Going on the road is no surefire way to cure shooting woes, but the Oregon women’s basketball team couldn’t have done much worse at home this past weekend.
The Ducks made just three of 32 three-point attempts against Stanford on Thursday and seven of 25 against Cal on Saturday. Overall, they have made 26.4 percent of their long-range attempts in their first three games at Matthew Knight Arena.
That isn’t the fault of the building, of course.
“I definitely think this is like a shooter’s gym,” starting shooting guard Ashley Buis said. “I don’t know if it’s just me as a player, but when you’re out on the floor, you don’t really see anything out here because of how it goes straight up. Your main focus is on the basket.”
The black-colored seats and concrete are a stark contrast to McArthur Court’s butter yellow and forest green color scheme, but the background is of little concern to the Ducks — with one exception.
“The lights are really bright on the corners,” shooting guard Kristi Fallin said. “But that’s one of those things you can’t worry about. Shooting’s all mental and muscle memory.”
Three-point shots have fallen for Oregon at a 32.9-percent clip this season, the third-best mark in the Pacific-10 Conference. Senior forward Victoria Kenyon leads the
Pac-10 in three-point shooting percentage, at 46 percent (23 of 50).
But others have struggled. Buis, a junior-college transfer from Linden, Ind., has made one of her last 15 three-point attempts, spanning four games. Overall, she is shooting 28.2 percent from beyond the arc this season and 30.0 percent from the field in total.
“I feel myself forcing my shot a little too much,” she said. “Usually, after every single game, I go home right away and watch the game film, so I can look right away and see what I’m doing. Lately I’ve just been throwing my shot up. I just need to take more time while I’m in my shot. On film I still have a half-second longer, which is a long time to set my feet.”
Fallin’s status uncertain
Head coach Paul Westhead said that Fallin had not been practicing since injuring her right ankle against Cal.
“She’s in a boot right now, and she’s being treated,” Westhead said. “If there’s a game right now, I know she would not play. Forty-eight hours from now, I don’t know.”
Fallin, who leads the Ducks in scoring off the bench (6.9 points per game), will be replaced by senior Tatianna Thomas in the rotation.
More Love for the Ducks
Oregon forward Danielle Love saw 14 minutes of action against Stanford, her high mark in Pac-10 games, and another 12 minutes against Cal after Kenyon committed four first-half fouls. Love is averaging 2.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game but has seen increased minutes during conference play.
“I feel like I’ve kind of found a more comfortable spot,” she said. “I’ve found
myself comfortable in the last few games.”
The Ducks’ Thursday contest against Washington will be a homecoming of sorts for the freshman from Everett, Wash.,25 miles north of Seattle.
“My mom has a list of around 40 or 50 people that are coming, and she bought a whole bunch of group tickets,” Love said. “I’m excited to see my family because a lot of them have never seen me play before, because they live south of Tacoma.”
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Women’s basketball looks to heat up from deep
Daily Emerald
February 1, 2011
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