As the Pacific-10 Conference season begins to wind down, a sense of urgency is palpable among members of the women’s basketball team. With USC (14-11, 8-6) visiting McArthur Court tonight, Oregon (16-10, 7-7) knows that the time has come to make its move.
The Ducks currently sit at sixth place in the conference, while USC is just above them in fifth place.
“We need to concern ourselves with this coming weekend, because it’s turned out to be the biggest weekend of the year for us,” head coach Paul Westhead said. “One because we need to win games, and secondly for the women it’s closing (McArthur) Court for the last time in league play.”
Indeed, this weekend will be the last at the legendary arena for the Ducks in Pac-10 play. It will also be the final home weekend ever for seniors like Taylor Lilley, Micaela Cocks and Lindsey Saffold.
For Lilley, the idea has not quite sunk in yet.
“I probably have thought about it more for the past couple of days than really any time during the season,” Lilley said. “It’s still kind of surreal, and I’m sure when it happens it’s just going to be kind of overwhelming.”
Judging by past performances, Lilley could make this weekend a particularly memorable one. The sharpshooting guard poured in a career-high 36 points in her last matchup with USC, setting an Oregon record with nine three-pointers.
Still, the Ducks stress that basketball is a team game, and everyone will have to do their part against the Trojans.
“It’s always a team effort,” junior forward Nicole Canepa said. “I think if we all continue to focus on the things that we’re good at — getting the ball out, rebounding, and getting out as quickly as possible so we can get into our running game — I think that’s really important.”
As usual, rebounding could be a key to the game. The Ducks struggled on the glass in their last game against California and will have to have a better performance against the Trojans.
“When teams out-rebound you … you just put yourself in a tough spot,” Westhead said. “We’re playing good basketball, we’re defending well in the full court, we’re shooting well … so to then just lose because you didn’t rebound the ball on the glass … (it) just puts you in a tough position.”
The Trojans will also be looking for payback after a disappointing 85-77 loss at home to the Ducks in their last matchup on Jan. 30.
“(The Trojans) are going to come back at us,” Lilley said. “So we just have to be ready for that.”
Home court advantage will certainly help the Ducks, particularly because it is one of the last weekends at McArthur Court. Large crowds are expected, which could bolster an Oregon team that already possesses a dangerous amount of energy.
“It’s going to be a really good game,” Canepa said. “The fact that we’ll be at home will give us a little bit more leverage I think. We’re coming off two losses right now, so we’re looking for a win.”
Indeed, when the Ducks last saw the Trojans, they were in the midst of a five game losing streak. After ending that skid in Los Angeles, Oregon will look to do something similar in tonight’s rematch.
“We played much better against USC (on Jan. 30),” Westhead said. “It was kind of a turnaround game for us.”
Though it certainly won’t be an easy game, the Ducks happily anticipate taking the court.
“We’re really looking forward to playing USC and getting that confidence back against them,” Canepa said.
[email protected]