Oregon women’s basketball team will play the first contest of a 10-game home stand when it hosts Concordia for an exhibition match at Matthew Knight Arena tonight at 7 p.m.@@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=236&SPSID=4304@@
The matchup will offer Oregon fans their first look at five new freshmen that will look to fill the shoes of six departed seniors from the program’s 2010-11 squad. Nine of the 13 players populating the Ducks’ roster this season are underclassmen.
Tonight’s game will present newcomers Jordan Loera, Amanda Delgado, Lexi Petersen and Megan Carpenter their first opportunities to make an impression in Eugene. The game appeared to be a likely debut for freshman post player Janitah Iamaleava before the freshman sustained a season-ending injury last week during practice. Oregon’s 2011 five-member freshman class received a top-50 rating from ESPN HoopGurlz as head coach Paul Westhead brought in his first ranked recruiting class.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205183493@@
Loera, a four-star recruit from Moses Lake, Wash., is the highlight of the class. Petersen (a two-time Nisqually 1A Player of the Year) and Carpenter (a Denver Post All-State First-Team selection) will team with Delgado (2011 Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year) to create a foursome that will have a chance to see significant playing time this season under Westhead.
Senior point guard Nia Jackson will undoubtedly be the veteran leader of the team as they head into in their first live action. Despite missing the last nine games of last season with a knee injury, Jackson was named first-team All-Pac-10 and boasted averages of 17 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.6 steals per game. Entering her last season in Eugene, Jackson will be relied upon as the primary playmaker for an Oregon squad that went 13-17 overall (4-14 Pac-10) in 2010-11.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1256765@@ @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205034590&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
Also pinpointing Oregon’s attack will be senior forward Amanda Johnson, who was a 2011 Pac-10 Honorable Mention selection. Last season, the Santa Rosa, Calif., native finished third in the Pac-10 in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.9 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest. Johnson led the Ducks with 49 three-pointers (eighth in the Pac-10), 64 steals (sixth) and 27 blocks (seventh).@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4305&SPID=236&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1507345&Q_SEASON=2011@@
In 2011-12, the Ducks will likely resume their fast-paced ways of the past two seasons. Under Westhead’s tutelage, Oregon has finished in the country’s top-15 in scoring in back-to-back years, averaging 81.4 points (2010, second) and 76.3 points per game (2011, fifteenth). In fact, during the last two seasons, the Ducks have averaged 79.0 points per game overall, outdone only by Oral Roberts (84.7 points per game) and Gonzaga (82.7).@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=204839122&DB_OEM_ID=500@@ @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205034590&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
Westhead’s frantic approach to offense, however, has its downsides. The team managed to attempt a staggering 2,191 field goals last season, but their opposition fared slightly better — Oregon’s opponents put up 2,034 shots and tallied 77.1 points per game.@@same@@
“We have a new offensive push this year. We want to be even faster,” Westhead told GoDucks.com. “We need to block out better, shoot three-pointers better and shoot free throws better, but most important is that we want to play faster.”
Oregon will get its first opportunity to play faster against Concordia, a Portland school in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. The Cavaliers finished last season 24-10 overall and took down the College of Idaho 63-61 to win the Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament before falling to Black Hills State in the first round of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Tournament.@@http://www.gocugo.com/custompages/Women%27s%20Basketball%20Stats/10-11/teamcume.htm@@
Concordia brings back three starters from its team last season, including senior guards Courtney May (11.6 points and 4.5 assist per game) and Rachel Scarpelli (11.0 points per game).@@http://www.gocugo.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=777@@ @@http://www.gocugo.com/custompages/Women%27s%20Basketball%20Stats/10-11/plyr_22.htm@@ @@http://www.gocugo.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=779@@ @@http://www.gocugo.com/custompages/Women%27s%20Basketball%20Stats/10-11/plyr_20.htm@@
The Cavaliers will begin their season with three straight exhibitions against Division I opponents. Concordia was defeated 80-36 on Sunday by Portland, and following its contest in Eugene will play at Washington next Tuesday night.@@http://www.gocugo.com/schedule.aspx?path=wbball&@@ @@http://www.gocugo.com/news/2011/11/6/WBK_1106110140.aspx@@