PORTLAND — Oregon received another lights-out performance from sophomore Eleanor Haring in the process of holding George Washington to its lowest point total of the season.
Haring, who was named the game’s most valuable player, scored 13 points and sank 6 of 7 from the field in Oregon’s 64-40 Papé Jam victory at the Rose Garden. The soft-shooting forward has made 18 of her last 20 shots through three games.
The Ducks (5-0 overall) remain undefeated as they held the Colonials to the lowest point total recorded by a Papé Jam opponent. With the win, Oregon began its second-consecutive season with a 5-0 record.
“I think slowly, in the first 20 minutes we got under their skin a little bit,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “Then in the second half they really ran into a wall, both in terms of our defense just not giving in and their fatigue piling up.”
Oregon strung together a 17-1 scoring run in the final seven minutes of the game.
“Basically, we just settled down a bit with our offense and our defense execution (in the second half),” Haring said. “That gave us a chance to score.”
George Washington (3-2) witnessed its “East Coast” offense struggle because of Oregon’s presence inside. Senior forward Anna Montañana scored a game-high 19 points on 7 of 19 shooting. She committed eight turnovers in 37 minutes.
“It was kind of like we could never catch up to them,” Montañana said. “I think we didn’t have our best offensive game. We wanted to get the ball inside, but we didn’t have a good selection of shoots.”
Oregon junior shooting guard Chelsea Wagner collected a team-high 15 points as she finished 5 of 11 behind the arc.
Senior Andrea Bills contributed heavily to Oregon’s defense in the paint. The 6-foot-3 center also posted 14 points (7 of 10) and nine rebounds. Bills has recorded double figures in points in her last four contests.
Center Jessica Simmonds, who is averaging a double-double this season, struggled for the Colonials as she shot 1 of 11 from the floor, totaling three points and snatching six rebounds.
“(The Ducks) have the size and they have the ability to dismantle people defensively,” George Washington head coach Joe McKown said. “We just couldn’t score, that was the biggest thing.”
The Colonials shot 16.1 percent in the second half and 24.6 for the game. Besides Montañana, no George Washington player reached double-figures in points.
“If we do that with every team we’re going to be able to win every game,” Oregon point guard Corrie Mizusawa said, who dished out a game-high nine assists.
Bills and Haring combined for 14 points on eight attempts in the opening half. Haring went 4 of 4 in the first 20 minutes. At halftime Oregon led 27-21.
“They really packed the inside on us,” Smith said. “We were a little bit too hesitant in the post in the first half. We just felt that aggression, we didn’t post up and we didn’t bury them as deep as we needed to.”
Each team committed 21 turnovers in the contest. Oregon won the battle for points in the paint, 22-12.
When asked if this game was a display of good defense from Oregon or bad execution on the Colonial’s part, coach McKown said it was “a combination of both.”
Cathrine Kraayeveld finished with five points for the Ducks, making this the first time she has not put up double-digits this season. The senior recorded 10 rebounds, eight defensively.
“Offensively she wasn’t very accurate, but she is more than just a scorer,” Smith said. “Some of her greatest qualities are defensive.”
George Washington scored fewer points against the Ducks than it did against Tennessee (41) last week. This is the second fewest points Oregon has allowed to an opposing team (29 to Boise State on Jan. 2, 1999).

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