The storylines emanating from today’s visit by the Arizona women’s basketball team are plentiful.
Arizona won two of three meetings with Oregon last season. Arizona ended Oregon’s season one win short of a berth in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. Gabrielle Richards played her final game in an Oregon uniform in a first-round meeting with Arizona in the Pac-10 Conference Tournament. In that same game, Eleanor Haring showed she can be Oregon’s go-to scorer with 20 points.
“I think everyone always kind of knew,” point guard Tamika Nurse said of Haring’s capabilities. “El has a turnaround fade-away jump shot that I don’t think you can guard – most people can’t. You don’t see it very often out of a female.”
Haring has held onto the go-to scorer’s role this season as she leads Oregon in scoring with 14.5 points in 27.1 minutes per game.
“I think El’s a different player this year,” Coach Bev Smith said. “I think she’s got a different energy level. I think she’s got a different mentality and I think (she’s) someone we feel good about going to.”
Oregon (9-5, 1-3 Pac-10 Conference) has received more balanced scoring in recent games. The double-digit efforts from Nurse, Carolyn Ganes and Cicely Oaks last weekend have alleviated the pressure on Haring, who was held to nine points Sunday.
“There’s good things about that,” Smith said. “We scored 70 (plus) points on the road in both games and for us against Pac-10 schools, that’s a great accomplishment. On the other end, we were way above our average defensively and that’s a concern because that’s usually where we win games.”
Arizona presents a stiff challenge from the perimeter with Joy Hollingsworth and Ashley Whisonant capable of hitting consistently from long range. Hollingsworth leads the Wildcats with 15.6 points per game to go with 5.9 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. Whisonant is second on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game. She averages 2.8 rebounds and leads the team in assists with 3.9 a game.
As a team, Arizona is averaging 63.5 points a game while shooting 39.8 percent from the field.
“They’re very athletic and I think we have a great defensive kind of philosophy to go against this team,” guard Kaela Chapdelaine said. “We play pack defense and we really kind of plug in the drive lanes so hopefully that’ll stop them a little bit.”
Question mark
Oregon forward Jessie Shetters is day-to-day after suffering a back injury last weekend against USC and missing the game at UCLA. Smith said Tuesday that Shetters has responded to therapy and is improving, but it is unclear whether or not she’ll play tonight.
“Going going, back back to Cali”
Southern California native Taylor Lilley made her second trip home to California in an Oregon uniform last weekend. In playing her second and third games since returning from a broken left hand, Lilley scored eight points against USC and was flat Sunday, going scoreless against UCLA.
“I feel great,” Lilley said. “I actually feel in really good shape. Shooting wise, I had an off night against UCLA but everybody has those nights so I’m not too worried about it.”
Lilley had a decent size contingent come see her play with her mom, her high school coach Dave Munroe and her former high school teammate and future Duck Tatianna Thomas.
“It was nice,” Lilley said. “It was just good to see them again and mom.”
As a freshman, Lilley has earned minutes in late game situations. She is averaging 9.1 points per game and shooting .500 from three-point range.
“I’m ready to play whenever they want me to,” Lilley said. “So it’s been fun, definitely, going in there and trying to have an impact on the game.”
Her teammates have noticed her effort too. With a depleted bench and the injury to Shetters, Lilley has been welcomed back into the rotation with open arms.
“She’s a great shooter, good energy player for us,” Chapdelaine said. “It’s nice to get a little break every now and again but I think all of us are doing well. We’re getting in the ice bath and making sure we take care of our bodies.”
Garbin ends Oregon career
Nicole Garbin is leaving the women’s basketball team to focus on academics, Smith announced Tuesday. Smith added the soccer star to the roster in November to give Oregon’s small roster more depth in practices.
“We completely understand and are supportive of Nicole’s decision,” Smith said in a statement. “She really helped us out when our numbers were down, bring her competitive spirit, athleticism and a great attitude to the team.”
Garbin appeared in three games this season for a total of nine minutes.
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