Through all craziness and the loose balls, the Oregon women’s basketball team was determined to not let anything stand in its way between the Ducks a ‘w.’
Oregon turned the tables Thursday night and conquered Arizona State en route to a solid victory, 68-52.
It wasn’t a high-scoring affair, but a game of defense where every loose ball meant diving to the floor, and no rebound went uncontested.
Oregon established its defensive presence from the start as it jumped out to a 23-9 lead for the majority of the first half. The Ducks held the Sun Devils to under double-digit points for more than 14 minutes of play.
“Right from the get go tonight we worked on just allowing them one shot at the hoop,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “There was some heart shown tonight that we are just ready to turn the page and get after it and just finish plays.”
Oregon turned things around in more ways than one as the Ducks won the rebound margin, 38-32. Prior to tonight’s match-up, Oregon had lost the battle of the boards in nine of its last 10 games.
Along with a solid night from the free-throw line — Oregon shot more than 80 percent — the Ducks caused the Sun Devils to turn over the ball 23 times.
“It’s one of the best defensive efforts combined with rebounding that we’ve had for a long, long time,” Smith said.
Arizona State would find some light in the first 20 minutes and get as close as seven points, but once Oregon got the lead, it didn’t give it up. The Ducks headed to the locker room after a solid first half, leading 35-21.
Oregon came out firing in the second half as sophomore Kedzie Gunderson drove hard to the hoop for an easy lay-in. Gunderson had nine points and five rebounds in her 31 minutes. Freshman Carolyn Ganes added a quick five points to the Ducks’ offense and every cylinder of the Oregon engine was firing.
The Ducks led by 16, their largest lead of the night, at 42-26 and never looked back. The Sun Devils never got closer than nine points through the second half, as Oregon kept its poise and converted from the charity line.
“Everybody that went out on the floor played their guts out for the minutes that they were on,” Ganes said. “At the end of the game we were all tired and we knew there was nothing else we could’ve have given and that is the way we should end games.”
Oregon (8-11, 4-6 Pac-10) got a solid start to the second half of conference play and earned its redemption, as the Sun Devils had a comfortable 15-point victory in the first clash between the two.
Arizona State (12-7, 4-6 Pac-10) had a rough night in front of the 4,216 fans at The Pit, shooting just 36.7 percent from the field. The Sun Devils went 10-of-17 on free throws but did go 6-of-12 from downtown.
Oregon’s offense wasn’t much better, as it shot just 38 percent from the field and went 2-of-11 on three-pointers. But the Duck defense brought home the victory with 10 steals and winning the turnover margin by seven.
“We played really good defense and that has been our focus,” said senior Alissa Edwards, who reaggravated her ankle injury, yet continued to play and says she will be fine. “They had to take tough shots and we just played tough.”
Edwards had a solid all-around performance, adding nine points and 10 assists to the Oregon offense in her 36 minutes.
For Arizona State, sophomore Kylan Loney led all scorers with 16 points and led the Sun Devils with four assists. Freshmen Amy Denson and Kristen Kovesdy also scored in double figures for the Sun Devils.
Oregon’s next test comes Saturday at noon, when it faces Arizona (13-6, 6-4 Pac-10.) It will be quite the matchup, as the Wildcats were upset by Oregon State on Thursday, and the Ducks look to continue the successful homestand.