Coming out of a timeout less than five minutes into the game, assistant coach Kai Felton cried out, “Rebound! Rebound!” Try as they might, the Ducks could not keep California off the glass, and were outrebounded 53-31 in a 72-62 loss on Thursday night.
Adding further insult to injury, 24 of California’s rebounds came on the offensive side of the ball. Offensive rebounding has been a recurring problem for the Ducks, and has become a frustration for head coach Paul Westhead.
“When we get beaten on the offensive boards, we really struggle,” Westhead said. “As a running team, we need the ball on a missed shot. Otherwise we’re giving up the run and we’re giving them an opportunity to score back again, so it’s kind of a double jeopardy.”
The Ducks also struggled from the field, shooting just 39.7 percent for the game with 62 points (their second lowest total of the season). Free throws were also a problem, as Oregon shot just 5-11 (45.5 percent) for the game.
“On our end, I thought that we were in a little bit of a rush mode,” Westhead said. “When we got shots that we normally would make at a decent percentage, we were kind of unloading our shots a little bit.”
Physicality proved to be one of the reasons the Ducks struggled on offense, as the Golden Bears did not shy away from contact. Throughout the game, the crowd called for fouls, and Oregon’s frustration seemed to grow. Yet, as senior guard Taylor Lilley remarked, that is the grim reality of conference play.
“It was pretty physical, definitely,” Lilley said. “But that’s going to happen. Expect physicality to happen, especially in the Pac-10. That’s what it is, that’s what it’s all about. We just have to expect that every game, and come with it and be just as physical back.”
To some Duck players, the game felt like a missed opportunity. Had they been more aggressive, the game could have easily gone differently.
“They definitely got tired in the beginning, and we knew it,” junior forward Nicole Canepa said. “I don’t think that we took it to them strong enough. I think we could have ran a little bit harder and gotten more fast breaks.”
As it stood, the Ducks scored only six fast break points. The Golden Bears also had more second chance points (19-14), points in the paint (42-30), and bench points (20-10).
Lilley led the team with 16 points, including four three-pointers. Fittingly, she also led the team in rebounds with 6. Senior guard Micaela Cocks chipped in with 12 points, and junior guard Nia Jackson added 10. Sophomore forward Amanda Johnson was held to just six points and four rebounds, while Canepa also had an off-game with six points and three rebounds.
Senior guard Alexis Gray-Lawson led the Golden Bears with 19 points, while freshman forward DeNesha Stallworth had 13 points and seven rebounds. Freshman center Talia Caldwell came off the bench to contribute 13 rebounds, including nine on the offensive glass.
For the game, California shot 40.3 percent from the field, scoring 72 points despite a 3-16 performance from beyond the arc.
Despite their three game losing streak, the Ducks are keeping their heads held high.
“We just have to regroup right now,” Lilley said. “We have to just stay positive … we’ve done a lot of good things, we know we’re a good team. We know we can play better, and that’s definitely something that we have on our side.”
Westhead seemed to agree with Lilley’s sentiments, and is looking forward to the team’s next game on Saturday.
“We’re a better team than (we showed today),” he said. “Hopefully we’ll prove it soon.”
The Ducks face off with No. 2 Stanford at 11 a.m. on Saturday at McArthur Court.
Top Performers:
Taylor Lilley: 16 points, six rebounds, 4-7 from three point range
Victoria Kenyon: eight points, five rebounds, 2-2 from three point range
Nia Jackson: 10 points, four offensive rebounds, 4-9 from the field
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Daily Emerald
January 21, 2010
Jack Hunter
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