The Oregon women’s basketball team fell behind USC early and
never recovered Friday, falling to the Trojans 69-55 in front of
3,772 fans at McArthur Court.
After a layup by Oregon forward Eleanor Haring tied the game at 4,
USC went on a 17-2 run, silencing the McArthur crowd.
Oregon pulled to within six after a pair of free throws by senior
guard Kayla Steen with 4:13 remaining in the first half, but the
Ducks got no closer as USC (5-5 overall, 2-0 Pacific-10 Conference)
scored the next seven points to regain control.
Oregon (8-5, 0-3) was defeated at home for the first time this
season and has lost four straight after an 8-1 start. The Ducks
dropped their first three conference games for the first time since
1995-96, when they started 0-4 in the Pac-10.
“Our starts haven’t been the greatest thing in the world,” junior
guard Brandi Davis said. “I think we need to look inside ourselves
and try to get those first 10 minutes or first five minutes
going.”
The Trojans dominated the paint, out rebounding the Ducks 33 to 23.
What little success Oregon had down low vanished when junior center
Andrea Bills was forced to leave the game after picking up her
fourth foul with 18:14 remaining in the second half. With Bills
out, USC built its lead, which reached 25 with 8:50 remaining.
USC’s dominance was partly based on senior forward Ebony Hoffman,
who finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Oregon simply had no
answer for the 6-foot-2 All-American candidate, who connected on 11
of 21 shots.
“Ebony takes it strong every time,” Bills said. “She’s just a great
player. We had to battle. We weren’t rebounding and they got too
many second chances.”
Oregon’s trouble in the paint didn’t stop defensively. The Ducks
missed numerous scoring opportunities from within five feet.
Oregon head coach Bev Smith said the Ducks need to connect from
close range if they want to compete with some of the better teams
in the Pac-10.
“If you look at the statistics and you look at our shot chart, we
were 1 for 10 in the paint and you can’t get much better shots than
that,” Smith said. “I think that our team is just struggling a
little bit with finishing plays. We just have to relax and do what
we do.
“It’s not about strategy, it’s just about us putting the ball in
the hoop.”
Senior guard Rometra Craig added 15 points for USC, while freshman
guard Jamie Hagiya and sophomore guard Meghan Gnekow finished with
seven.
Bills led Oregon with 11 points on 4 of 9 shooting, while Davis
added 10.