The Oregon women’s basketball team weathered through a game in which senior Cathrine Kraayeveld played under the weather and came away with a crucial 62-47 victory over Washington State at Friel Court on Thursday night.
“We’ve got a couple of people under the weather, but at this point in the season, it’s crunch time,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “You’ve got to weather through things.”
Weather they did, and as a result, the Ducks (16-6 overall, 9-4 Pacific-10 Conference) moved into tie in the loss column with Southern California for second place in the Pac-10 after the Women of Troy fell to Arizona State 49-45 earlier in the night.
The Ducks led by as much as 15 in a game that saw Washington State — the lowest scoring team in the conference (57.8 points per game) — shoot 28 percent (16 of 58) for the game and 0 of 14 from the three-point line. It was the first time in at least two years that the Ducks have held an opponent to zero three-pointers in a game.
The Cougars kept the game close for much of the first half until a three-pointer by Oregon senior Brandi Davis pushed the Duck lead to 23-14. The Cougars were never able to get within four points after that. The closest they came was in the second half when junior Arianna Scales completed a three-point play to close the gap to 46-39.
Washington State (5-18, 1-12) lost its ninth straight game against the Ducks and fell to 1-9 on the year at home in conference play. The Cougars’ last victory came in 2001 with a 77-76 win in Eugene. Oregon holds a 48-9 series advantage all-time against Washington State.
While the Cougars continued their struggles at home, Davis had no trouble playing in the Palouse, again. Davis — inserted into the starting lineup last week against Oregon State — led all scorers, dropping 19 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the field, including 3 of 5 from beyond the arc.
Davis has been making three-pointers at a nearly 50 percent pace starting with her career-high 28 points against UCLA, which
included six three-pointers.
“I prepare no different (for Washington State),” Davis said. “It makes no difference for me.”
In her three games in Pullman, Davis has scored 63 points.
Her scoring picked up the slack left for the Ducks’ offensively as Kraayeveld, the team’s leading scorer, battled a lingering cold that forced her to miss practice for most of the week.
However, Kraayeveld still
embodied a presence, even in a limited capacity. The native of Kirkland, Wash., added nine points on 3 of 5 shooting from behind the three-point line to go along with her 11 rebounds. Kraayeveld was a single point away from another double-double in the season.
Despite drawing two defenders for most of the game, Oregon senior Andrea Bills added 10 points, eight rebounds and a career-high six blocks. Her previous single-game mark was four against Michigan State in 2002.
The Ducks did not allow any Cougar player to score in double-digits for the first time in at least two years. Junior Keisha Moore led the Cougars with nine points.
“It really wasn’t a pretty game, but we don’t look at those things,” Smith said. “We just need to get back-to-back games together. We need to get some food, get hydrated and get some cold medicine so that we can get those players
some energy.”
Up next for the Ducks is a Saturday afternoon matchup with Washington. Last year in Seattle, the Huskies drilled the Ducks 95-50. Washington led by as many as 30 in the first half with Washington sophomore Breanne Watson leading the Huskies with 22 points. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.
“I’m really excited to go,” Davis said. “We are just trying to go in there for a win. We need these road wins.”

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