Giuliana Mendiola wanted to go out at .500 against the Ducks in McArthur Court.
The Husky senior was winless in Eugene her first two years at Washington. Last February, the Huskies got their first win at Mac Court in nine years. Saturday, Mendiola made sure that she would graduate with another victory in Eugene.
After a slow start, Mendiola finished with 22 points and nine rebounds, leading the Huskies to a 67-56 victory. The win kept Washington’s postseason hopes alive, improving their record to 14-10 overall and 7-8 in the Pacific-10 Conference.
“Everybody who has seen her here for four years knows, who else’s hands do you want the ball in?” Washington coach June Daugherty said. “Everybody in this room knows the answer. She’s the best. There’s a reason why she was the MVP of the conference last year. And I believe this year too.”
Mendiola really did finish the game. After opening the first half 2 for 8 from the field, Mendiola was 6 for 9 in the second half. Her weak shooting first half came from a stingy Oregon defense.
“Oregon plays at another level at home,” Mendiola said. “They played me very, very physical. They played great defense.”
Oregon knew that Mendiola and her sister, Gioconda Mendiola, would scorch the Ducks given the opportunity. In January’s 95-50 blowout, the Mendiola sisters combined for 30 points, making Oregon fully aware of their offensive presence.
“We just wanted to come out and play really aggressive and physical and make them work for their points,” Oregon guard Chelsea Wagner said. “The Mendiola’s are a big part of their scoring and we just wanted to make them work really hard.”
For 29 minutes and 23 seconds, Oregon — primarily Wagner and point guard Corrie Mizusawa — played Giuliana Mendiola and her sister flawlessly. Combined, they had 13 points until the clock hit 10:37 remaining in the second half.
At that point, Giuliana Mendiola started her run with a three-point shot from the right wing, scoring 18 of Washington’s final 23 points of the game.
“She rises up for those occasions and plays the game for those occasions,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “It’s a tribute to her and a tribute to women’s basketball to see a player respond like that.”
In front of what the Huskies called a great crowd, Washington needed someone to step up if they were going to put the Ducks away. Behind Brandi Davis and Andrea Bills, Oregon was slowly staying about four points behind the Huskies.
That got Mendiola moving along with her game. Washington was ahead 44-40 when she started her attack and she wasn’t comfortable with that.
“I was worried just looking at the score,” Mendiola said. “It was too close for comfort. My teammates rely on me to score, and I just knew I had to bring it. That’s what I tried to do.”
Mendiola brought it enough to end her Mac Court days with a second win in two years against the Ducks.