doubtful” by Smith after injuring her ankle against Portland on Monday. If Lilley, currently the Ducks’ second-leading scorer (11.2 points per game), is deemed unfit to play Saturday, it would be a blessing for a Beavers defense that ranks third in the Pac-10 in scoring defense (56.2 points per game) and second in three-point defense. Opponents have shot just 28.9 percent from behind the arc against Oregon State this season.
[email protected]