Unlike last Thursday at No. 15 Arizona State, it wasn’t a missed shot late in the game that cost the Oregon women a win Saturday against Arizona. This time it was a series of missed shots in overtime that left the Ducks short of their first conference road victory.
Arizona battled back from an early three-point deficit in the extra period and held on for an 81-72 win at the McKale Center in Tuscon.
There were many glimmers of hope for Oregon (10-6 overall, 1-5 Pacific-10 Conference), which sought its first win on the road against an Arizona school since 2000. The Ducks led by six with 17:58 remaining in the second half, but they could not contain Joy Hollingsworth of the Wildcats. The junior guard helped Arizona answer with an 11-0 run to retake the lead.
The Ducks have relinquished second-half leads in their last three games, all losses. With the win, Arizona snapped a five-game slide.
Chelsea Wagner and Eleanor Haring led Oregon on offense with 15 points apiece.
Brandi Davis came off the bench to score 14. The senior guard from La Habra, Calif., made 4 of 6 shots from beyond the arc and is now sixth on Oregon’s all-time scoring list.
The Ducks had their backs against the wall early in the game, converting only 1 of 7 shots to start the first half. The Wildcats capitalized on Oregon’s shooting woes and jumped out to a 10-2 lead. The run got the 1,764 fans in attendance moving.
Free throws were essential for Arizona in keeping pace with the Ducks’ scoring runs. The Wildcats made 26 of their 30 shots from the charity strip.
Oregon returns home next week to host the Washington State Cougars on Thursday followed by the Washington Huskies on Saturday.