There’s something about Melody Johnson that Oregon just can’t contain.
Johnson, Arizona State’s 6-foot-2 senior post, has a knack for knocking the Ducks, and did so again Thursday, scoring a game-high 18 points in Arizona State’s 69-58 Pacific-10 Conference women’s basketball victory. Against Oregon, Johnson averages 19 points a game.
“She was a thorn in our side,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith told KSCR radio. “I thought we did a better job on her in the second half, but that’s what’s so good about this ASU team — you stop one hole and another one opens up.”
With the win, the Sun Devils (17-6 overall, 8-4 Pac-10) moved out of a four-way tie for second place in the conference. Oregon (12-9, 7-5) dropped out of the mix and into fifth place.
Arizona State jumped out to a 44-33 lead with about 15 minutes remaining in the second half, but the Ducks kept it close.
Sophomore forward Cathrine Kraayeveld led an Oregon charge early in the second half, hitting the team’s first-three pointer of the game with 16:10 to play to bring the Ducks within seven at 40-33. Two possessions later, Kraayeveld grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a pass from Jamie Craighead to cap off a 7-0 Oregon run, to cut Arizona State’s 11-point lead to 44-40.
One possession later, Kraayeveld picked up another offensive board, scored the put back and was fouled on the play. She converted the free throw to cap a 12-2 run that brought the Ducks within one at 46-45.
But not even Kraayeveld could stop the Devils’ sharp shooting.
Boardman, a Beaverton, Ore., native, quickly responded with a trey and after an Oregon miss, freshman Kylan Loney hit another three to put Arizona State on top by seven with 11 minutes left.
Williams and senior guard Edniesha Curry kept Oregon close, but could not overcome Johnson’s presence inside. Johnson was 8-for-12 from the floor, and in four career games against the Ducks, she has shot nearly 80 percent.
Williams led the Ducks with 15 points and Curry had 13. Kraayeveld added 12 points and 13 rebounds, her seventh double-digit rebounding performance of the season. Senior Cian Carvalho scored a career-high 17 points as ASU shot 51 percent from the field.
Heading into the locker room, Arizona State led 34-26 on Johnson’s 12 first-half points.
Foul trouble plagued the Ducks as freshman starting center Andrea Bills was limited to just four minutes with two fouls in the first half. She picked up her fourth foul with about 14 minutes to play.
And it didn’t help that Oregon couldn’t find a rhythm offensively, especially from beyond the three-point arc, where the Ducks were 0-for-6 in the first half.
“One of the things we knew coming into this game was that they play very well defensively as a unit, they’re very aggressive and they make you make plays,” Smith said. “But understanding that and applying that are two different things.”
Notes: Arizona State swept the Ducks in the season series for just the second time. Oregon State defeated Arizona in overtime Thursday to stay tied with the Sun Devils for second place. Southern California (10-9, 7-4) hosts Washington tonight to try to keep pace with Arizona State.