It goes down in the annals as one win, but Oregon’s 73-56 win against UCLA on Sunday – at Pauley Pavilion, no less – represented vindication for weeks’ worth of work.
“I think there’s a bounce in everybody’s step. We weathered a lot of storms in terms of injuries (and) a very tough non-conference schedule,” head coach Bev Smith said. “I think that our win against UCLA really confirms some of the things we’ve been doing in practice.”
“No one was trying to do too much. Everything stuck within their roles,” center Ellie Manou echoed. “It felt so good. To beat UCLA by 17 at their court is massive.”
Manou is emblematic of the Ducks’ (4-8, 1-1 Pacific-10 Conference) primary struggle this season: injuries. She missed games against Marquette and Baylor after tweaking her right knee and came off the bench in a loss to Utah, but started against both USC and UCLA.
“It’s just sore. I felt like I couldn’t make any powerful movements from it,” Manou said.
Taylor Lilley, Oregon’s leading scorer last season, missed the first six games of the season with a shin injury and had a mixed December, held scoreless in the Ducks’ loss to Marquette on Dec. 17. Lilley scored only eight points against the Women of Troy, but she torched the Bruins for 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, adding five assists and four steals.
“I feel really good. My body feels somewhat in good shape and my legs feel good,” Lilley said.
In all, six Ducks have missed games due to injury, including Nia Jackson, out for the season with a torn ACL, and Rita Kollo, who hasn’t yet returned from a broken right foot. Forward Nicole Canepa also suffered a sprained ankle before the L.A. series, and Smith has ruled her out against the Arizona schools.
Smith has used six different starting lineups in Oregon’s 12 games, and cohesion has predictably suffered. But beating the Bruins took a full team effort – the Ducks had four double-digit scorers and sport a 4-1 record when three or more players score 10 or more points.
“Mentally, we’re all on a really good page right now,” Lilley said.
The Ducks take their confidence into McArthur Court today against an Arizona team (6-7, 0-2) that was picked to finish 9th in the Pac-10 media poll and features a first-year coach, Niya Butts, a former Kentucky assistant who played under Pat Summitt at Tennessee, and a double-double machine in sophomore Ify Ibekwe. The 6-foot-1 forward is averaging 15.3 points and 12.5 rebounds, the fifth-best rebounding mark in the nation.
“She’s athletic, but if we stick to our team defending principles, we’ll be fine,” Manou said of Ibekwe.
Arizona State (8-7, 0-2) brings a unique challenge to the Ducks as a team with great experience, an all-upperclassmen starting lineup and the dean of Pac-10 women’s basketball coaches in Charli Turner Thorne, and great balance. The backcourt of Briann January, the 2008 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year and current Pac-10 assist leader (5.3 per game), and former McDonald’s All-American Dymond Simon is complemented by the size and skill of forward Lauren Lacey and center Sybil Dosty, the Sun Devils’ leading rebounder (8.0 per game).
Oregon has dropped seven of the previous eight meetings with the Sun Devils, but the final matchup of last year, a 52-51 heartbreaker in Tempe, is reason for optimism.
Asked about January and Simon, Lilley gave an answer befitting of someone physically healthy and confident.
“I’m looking forward to their defense,” Lilley said.
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