What looked like a struggle for both teams turned out to be a confidence booster for one and the same old news for the other.
The Oregon women’s basketball team cruised by Washington State 69-50 Saturday at McArthur Court in front of 3,702 fans.
The Ducks moved to 5-2 in the Pacific-10 Conference and 12-4 overall and completed a sweep at home of their Northwest rivals for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
At the same time, Oregon won its third straight while the Cougars’ extended their losing streak to 10 games. Washington State (4-13, 0-8) has yet to get a Pac-10 victory this season.
“This was a really important weekend for us and we’re proud of our team and how we performed in both games,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said.
Oregon’s Cathrine Kraayeveld had little trouble finding the basket from long range as she hit 4 of 5 from beyond the arc. The senior forward shot 4 of 10 from the field and earned her second double-double in as many games –her fifth of the season — with 16 points and 11 rebounds, both game-highs.
Oregon guard Kaela Chapdelaine started in place of Chelsea Wagner, whose season ended when the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee tore during Thursday’s game against Washington.
Play from both teams was sloppy in the first half.
Washington State’s Kate Benz, the Pac-10’s leading rebounder, hauled in five of her team’s 20 boards in the first half while Oregon brought down only 16.
“It was a sub-par performance in the first half,” said Smith, whose team shot 40 percent (24 of 60) for the game. “I think we were looking to press a little bit but in the second half we worked better together.”
A three-pointer by Chapdelaine at 3:32 in the first half — her only field goal of the game — gave the Ducks a 21-18 advantage they did not relinquish for the remainder of the contest.
The Cougars trailed by five points at halftime, 28-23, and would never get closer. Oregon created separation with an 11-2 run to start the second half.
Washington State won the rebounding battle in the first half, but Oregon managed to win the war, 45-39.
Senior center Andrea Bills picked up six of her eight boards and all 12 of her points in the second half for the Ducks.
“I felt like they were really hacking and playing aggressive,” Bills said. “I had to battle through that and it finally showed in the second half.”
With 2:28 remaining, the Ducks reached a 27-point lead, 67-40,
after stringing together a 15-2
scoring streak.
“We’re a second-half team but we can’t do that anymore,” Kraayeveld said. “We can’t say we’re a second-half team and not play the first half.”
Corrie Mizusawa returned to Oregon’s starting lineup after battling the flu and dished out a game-high seven assists from the point. Freshman Gabrielle Richards recorded a career-best four blocks.
Benz, a sophomore, tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds for Washington State. Teammate Adriane Ferguson scored a team-high 13 points. As a team, the Cougars shot 29 percent in each half.
The Ducks scored 22 points off turnovers compared to the Cougars’ four. Each team finished with 14 turnovers.

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