It was, in fact, the Ducks’ worst loss in Pacific-10 Conference history Thursday: A 95-50 defeat at the hands of Washington in the Bank of America Arena.
They turned it around Saturday with a 60-50 win against Washington State and ended their skid with a large number of “firsts” in 2004.
It was the first time since a Nov. 16 victory against LSU that Oregon had a 20-point scorer — junior guard Brandi Davis.
It was the first time since a Dec. 18 loss to George Washington that the Ducks outrebounded their opponent.
It was the first time since a Dec. 16 win against Santa Clara that Oregon scored 60 points.
And it was the first time since a Dec. 6 victory against Colorado State that the Ducks held their opponent to 50 points.
“It was an opportunity for us to rebound and get back on the floor and do the things we didn’t do against Washington,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “We really had to let that game go and get back on the court. We didn’t talk much about WSU, it was all about us on Saturday.”
But the Ducks are not thinking of one win as letting them off the hook. Oregon’s focus is turning to the Arizona schools as they come to town Thursday and Saturday, as well as continuing on the team working together.
“We understand that the win against Washington State was what we needed, but we haven’t accomplished anything yet,” Smith said. “We certainly have a long ways to go. Just moving forward and not being satisfied with a simple win.”
Smith said the squad has learned some lessons this week that she hopes they keep with them.
What Smith doesn’t want is for the team to take two steps backward like they did against Washington five days after a victory against Oregon State.
“(The WSU win) was a real big bounce back for our team,” Davis said. “I think it says a lot about our team as far as being able to bounce back from difficult situations. We’re just going to look forward to taking those mistakes (against Washington) and make those a strength in other games.”

Redshirts take reins
Although her first start was an ominous game, sophomore transfer Chelsea Wagner is now in the starting five.
Wagner and point guard Corrie Mizusawa spent the 2002-2003 season as redshirts to meet transfer requirements. Now, one year removed from playing with the three guys who make up Oregon’s practice team, Wagner and Mizusawa are two of the five that lead Oregon at tipoff.
“Last year it was obviously a huge goal for both of us to start,” Wagner said. “It’s just awesome that we get this opportunity to play together. I’m excited.”
Mizusawa has started all 17 games this season, while Wagner started at Washington for the first time as a Duck.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Wagner said. “I was getting playing time, so it didn’t really matter, but it was definitely fun. It felt really good.”
Wagner started 14 games in her freshman season at Hawaii. Mizusawa started 41 games in her time at Saint Mary’s.

On the mend
Wagner has missed three practices since she twisted her left knee in the Washington game Thursday. She didn’t practice Friday in Pullman or Monday and Tuesday after the team returned to Eugene. She played 25 minutes in Saturday’s victory.
“It’s just continued to stay swollen, so I’m getting an MRI just to make sure,” Wagner said.
Her MRI was scheduled for Tuesday evening.
Sophomore Carolyn Ganes is still nursing an ankle injury she sustained during practice the week before the Oregon State game. Ganes said she is sitting out practice to give her ankle a chance to heal. She played 18 minutes against Oregon State, 20 minutes at Washington and seven minutes at Washington State.
“Mostly just a little bit of sickness and flu floating around,” Smith said. “Ashley (Allen) got an ankle sprain (in Tuesday’s practice). It’s not serious but enough to possibly miss a practice.”