Oregon couldn’t have asked for much more.
After a season full of injuries and disappointment, the Ducks closed out their Pacific-10 Conference schedule Saturday with a 77-62 victory against California in front of 3,572 at McArthur Court.
It was Oregon’s third-highest margin of victory this season and the first time the Ducks have won consecutive conference games.
Saturday’s win, along with an emotional victory against No. 10 Stanford on Thursday, has the Ducks (14-14 overall, 6-12 Pac-10) glowing with confidence as they look ahead to the weekend’s Pac-10 Tournament.
No. 8 Oregon and No. 9 California will meet again Friday in the opening round of the tournament. The winner will face the No. 1 seed — Stanford — Saturday.
“This was a very great weekend for us,” Oregon center Andrea Bills said. “Our momentum is very high and we’re just ready to get at it in the Pac-10 Tournament.”
One area the Golden Bears (11-16, 4-14) will need to improve before Friday is their interior defense. Bills torched California for a career-high 22 points Saturday, connecting on 9 of 14 shots.
The 6-foot-3 junior also grabbed 10 rebounds — three offensive — for her sixth double-double of the season.
Saturday’s performance snapped a cold streak for Bills, who tallied only eight field goals in her past four games.
“(Oregon) did a great job going to (Bills),” California head coach Caren Horstmeyer said. “I thought she played well. I think the (offensive) boards probably sparked her a little bit.
“When she plays well, (Oregon plays) well.”
California pulled to within six with 2:42 remaining in the second half when a three-pointer by forward Kiki Williams cut the Oregon lead to 65-59.
Momentum shifted back to Oregon 11 seconds later when Golden Bear forward Leigh Gregory fouled Duck point guard Corrie Mizusawa near midcourt. Mizusawa’s smiling reaction to the foul angered Horstmeyer, who was issued a technical foul after screaming at officials for roughly a minute.
“I had a bad technical foul,” Horstmeyer said. “I think that was a bad technical foul to get at that time. I think that put our team at a disadvantage.”
Oregon started the game on fire, opening with an 8-0 run during the first two minutes. California answered with a 17-1 run lasting more than seven minutes. The Ducks outscored the Golden Bears 27-12 during the next 11 minutes to take a 36-29 halftime lead.
Oregon’s defense did a quality job of forcing California into taking tough shots. The Golden Bears entered the contest shooting 43 percent as a team but were limited to a 38 percent clip Saturday.
The Ducks switched to a zone defense in the second half, pushing California’s offense out near the perimeter. The Golden Bears struggled with their outside shooting and couldn’t string together enough baskets to stay close in the final minutes.
California guard Nihan Anaz, who entered Saturday averaging 14.5 points per game, was held to four points on 2 of 12 shooting.
The 5-foot-9 senior from Istanbul, Turkey scored 17 points on 6 of 13 shooting in the season’s first meeting — a 61-57 California win.
Oregon also controlled the boards Saturday, outrebounding California 40-35. The Ducks grabbed 12 offensive rebounds, leading to 16 second-chance points.
It was the Golden Bears who regulated the rebounding battle in the season’s first meeting, outrebounding the Ducks 43-33.
Oregon head coach Bev Smith said the Ducks needed to battle inside, two nights after the Golden Bears grabbed 50 rebounds against Oregon State.
“(California) is going to go to the boards,” Smith said. “They had a number of boards against (Oregon State). I think our team really wanted to play for ourselves.”
The Ducks also got a season-high 13 points from senior guard Kayla Steen, who played in her final game at McArthur Court. Forward Kedzie Gunderson added 12 points, while Mizusawa added 10.
Williams lead California with 15 points, while Gregory finished with 12.