Thursday’s game against Arizona State marked yet another low point in a season of disappointment for the Oregon women’s basketball team.
The Sun Devils outscored the Ducks 36-14 during the game’s final 16 minutes en route to a 65-40 victory in front of 1,754 fans at Wells Fargo Arena.
Oregon (12-13 overall, 4-11 Pacific-10 Conference) pulled to within two midway through the second half when a basket by guard Corrie Mizusawa cut the Arizona State lead to 34-32.
Sun Devil forward Emily Westerberg then nailed a jump shot from the foul line to spark a 31-8 Arizona State run to close the game.
The loss put Oregon below .500 for the first time all season and marked its lowest scoring output since November 2002 when the Ducks scored 40 in a loss to South Carolina.
“Certainly we have to take our hats off to Arizona State,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith told KSCR (1320 AM) Radio after the game. “They’re playing very well. The rotation of players that come in don’t lose their intensity, they don’t lose their focus, and above all, they don’t lose their discipline.
“We just can’t find a number of players that are going to play together with that kind of intensity for 40 minutes, and quite frankly, that’s my responsibility.”
Oregon experienced offensive troubles early and often. The Ducks had only 21 points at the half and didn’t have a player reach double figures in scoring.
Guard Brandi Davis lead the Ducks with nine points on 4 of 11 shooting, while forwards Kedzie Gunderson and Eleanor Haring added eight points apiece.
Guard Chelsea Wagner, who torched the Sun Devils for 20 points and five three-pointers in the season’s first meeting, was held scoreless in 14 minutes.
Oregon shot 35 percent for the game, connecting on 16 of 46 field goal attempts. When the Ducks missed, they rarely got a second chance. Arizona State (16-8, 10-5) outrebounded Oregon 40-26, holding the Ducks to only seven offensive rebounds.
Haring lead Oregon with seven rebounds, while Gunderson snatched six. Center Andrea Bills grabbed five boards, snapping a streak of 19 games in which the 6-foot-3 junior led, or tied for, the team lead in rebounding.
“You’ve got to compete,” Smith said. “You’ve got to get out there every day, you’ve got to be driven, you’ve got to get loose balls. Those are the little things that make a big difference.
“… We’ve got to get back and play what I consider Oregon basketball and that’s tough, in the trenches, down and dirty, don’t care what the score is — you’re going to give this University and this team your best and that’s not happening with the five people we have on the floor.”
Oregon grabbed a 13-9 lead seven minutes into the first half on a three-pointer by Davis. Arizona State responded with nine straight points, including a jump shot by guard Kylan Loney that gave the Sun Devils an 18-13 lead.
Arizona State scored 11 of the next 19 points to take a 29-21 halftime lead.
Loney lead the Sun Devils with 14 points, while forward Kristen Kovesdy added 11.
Smith said the Ducks need to give a better effort in their remaining games.
“We have three games left in this season and we need five players that are going to come out and put aside all of the little differences that are making this season difficult,” Smith said. “It’s really easy to go through the season when you have a winning record but it’s difficult to hang in there (when you’re losing).”