It has been one week since Paul Westhead’s first game as the women’s basketball head coach, and the transition has gone quite smoothly.
 
The Ducks are learning on the fly with a newly installed fast-break offense, and while there have been a few hiccups, they have still emerged with a 2-0 start heading into tonight’s matchup with Santa Clara at 7 p.m.
 
The team squeaked out a narrow 86-81 victory on Sunday against Montana, shooting 44.3 percent and hitting some clutch free throws to seal the victory. Junior forward Nicole Canepa has proven to be a revelation off the bench, finishing with a career-high 18 points and nine rebounds.
 
Sophomore forward Amanda Johnson also found a nice rhythm, scoring 17 points and adding a career-high 15 rebounds.
 
Hindering the Ducks once again were turnovers. Oregon had 18 for the game, and the team will have to cut that number down if it is to continue its early success. Still, it is clear that the full-court press is wearing opponents down, as nine of Montana’s 17 turnovers came in the second half. Mastering the frenetic nature of that press will be key as the season goes on.
 
Santa Clara, on the other hand, has lost its last two games and now stands at 2-2. Most recently, the Broncos lost 77-51 to UCLA in Iowa City. The matchup was part of the Hawkeye Challenge at the University of Iowa, for which junior power forward Lena Gipson was named an all-tournament player.
 
Gipson had 18 points and 10 rebounds against UCLA, but 20 turnovers and a woeful field goal percentage (37 percent) eventually doomed the Broncos.
 
Through its first four games, Santa Clara is averaging 21.7 turnovers per game. This could play right into Oregon’s defensive scheme, which places a heavy emphasis upon turnovers. Of course, the Broncos are also forcing 20.3 turnovers per game on defense, so the Ducks will have to be particularly careful with the ball.
Gipson leads the team in scoring (14.3 points per game) and rebounding (8.0 per game), while sophomore guard Alyssa Shoji is averaging 12.7 points and leads the team with 3.3 assists per game.
 
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