Fans confidently walked out of McArthur Court after the Oregon women’s basketball team won its season opener 80-30 against an overwhelmed St. Francis (Pa.) team Friday.
Talk of midseason form and NCAA postseason berths floated around.
Oregon received a heavy dose of reality the following night with a 51-46 loss to No. 21 Temple.
What does this make Oregon – elite or a middle-of-the-pack team? Oregon showed flashes against a Temple team that returned three starters from a 28-4 team in 2004-05.
Center Gabrielle Richards confirmed her status as Oregon’s inside presence with consecutive nights setting her career high in points twice with 19 against St. Francis and 20 against Temple.
I predicted big things two weeks ago and still do, but after Saturday I have several questions.
Oregon is a collection of talent without a defined go-to scorer, which Richards may well become. Saturday Temple negated her presence the final two minutes and forced Oregon to find scoring elsewhere. After Richards, a second scorer never materialized when Temple closed on an 8-0 run.
Great teams have players to turn to for big shots in pressure situations. Chelsea Wagner and Brandi Davis highlight the possibilities for the Ducks. Will Oregon develop a regular last-second option or rely on a scorer-by-committee approach? Wagner took Oregon’s last shot against Temple off a pick and role with point guard Kaela Chapdelaine.
Along that line, when Richards has an off-night, who picks up the slack? Oregon’s 6-foot-6 center Jessie Shetters can rebound and play defense, but can she finish consistently on offense? Eleanor Haring can create her own shot, but will she do it late in games?
Carolyn Ganes returned this season after redshirting in 2004-05 and has posted positive results with 15 and 18 points in two exhibition games and 15 points in the season opener with the smoothest stroke you’ll ever see. Defensive match-ups kept her off the court against the quick posts of Temple. The result: In a physical game, Oregon lost a valuable scoring option with scoring at a premium.
These questions and others need to be answered if Oregon plans to exceed the media prediction of fifth place in the Pacific-10 Conference and surpass last season’s second appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Oregon must start gelling now with three winnable home games left (Nevada, Arkansas, Drake University) before spending all of December on the road with difficult road games at No. 22 USC and UCLA.
McArthur Court provides the perfect venue to prepare with its NCAA Tournament-like atmosphere that Temple coach Dawn Staley identified as the reason she brought her team across the country.
“It’s a great atmosphere,” Staley said. “We know their fans appreciate good basketball and appreciate every team.”
More quality Oregon basketball is needed and expected. Roles need to be defined and a team identity needs to emerge. Pac-10 play is a month away, but it’s never too early to think of the bigger picture.

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