CORVALLIS– With 43 seconds remaining in regulation, Oregon State’s Felicia Ragland hit two free throws to tie the score at 74. That was all the senior guard could muster for the rest of the contest, allowing Oregon to escape Gill Coliseum with a Civil War win, thanks to a heroic shot off the glass by Oregon’s Edniesha Curry.
As she has done throughout the season, junior point guard Shaquala Williams led the way in scoring for the Ducks in the 84-83 overtime win. Williams finished with 20 points and four assists, while Ragland, the Beavers’ star guard, netted 23 points to go along with a career-high 17 rebounds and seven assists.
In what could be her final Civil War meeting (the two teams may meet in the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament), Ragland earned her 17th career double-double and fourth consecutive against Oregon. Because it was her last contest against Oregon in Corvallis, Ragland said that the pain of the loss is more than usual.
“It hurts a lot,” she said. “This being my last home game here — it’s our rival game, too — and it just hurts a lot to lose by one point. I thought we fought hard to the end but came up a little short.”
Though Williams sat out all of last season because of a knee injury, the rivalry between two of the Pac-10’s top scorers has been fierce. Despite their intense competitiveness, the two guards have maintained a strong respect for each other.
“She shot better than I did and was more aggressive I think,” Ragland said. “I think we’re pretty equal, but she is a little better at certain things than I am as far as shooting and ball handling. I thought she played a good game today.”
Williams had nothing but praise for Ragland’s game, too.
“Felicia Ragland showed everybody what she can do on every end of the court tonight,” Williams said. “Twenty three points, 17 rebounds and seven assists — she played great in every facet of the game. She is the kind of player that if it comes down to it, she is going to show up, and she did that for her team.”
Because Williams is a point guard for the Ducks and Ragland a shooting guard for the Beavers, they did not guard each other during most of the game. Their different positions lead to different roles on the team, but both have the ability to influence the outcome of a game.
“We are different in that she is more of a slasher, a rebounder,” Williams said. “And me, I’m kind of a shooter, penetrator. Even though we can both put the ball up and score a lot of points, we kind of do it in different ways.”
Williams and Ragland also both know how to utilize their teammates and realize that they can depend on them.
Ragland began the game passing to her teammates, saying after the game that she wanted everyone to get involved in the offense. One of those recipients of her passes was Hollye Chapman. Coming off the bench for Oregon State head coach Judy Spoelstra’s squad, Chapman netted 24 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
Oregon’s offense was more evenly distributed than its in-state rival’s, as every Duck player to put up a shot scored at least one point. Along with Williams’s 20 points, sophomore forward Cathrine Kraayeveld scored 16 and senior center Alyssa Fredrick dropped 13. Williams unselfishness was no more evident than in the final possession of the game.
With the score 83-82 in favor of Oregon State and time winding down, Williams passed up a potential shot to kick the ball across the court to Curry, who was able to head-fake Ragland out of position to clear a lane for her game-winning bank shot.
“My teammates having confidence in me, especially Shaquala giving up a shot to kick it over to me for me to hit the game-winner — I think it really shows a lot about the character of this team and how much we’ve grown and how much we trust in each and every individual on this team to take those big shots when the game is on the line,” Curry said.
A senior, Curry said that her winning shot over the Beavers was the biggest of her career and she has appreciated competing against Ragland and Oregon State over the years.
“I really enjoy playing against Oregon State, especially the competitiveness in Felicia Ragland,” Curry said. “We have friendly sportsmanship words on the court. She congratulates me saying ‘good job’ and ‘way to work hard’ and I tell her the same. I really appreciate playing against people like that. It really shows a lot for her character.”