Saturday’s win over Oregon State was, among many things, a moment of clarity for the Oregon women’s basketball team.
For the first time since Cathrine Kraayeveld was lost to a knee injury on Dec. 2, Oregon (9-6 overall, 1-4 Pacific-10 Conference) looked like a team that knew how it wanted to score. The Ducks seemed confused at the offensive end of late, their only option being to bang the ball inside to Andrea Bills.
Saturday was different. When the Ducks needed a basket, they looked to Chelsea Wagner and Brandi Davis to deliver.
Wagner was successful at getting open on the perimeter, knocking down five three-point shots. Davis was able to create her own shots off the dribble, connecting on several off-balance jumpers.
The duo combined for 31 points and seven three-pointers, but more importantly, Oregon might have found the scoring punch the team needs to improve its 61 points per game average.
“It felt pretty good out there,” Wagner said after the game. “My teammates did a really good job (of finding me). Most of my shots, I was pretty open. I better knock ’em down if I’m open.”
Davis said she felt good as well.
“I felt a lot of confidence,” Davis said. “I was really determined to go out there and hit some key baskets for us.”
Another bonus to having several players shoulder the scoring load was taking some of the pressure off of Bills. The junior center is Oregon’s leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker and is the only Duck averaging double figures in points per game. Bills has connected on 78 field goal attempts, 36 more than her closest teammate.
“You can tell (perimeter) baskets just lift us,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “Right now we have a very tired young lady in Andrea Bills, who is working her behind off, but the fruits of her labor aren’t paying off. I think if we can get her some rest and hit those outside shots, then defensively they can’t focus on her.”

Areas of improvement
Oregon improved on two areas of concern Saturday.
The Ducks’ most noticeable upgrade was how they were able to handle pressure defense. Oregon players stayed calm in the face of the Beaver press, taking the necessary time to make smart passes and move the ball up court. This is something that had been missing earlier in the year, including a loss to UCLA on Jan. 4, when the Ducks blew a 14-point second-half lead.
Oregon’s other step forward was not allowing itself to fall into an early hole. The Ducks had made a habit of falling behind big early and never being able to catch up. While Oregon didn’t shoot the lights out early against Oregon State, the Ducks kept themselves close enough to make a run at the end of the game. The Beavers’ lead reached six in the first half and eight in the second.

Strong defense
Defense has been Oregon’s focus since the first day of practice.
Smith has been quick to praise Wagner and Kedzie Gunderson for their efforts in shutting down the opposition’s best player. The Ducks will need a total team effort Thursday when they face Washington at the Bank of America Arena. The Huskies feature two of the Pac-10’s top four scorers in Giuliana Mendiola and Andrea Lalum. Mendiola, the 2002-03 Pac-10 Player of the Year, is second in the conference with 19.6 points per game and Lalum is fourth with 17.1.
Washington, picked to be one of the top teams in the Pac-10 in preseason polls, is off to a 1-5 conference start and provides Oregon with a legitimate chance to pick up back-to-back wins.

Nomination
Wagner was one of six nominees for Pac-10 Player of the Week for Jan. 5 through 11. Wagner finished with an Oregon career-high 15 points on 5 of 11 shooting and grabbed three rebounds Saturday.
The award was given to Stanford forward Nicole Powell, who averaged 22 points and 10.5 rebounds in wins over Arizona State and Arizona. It was the second time this season Powell has been named player of the week.
The other nominees were Arizona State’s Betsy Boardman, Oregon State’s Shannon Howell, UCLA’s Lisa Willis and USC’s Jamie Hagiya.