Amanda Johnson saw the opportunity. The McArthur Court crowd of 2,419 saw a bigger one.
The freshman forward hit a backcutting Taylor Lilley for an easy layup with 12:41 to play in the first half, tying the score at 10-10 with No. 8 Cal. The Ducks had matched the Golden Bears in execution and intensity, looking poised to make a serious run at a top-10 team just two days after a 28-point loss to No. 11 Stanford.
Johnson’s assist, it turned out, would be the only Oregon assist in the half. And Lilley’s basket would be the last one made in the half for the Ducks.
Oregon (7-11, 4-4 Pacific-10 Conference) was held to a record-low 10 points in the first half Saturday, and the Golden Bears (16-2, 7-0) rattled off a 24-0 run during a 15:16 Oregon scoreless streak in a 65-50 Duck defeat. In that time span, the Ducks went 0-17 from the field and committed seven turnovers.
“I think we were just kind of rushing things too much, trying to create stuff on our own,” Lilley said. “We weren’t working together.”
The Ducks shot a miserable 18.5 percent (5-27) in the first half, failing to make either a three-point basket (0-10) or a free throw (0-2). Lilley was the only starter to score, with eight first-half points (forward Ellie Manou scored two off the bench for Oregon).
“We just didn’t have much energy in the first half,” Lilley said.
“We weren’t doing the little things, and we weren’t doing them hard. Especially, we really wanted to put a focus as well on the offensive boards, but we just weren’t going in hard enough.”
Oregon’s second half was a much more controlled effort, as the Ducks shot 48.4 percent (15-31) from the field and 57.1 percent (8-14) from three-point range. A Micaela Cocks three-pointer cut Oregon’s deficit to 14 (50-36) with 4:42 remaining, but Cal forward Ashley Walker answered with a jumper off a timeout just 28 seconds later, and the Ducks couldn’t get closer.
Walker was the game’s top scorer, with 23 points and seven rebounds. A week after torching rival Stanford for 37 points, Cal guard Alexis Gray-Lawson scored 17 points.
Lilley led the Ducks with 17 points, and Micaela Cocks scored 13 for the Ducks, all in the second half.
Portland vs. Oregon
In a normal weekend in conference play, Oregon would have six days to recuperate before its Saturday contest against Oregon State at Mac Court. Instead, the Ducks will make up a non-conference game against Portland today at 7 p.m. The game was initially scheduled for Dec. 22 but was cancelled because of inclement weather.
The Pilots (10-9, 3-2 West Coast Conference) are on an even shorter week than the Ducks, with a road series starting Thursday against San Diego and Saint Mary’s. Portland split a series against Loyola Marymount on Thursday (a 64-53 loss) and Pepperdine on Saturday (a 59-56 win).
Oregon Notes
? Taylor Lilley scored a team-high 17 points, playing all
40 minutes.
? Oregon managed only four assists compared to 19 turnovers, of which Lilley led the team with four.
? After shooting 0-for-10 from three-point in the first half, the Ducks had marked improvement in the second, making 8-of-14 threes.
? The Ducks shot four free throws the entire game, while Cal attempted 25.
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