Junior Taylor Lilley weaved through Arizona defenders as the shot clock ran down, and just before the numbers clicked to zero, she flipped up and drained a three-pointer from the right corner. The three points were insignificant to the game – Oregon already had a 10-point lead in the final seconds – but the shot was a testament to how the night had gone for the Ducks.
The Oregon women added their second big Pacific-10 Conference win in a row Thursday night by beating the Wildcats 68-55. But unlike previous games, head coach Bev Smith’s team did it by distributing the ball and not relying on just one or two players to pull the offense. They used a strong second half surge shooting-wise to put away the 7-7 Wildcats, who shot just 35 percent for the game.
“We just really shared the ball well and we knocked down shots when we needed to,” Lilley said. “We really had a good presence from the freshmen and in the inside.”
The offense had stalled of late for Oregon, but entering the Pac-10 schedule, it appears the Ducks have finally found their rhythm. Led by Lilley’s 14 points, Oregon had four players in double-digits, and junior Micaela Cocks barely missed being the fifth, scoring nine points. Oregon shot 46.6 percent from the field.
“Everyone is really stepping up,” said sophomore Ellie Manou, who had 13 points and eight rebounds. “To have four of your five starters in double-digits is crucial for the team.”
Especially when two of the four are freshmen. Amanda Johnson and Jasmin Holliday had 12 and 10 points, respectively. Johnson, who had 16 points and eight rebounds against USC last weekend, hit a crucial three-pointer with 2:22 left in the second half that put Oregon up 58-53 at that point. Holliday added four rebounds and three assists.
Holliday said it was about just running the offense without stalling.
“We’re shooting and executing well,” she said. “We put in a few different entries into our offense to give them a different look, but we just hit the crucial shots in the second half.”
Of equal importance to the even scoring were the assists. The Ducks had 18 assists on 27 shots, compared to six assists on 17 shots for Arizona. Lilley had five to lead the team. Coupled with only nine turnovers, Smith thinks that the performance is a step in the right direction.
“The distribution was big for us,” Smith said. “It’s really nice when you don’t have to rely on one or two people to handle the scoring.”
The players say the confidence in sharing the basketball and not feeling like only Lilley or Cocks can score has been a huge boost this year. Both Manou and Lilley say that trust in the locker room has reached new heights.
“Last year we would have lost a game like this,” Manou said. “We would have given up; we would have got scared. But this year we have the confidence and we believe in each other. Everyone is really stepping up.”
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Entire team pulled together offensively for Thursday’s win
Daily Emerald
January 8, 2009
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