The women’s basketball team has been involved in plenty of extraordinary performances this year. Unfortunately, it came out on the losing end of a record-breaking match-up with Arizona on Saturday.
When the final buzzer sounded, the scoreboard read Arizona-119, Oregon-112. It was the largest point total in Pacific-10 Conference history, and junior forward Nicole Canepa matched an Oregon record with 38 points. Yet, despite solid offensive performances across the board, the Ducks came up short.
“The bad news is we lost the game,” head coach Paul Westhead said to KUJZ-FM after the game. “The good news is we tried to create a fast pace and we did that.”
The Ducks certainly set the tone with five players scoring in double figures and a blistering .488 field goal percentage. Unlike past opponents, the Wildcats found a way to match the Ducks point for point. Oregon’s full-court press had little effect on Arizona’s rhythm, and the Wildcats shot .623 from the field.
“When they cracked our press, they didn’t pull the ball out but went right at us,” Westhead said. “We have to do a better job of stopping that attack at the basket, and I’m confident we can do that.”
Freshman guard Davellyn Whyte led the Wildcat offense with a school-record 39 points, while junior forward Ify Ibekwe dominated the post with 32 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. Soana Lucet also added 28 points and seven rebounds of her own.
The Ducks struggled from beyond the arc, hitting only eight of 27 (.296) from three-point range. Interestingly enough, Oregon won the rebound battle (38-36) and turned the ball over less (18-21). Still, it was not enough to come up with a victory.
One of the primary reasons the Ducks were able to stay in the game came from an unlikely source. Junior guard Kristi Fallin, who has struggled all year to earn time on the floor, scored 18 points in just fifteen minutes. Twelve of those points came off of three-pointers.
“I finally gave her some minutes where she could settle down,” Westhead said. “She made good shots, and she had good court presence.”
Sophomore forward Jasmin Holliday, whose energy and rebounding skills have become a valuable asset off the bench, was hampered with fouls for most of the game and finished scoreless with just one rebound.
“She never really got it going today,” Westhead said. “She was a victim of fouls, and that’s a shame because we needed her tenacity.”
It was a frustrating trip for the Ducks, as they dropped both games in the desert and fell to 3-2 in the Pac-10. Westhead, for one, is looking forward to returning to McArthur Court
on Thursday.
“We’re anxious to get home and get some things straightened out,” Westhead said.
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