Williams and Co. nearly give away a 25-point lead to UCLA —
Despite a late surge by UCLA, the Oregon women’s
basketball team held on to win its sixth-straight
Pacific-10 Conference opener Thursday, 76-67, at
Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.
Senior point guard Edniesha Curry scored 22 points –
all in the first half – as the Ducks jumped to a 50-25
lead early in the second half.
Behind a harassing full-court press that forced 22
Oregon turnovers in the second half, the Bruins (3-6
overall, 0-1 Pac-10) came within two points of the
Ducks (6-4, 1-0) at 65-63 with 1:28 to play.
But sophomore forward Cathrine Kraayeveld converted a
three-point play on Oregon’s next possession and then
sank two more three throws to give the Ducks a 70-63
lead with 44 seconds left.
“It’s a 40-minute game,” first-year head coach Bev
Smith said. “You play hard the whole way. We’re slowly
learning that lesson.”
Trailing 8-2, Curry scored 12 consecutive points to
give Oregon an early 14-8 lead. Curry, a southern
California native, was 9-for-12 in the first half as
the Ducks shot 58 percent overall in the first
session.
“It was a great opportunity for her to come home,”
Smith said. “She played hard, took advantage of her
opportunities and set the tone defensively.”
Senior Shaquala Williams scored 16 points while
dishing out a game-high seven assists. Kraayeveld
scored 12 and grabbed a game-best seven boards.
Williams, however, had 10 turnovers and the Ducks had
a season-high 32 give-aways.
The Ducks stay in L.A. to take on Southern California
on Saturday for a Fox Sports Net game at 4 p.m.
Jones returns to starting lineup to score 28 points
After serving in a reserve role for two games, senior
guard Freddie Jones returned to the starting lineup
Thursday to propel the Ducks men’s basketball team to
a 103-90 victory over Arizona State at McArthur Court.
Jones scored 28 points and sophomore guard Luke
Jackson chipped in with 27 as Oregon improved its
record to 7-3 overall in the first Pacific-10
Conference game of the season.
Arizona State (5-3, 0-1), led by Tommy Smith’s 16
points, ended a four-game winning streak.
The game was close early in the second half, but a
jumper by Jackson gave the Ducks the lead for good at
54-52. The Sun Devils came within nine points at
71-60, but Jackson again answered as the Ducks went on
a 12-0 run to take an 83-60 lead with 10:20 left.
Jones was 14-for-14 from the foul line and the Ducks
were 35-of-39 on free throws. Overall, Oregon shot 57
percent from the floor.
Oregon hosts Arizona on Saturday at 6 p.m. on Fox
Sports Net.
Adam Jude is the sports editor for the Oregon Daily Emerald. He can be reached at [email protected]
Hoopsters begin Pac-10 play with a bang
Daily Emerald
December 20, 2001
0
More to Discover