After a resounding win in its opener against Eastern Washington, the women’s basketball team heads into a matchup with Montana (0-2) this weekend with a bit more hop in its step.
“I love to win the first game,” head coach Paul Westhead said. “There’s always some kinks in the game that you have to deal with, but ultimately our running and pressing cracked the game open.”
One aspect of the game Oregon (1-0) hopes to improve against Montana is its consistency. Though they pulled away at the end, the Ducks were somewhat erratic in the first half against Eastern Washington and allowed the Eagles to stay in the game.
“We didn’t play so well, but it’s our first game and we’re going to have our communication (issues),” sophomore guard Nia Jackson said. “We weren’t talking on offense or defense, and you’re going to see that in the first game.”
That communication will come in time, as will, hopefully, a decrease in turnovers. The Ducks were a bit careless with the ball against Eastern Washington, finishing with 19 giveaways. Westhead, however, is not particularly worried.
“If we’re in game four or five and we’re turning the ball over like that, I’ll be concerned,” Westhead said.
The Ducks will have a chance to spin their wheels in a bit of a different climate Sunday. Missoula, Mont. is located at an high altitude of about 3,000 feet above sea level.
“(We’ll) get a little workout in and try to acclimate,” Westhead said. “But we’re going to run our break at any altitude.”
In fact, given that the Ducks are already in great physical condition as a running team, the altitude could give them an advantage.
“I don’t know if we have an edge,” Westhead said. “But I think the fact that we do run and work really hard at the running game may give us a little boost.”
Montana remains winless, having fallen 68-38 in its latest matchup with Wyoming. Shaunte Nance-Johnson led the team with 10 points, and the Lady Grizzlies shot just 24.6% from the field.
Montana’s first game was a bit closer, as Colorado State narrowly edged the Lady Grizzlies 72-64. Freshman guard Kenzie De Boer scored 23 points, while senior forward Lauren Beck added 17 points and 7 rebounds. The team has shown itself to be susceptible to turnovers, with 32 through two games.
Oregon, meanwhile, will be looking to run its offense even more proficiently than it did on Monday. Guard Taylor Lilley will likely continue to look for her shot after scoring a game-high 28 points against Eastern Washington. For her part, the senior is very pleased with the pace of the offense.
“I just don’t have the pressure of thinking, ‘Is this a good shot? Is this not a good shot?’,” Lilley said. “It’s a matter of just getting your rhythm.”
With the team implementing such a frenetic and physically demanding style of play, the bench will be more important than ever. In that sense, forward Nicole Canepa will be key against Montana. The junior scored 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds off the bench against Eastern Washington, and impressed the coaching staff in the process.
“Nicole came into the game and gave us some inside offense,” Westhead said. “If (the Eagles) were ever going to make a run, she put a stop to it.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the Ducks are still working on their timing in the full-court press. Against Eastern Washington, Westhead was forced to switch from the press to a zone defense during the first half. The move was surprisingly effective, and the zone could become a valuable option as the season goes on.
“That’ll be a weapon for us,” Westhead said. “It’s kind of interesting, you don’t normally associate running teams with zone defense…but we play that zone so we’re ready to go, so it’s giving us a little head-start to explode out.”
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