When Paul Westhead made his usual appearance on Terry Jonz’s postgame radio show on Saturday, the sense of relief in his voice was palpable. The same was true for Taylor Lilley, and you couldn’t help but feel good for the women’s basketball team after it finally ended a five-game skid with a win over USC.
It’s been a rough few weeks for the Ducks. After a roaring start to the season, the potential of this up-tempo team seemed limitless. The honeymoon had to end at some point, though, and it should really come as no surprise that the team hit a bit of a rough patch.
As good of a coach as Westhead is, Oregon still had to learn an entirely new system on the fly and adjust to the rigors of such a fast-paced style. A losing streak was bound to happen, and it was better to have it early on in the season rather than during the final part of the season.
The Ducks have now seen every Pacific-10 Conference team at least once and will be better prepared for each team during the second half of the season. What should bolster Oregon’s confidence even further, however, is the way the team played against a tough USC team on the road.
The Trojans were, after all, ranked second in the Pac-10 with a 7-1 record going into Saturday’s game. Their only conference loss? That came against Stanford, the No. 2 team in the entire nation.
Given the way Oregon had played over its last five games, most experts predicted yet another loss. I’ll admit I was skeptical of their chances. As it turns out, they proved all of us wrong.
Lilley was the obvious story of the night. She came into the game with the reputation as one of the best pure shooters in the Pac-10, and she more than backed that up on Saturday. Her performance was so extraordinary that I actually found myself getting excited while listening to the game on the radio. Believe me, that is a difficult feat to pull off.
Still, as captivating as Lilley’s performance was, the contributions of the rest of the team should not be ignored. This was a team win, and the Ducks were clearly playing with a sense of urgency.
Micaela Cocks was her usual steady self with 24 points, and she filled in admirably for the entire last seven minutes of the game after Nia Jackson fouled out. Seven minutes may not seem like a long time, but she had already played around 30 minutes prior to that. The fact that she stayed in and continued to contribute proves just how badly she wanted the win.
Victoria Kenyon also stepped up when it counted, making some clutch shots when no one else seemed to be hitting early in the second half. It was a point in the game when USC could have seized control for good, but she made sure that wouldn’t happen. Her 10 points may not sound like much, but they were among the most important in the entire game.
Really, the theme of all of these performances is that the Ducks outworked and outlasted the Women of Troy on Saturday. They crashed the boards, forced turnovers, and generally did what they do best: run opponents out of the gym.
Westhead clearly has this team in the best physical shape of their lives. Continually running up and down a court for months on end will do that to you, I suppose. So while they may not always be hitting their shots or trapping effectively on defense, the Ducks will always have the ability to outwork other teams.
That will come in very handy, particularly as the season begins to wind down. Something tells me that while other teams begin to drag their feet, the Ducks will just keep churning along. That alone will prove to be very dangerous. A basketball team, after all, is like a car: It is only as good as its motor.
And if the Ducks are hitting shots and grabbing rebounds like they did on Saturday? Well, you’d better watch out.
[email protected]