Oregon is going to try it again.
After facing California on Saturday and picking up a 77-62 victory, the Ducks and the Golden Bears play each other today in the first round of the Pacific-10 Conference tournament.
“Our plan is to just go in, play the first game and win the first game,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “We’re very focused on Cal and on playing well.”
The Ducks (14-14 overall, 6-12 Pac-10) opened their conference season with a 61-57 loss to California (11-16, 4-14). When the two teams closed their regular seasons in Eugene, the result was very different.
Oregon put together its first consecutive conference wins of the season when the momentum of a 67-66 victory against No. 10 Stanford carried over into the victory against the Golden Bears.
“Saturday’s game showed us what we are capable of doing against Cal as long as we play as hard as we did that night,” Oregon center Andrea Bills said. “You can never be overprepared because each team may add something different to their game. We definitely cannot take Cal lightly. They will be ready and build on things they may not have gotten done in the previous game, and we have to match that.”
The Golden Bears and the Ducks seemed to be more than one place apart in the Pac-10 standings when the two teams met Saturday at McArthur Court. Bills led Oregon with 10 rebounds and a career-high 22 points. With 3 minutes and 21 seconds remaining in the first half, the junior scored a basket to put Oregon ahead, 29-28, and the Ducks didn’t look back.
In a very physical and emotional game, California head coach Caren Horstmeyer was called for a technical foul in the second half. The Ducks were into a bonus situation with fouls in the first ten minutes of the second half. Saturday was also senior Kayla Steen’s last game at McArthur Court.
The Ducks aren’t looking past the Bears.
“They could make adjustments,” Smith said. “We can only control what we do to play well. They’re a very aggressive team. We’re going to have to be aggressive offensively to combat that.”
Oregon was aggressive during its final week of conference play. The Ducks lit a fire under themselves and fought for a win against then-No. 10 Stanford before taking control of the Golden Bears for a confidence- and momentum-building victory.
Now, Oregon turns around and plays California again.
“I think it is a positive that we get to turn around and play them right away,” Oregon forward Kedzie Gunderson said. “We already prepared for them last week, so this week has just been focusing on things we, as a team, can improve on to fix some of our mistakes.
“We are all kind of beat up, but when it comes down to it, this weekend is very important for us, so injuries are the last thing on our mind. After the season (is over) is when we get to focus on getting those better.”
The Ducks’ season will likely end this weekend. If Oregon wins today, it will finish with at least a .500 record, which makes the Ducks eligible for an NIT berth. They can choose not to accept it if they feel that their injuries — an ankle on Bills, torn lateral meniscus’ on Corrie Mizusawa and Chelsea Wagner, and an assortment of bumps and bruises on the rest of the team — need to be tended. If the Ducks win the tournament this weekend, they will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.