Brandi Davis and Chelsea Wagner gave the Oregon women’s basketball team the offensive boost it so desperately needed Saturday.
The duo came off the bench to combine for 31 points, including a 19-foot jumper by Davis with 4.9 seconds remaining, lifting Oregon to a 56-54 win over Oregon State at McArthur Court.
After the Ducks (9-6 overall, 1-4 Pacific-10 Conference) ran more than 20 seconds off the clock during their final possession, Davis ran around several screens and buried the long two-pointer as she faded to her right. The Mac Court crowd erupted as the Beavers called a time out.
“I can’t believe it went in, honestly,” Davis said. “I was really off-balance.”
Oregon State (9-5, 3-2) had one final chance, but Leilani Estavan’s jumper at the buzzer was no good.
The win was Oregon’s first in Pac-10 play and snapped a five-game losing streak.
“We didn’t spend much time talking about the game because I think our players basically said it on the court,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “We had a tough week with all the ice, the snow and the big freeze. Hopefully we lifted the big freeze in the Pac-10 standings.”
Both teams struggled offensively as neither team managed to shoot 40 percent for the game. It was the timeliness of Oregon’s baskets that helped the Ducks pull out the much-needed win.
After being relegated to the bench for most of the season, Davis experienced an offensive explosion over the final nine minutes. The junior guard scored 12 of her 16 points down the stretch to help the Ducks overcome a 45-37 deficit.
Along with the late game heroics of Davis was an impressive shooting display by Wagner. Each of Wagner’s five three-pointers was a momentum-swinger. The Ducks fell behind 36-29 five minutes into the second half when Wagner drilled three-pointers on consecutive possessions to pull Oregon within one. Her final three came with 6:49 remaining and was part of a 19-9 Duck run over the final 10 minutes.
“Chelsea Wagner and Brandi Davis — that’s the difference in the ball game right there,” Oregon State head coach Judy Spoelstra said. “We told our kids all week that those two can go off and get hot.”
Wagner finished with 15 points without attempting a two-point field goal. Andrea Bills added 11 points and a team-high six rebounds.
Oregon State was in control for most of the game and didn’t trail from the 17:33 mark of the first half until 6:14 remained in the contest. The Beavers were previously 6-0 when leading at the half.
Entering the game, there were three areas of concern for Oregon. The Ducks had been struggling against pressure defense, falling behind early and not grabbing a rebound when they needed one. Oregon improved on the first two Saturday, but its rebounding struggles continued.
Oregon State dominated inside, out-rebounding the Ducks 39-27. Beaver center Brina Chaney was Oregon’s main nemesis under the basket, grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds. The 6-foot-5 center added 14 points for her second double-double of the season.
Shannon Howell once again had a productive night offensively for the Beavers, finishing with a game-high 24 points on 9 of 20 shooting. It was the fourth consecutive 20-point game for the junior transfer from Nebraska.
Smith was quick to point out the quality defensive job Wagner did against Howell.
“Chelsea did a great job defensively,” Smith said. “She really made Shannon Howell work tonight. Howell is a great player, but she had to earn every single one of her points tonight.”
The Oregon defense also held Estavan in check. The senior guard was held scoreless for the first time in 83 games, dating back to Feb. 15, 2001.