Returning to McArthur Court for its first Pacific-10 Conference homestand of the season, Oregon turns its focus to the visiting California Golden Bears.
Well, almost all of it.
Following today’s 7 p.m. game against Cal (4-8 overall, 0-2 Pac-10), the No. 20 Ducks (8-3, 1-0) do battle with No. 24 Stanford at 7 p.m. Saturday.
And there’s always drama when the Ducks dance with Stanford (7-5, 1-1).
In the first meeting of the two teams last season, it seemed that Oregon would roll to victory when it took a 26-point lead in the first half at Maples Pavilion. But Stanford came back and overtook the Ducks with a stunning full-court press, recording the 78-62 win and the greatest come-from-behind victory in Cardinal history.
The second match of the season went down to the wire. Oregon clung to a 59-57 lead as forward Angelina Wolvert went to the free-throw line for a one-and-one penalty. She missed the first, but the Stanford players were confused and thought it had been a two-shot penalty. They failed to rebound the ball, and the clock virtually ran out.
Needless to say, no love is lost between the Ducks and Cardinal.
But before the big game, there’s Cal.
“Of course [the focus] is on Cal because it’s our next game, and we can’t overlook anyone in the Pac-10,” forward Lindsey Dion said. “Cal’s a lot better than they have been.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about Stanford at all, but as far as game preparation goes, I’m preparing for Cal.”
Oregon head coach Jody Runge expects California to play similar to Oregon State. Runge said “there’s definitely no looking past Cal,” as the Bears’ roster contains seven seniors. Cal’s record may also be deceiving, considering it ranks No. 10 nationally in strength of schedule.

“We watched the Oregon State film, and I think Cal’s going to be a very similar challenge, athletically on the perimeter,” Runge said. “There are things that could have been better in that game, so I don’t think it’s hard to get their attention about those things in particular.”
The Bears are led by 5-foot-8 senior point guard Courtney Johnson, who entered the starting lineup 11 times as a freshman and led the Pac-10 with 76 steals last season.
Johnson is now averaging 12.1 points per game and is third in the conference in steals with 2.6 per contest.
“We’re preparing for very in-your-face defense and quick guards,” Dion said. “They have that one guard in particular who is a senior, who’s been there for four years, who’s played for four years and really knows their system. She’s their best ball handler and shooter.”
California isn’t a strong post team, and its woes down low continue. Backup center Genevieve Swedor probably won’t play today and has missed the last two games.
“I don’t think their post players can handle ours,” Dion said. “So I think that’s where we’ll beat them.”
The Ducks have won 14 straight over the Golden Bears and lead the series 25-10. In their last meeting, forward Brianne Meharry scored 16 points, and Wolvert added 12 points en route to a 75-63 win.

Now, back to Stanford.
The Cardinal was the preseason favorite of the coaches and media to win the Pac-10 Championship. Oregon was picked second.
Wolvert says it’s time to prove the polls wrong.
“I’m very much looking forward to that,” she said before Tuesday’s practice. “I’m still upset that they got chosen over us in the preseason polls. Look at the teams they played in the preseason. I guess I’ve never felt like Oregon gets much respect.
But Wolvert reiterates that despite how tempting it is to look ahead toward Saturday, her focus, and the team’s focus, is on the task at hand.
“We’re not trying to look ahead at Stanford and set up our offenses and defenses against them,” Wolvert said. “We’re definitely trying to beat Cal first and stay focused on one step at a time. We don’t want to overlook somebody and have a loss.”