The Oregon women’s basketball team sits at 5-1 with its lone loss coming against No. 21 Temple. The Ducks completed their November schedule with a 70-40 rout of Drake on Monday night at McArthur Court. “We are happy about how we are playing right now, but we are in the Pac-10, and we have some very stiff competition coming up,” Oregon guard Cicely Oaks said. “We are not just going to be satisfied with beating these (non-conference) teams.”
The Ducks now have 12 days to prepare for its December long road trip that starts Dec. 10 against Prairie View A&M at the Rose Garden in Portland.
The Ducks have played one game against a ranked opponent and do not face another ranked team until visiting No. 24 USC on Dec. 22, so the Ducks are hovering under the national radar. Counting the Others Receiving Votes category in the ESPN/USA Today poll, Oregon sits at No. 38. Oregon remains unranked in the Associated Press Poll.
“If they are not in the Top 25, they probably should be,” Drake coach Amy Stephens said. “Losing to Temple at home probably hurt them. They had a great opportunity to pull an upset over a ranked team.”
Return to the inside game
Gabrielle Richards reasserted herself with 18 points and nine rebounds against Arkansas after the perimeter-oriented Chelsea Wagner led Oregon in scoring against Nevada and Portland. Richards combined for 10 points in those two games before her performance last Friday that was reminiscent of her 19 and 20-point games, respectively, against St. Francis (Pa.) and Temple to start the season.
Oregon utilized the perimeter players Monday with Oaks and Brandi Davis leading the Ducks with 15 and 12 points, respectively. Senior Davis is averaging 15.7 minutes a game and shooting .385 from the field, including .313 from three-point range.
“In the past, I’ve never had the greatest preseason,” Davis said. “I’m more than satisfied with where my role is. We are winning and that is all I ask for.”
All 12 Oregon players played Monday and just three played 20 minutes or more. Oregon’s bench scored 52 of the Ducks 70 points.
Hitting the boards
Oregon outrebounded a shorter and scrappier Arkansas team 50 to 30 Friday as the Ducks allowed 12 offense boards. Arkansas had only one player taller than six feet in 6-foot-2 Kristina Andjelkovic, and she only played for eight minutes. Drake presented a larger challenge with 6-foot-tall players Lindsay Whorton (five rebounds) and Brandy Dahir (six) and 6-foot-1 forward Jill Martin (four).
Oregon held a 40-to-33 rebound advantage against Drake and gave up 16 offensive rebounds. Oregon held Drake to 21.7 percent shooting and 10.5 percent from three-point range.
“I’m very pleased with our desire to be a great defensive team and (how we) help each other out,” Oregon coach Bev Smith said.
Ducks happy with current level of play
Daily Emerald
November 28, 2005
Brandi Davis is fouled as she drives for a layup. Davis made the shot and free throw to add to her 12 points.
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