In last month’s 74-65 defeat against the Sun Devils in Tempe, Ariz., the Oregon women’s basketball team learned just how frustrating Arizona State’s defense was.
In that game, the Ducks committed
25 turnovers.
In tonight’s 66-59 victory over the Sun Devils at McArthur Court, Oregon borrowed a page from Arizona State’s playbook, switched roles and forced them to turn the ball over 21 times — 15 of them coming in the first half.
In addition, the Ducks forced every player that played for the Sun Devils into committing at least one turnover.
“Defensively, we really buckled down and we understood their strengths,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “They are a very good team and they are very hard to play
against sometimes.”
Arizona State came into the game at or near the top in all defensive categories in the Pacific-10 Conference.
The Sun Devils led the conference in scoring defense, allowing only 53 points per game. They ranked fifth in field-goal percentage defense and first in three-point percentage defense — allowing opponents to make 49 three-pointers all year. They ranked third in the Pac-10 in steals with 10.7 per game.
But while Arizona State’s defense gets all the credit, the Ducks are nearly equal to the task.
“We always talk about how our defense fuels our offense, and that’s how we are going to play well,” Oregon senior Cathrine Kraayeveld said. “We knew the scouting report, and we took pride in that, and we did what we could in stopping the (opposing) personnel on the floor.”
The Ducks rank third in conference in scoring defense. In addition, Oregon is second in field-goal percentage defense.
It seemed the Ducks played a little bit harder and wanted it a little bit more against the Sun Devils, equal to the task of competing with the ninth-ranked defense in the nation.
“It was one of our main focuses going into the game,” Oregon senior Brandi Davis said. “Defensively we had to turn it up because we had no choice.”
The Ducks snagged eight steals, equaling the Sun Devils’ total. Oregon also added
three blocks.
Kraayeveld led the way with three steals to add to an 11-point, six-rebound performance.
As a team, Oregon contained Arizona State sophomore forward Emily Westerberg, who scored 26 points in the last meeting with the Ducks, to 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
“They did a good job of denying the post and we didn’t show the patience (to get good shots),” Arizona State head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “I think they did step up their defense and they did a nice job.”

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