Every indication appeared negative.
Energy was non-existent. Emotion showed in flashes. Vanguard answered each run with a big basket.
Remember, Vanguard University is an NAIA school.
Maybe losing an exhibition game is exactly what the Oregon women’s basketball team required. They needed a wake-up call. After losing to Vanguard, I expected a more miserable season than I initially anticipated.
I wrote of the women basketball team’s NCAA Tournament aspirations in Friday’s ‘Basketball Extra.’ Considering Tuesday night, many probably think the idea is ludicrous and even now, I acknowledge it’s unlikely Oregon reaches the postseason.
But ending those hopes now is equally pointless.
The Oregon players stated their postseason aspirations at the basketball media day. I felt no need to silence those statements and print a negative story based on two lackluster exhibition games. It’s unfair to Oregon’s six seniors who ought to be able to strive for a goal. Otherwise what is the point in playing the season?
The women are already proving people wrong with a stirring 85-77 win over UC Santa Barbara in their season opener. The Ducks ran off six straight points to start the game. They built up a big lead and survived.
Freshman Taylor Lilley made sure of it. The women’s 5-foot-6-inch dynamo poured in 27 points Friday night. The sharpshooter made 10 of 14 shots, including 5 of 8 from three-point range.
Oregon fans ought to take notice. All the attention has so been focused on the men’s 5-foot-6-inch freshman sensation in Tajuan Porter. These two need a worthy nickname. Pair the two up in three-point shooting competition and you’d be hard pressed to guess who would miss first.
The two have breathed life into two programs in need of something new. The two integral pieces are both studying the stars in the same astronomy course and are reaching for the stars with big opening performances to start the season.
Lilley possesses a shooter’s touch. Watching her in practice, the California native calmly makes shot after shot. Her shooting form is always the same. The flick of her wrist sends shots swirling end over end through the hoop.
Lilley had a quiet, but respectable start with seven points in Oregon’s first exhibition game on 3-of-4 shooting from the field. The second exhibition game was more of the same with five points, only on 2-of-8 shooting.
On the road, Lilley exploded, probably feeling more at home in front of family and friends, who came down from her hometown of Newhall, Calif. Lilley gave Oregon a go-to scorer in the win over UCSB and was a reliable option in an ugly team shooting performance at Long Beach State.
Lilley dropped in 4 of 7 shots against Long Beach State University Sunday, including 5 of 6 free throws for 14 points in Oregon’s 44-33 win.
“She’s a smart basketball player and she understands the game,” Coach Bev Smith said on Oregon’s postgame radio broadcast.
The season is three games old. With Oregon’s infusion of youth and mix of veteran players, it’s too early to be burying the Ducks season before it’s really begun.
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