Oregon sophomore forward Eleanor Haring scored 13 points, including six in a row, to give the Ducks a 25-18 lead in their game against George Washington before the end of the first half. Haring was
PORTLAND — Oregon
received another lights-out
performance from sophomore Eleanor Haring while holding George Washington to its lowest point total of the season.
Haring, who was named the game’s most valuable player, scored 13 points and sank 6 of 7 from the field in Oregon’s 64-40 Papé Jam victory at the Rose Garden. The soft-shooting forward has made 18 of her last 20 shots through three games.
The Ducks held the Colonials to the lowest point total recorded by a Papé Jam opponent, remaining undefeated (7-0) at the event. With the win, Oregon began its second consecutive season with a 5-0 record.
“I think slowly, in the first 20 minutes, we got under their skin a little bit,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “Then in the second half, they really ran into a wall, both in terms of our
defense just not giving in and their fatigue piling up.”
Oregon strung together a 17-1 scoring run in the final seven minutes of the game.
“Basically, we just settled down a bit with our offense and our
defense execution (in the second half),” Haring said. “That gave us a chance to score.”
George Washington (3-2)
witnessed its “East Coast” offense struggle due to Oregon’s presence inside. Senior forward Anna
Montañana scored a game-high 19 points on 7 of 19 shooting. She also committed eight turnovers
in 37 minutes.
“It was kind of like we could never catch up to them
(Oregon),” Montañana said. “I think we didn’t have our best
offensive game. We wanted to get the ball inside, but we didn’t have a good selection of shoots.”
Oregon junior shooting guard Chelsea Wagner collected a team-high 15 points as she
finished 5 of 11 behind the arc.
Senior Andrea Bills contributed heavily to Oregon’s defense in the paint. The 6-foot-3 center also
posted 14 points (7 of 10) and nine
rebounds. Bills has recorded
double figures in points in her last four contests.
Center Jessica Simmonds, who is averaging a double-double this season, struggled for the
Colonials as she shot 1 of 11 from the floor, totaling three points, and snatched six rebounds.
“(The Ducks) have the size, and they have the ability to
dismantle people defensively,” George Washington head coach Joe McKeown said. “We just couldn’t score, that was the biggest thing.”
The Colonials shot 16.1 percent in the second half and 24.6 for the game. Other than Montañana, no George Washington player reached double-figures in points.
“If we do that with every team, we’re going to be able to win every game,” Oregon point guard Corrie Mizusawa said. Mizusawa dished out a game-high nine assists.
Bills and Haring combined for 14 points on eight attempts in the opening half. Haring went 4 of 4 in the first 20 minutes. At halftime, Oregon led 27-21.
“We were a little bit too hesitant in the post in the first half,”
Smith said. “We just felt that aggression, we didn’t post up, and we
didn’t bury them as deep as we
needed to.”
Cathrine Kraayeveld had an off-night with only five points for the Ducks, making this the first time she has not scored double-digits this
season. However, the senior recorded 10 rebounds, eight defensively.
“Offensively, she wasn’t very
accurate, but she is more than just a scorer,” Smith said. “Some of her greatest qualities are defensive.”
Each team committed 21 turnovers in the contest, and Oregon won the battle for points in the paint, 22-12.