Three games lie ahead for Oregon. Three games that all require a ‘W’ if the Ducks want to hear screaming fans under the bright lights of McArthur Court again.
Three games stand in the way of the Pacific-10 Conference Championship, which if won by Oregon would place the Ducks in the NCAA Tournament. McArthur Court is a site for the first two rounds of the NCAAs.
They are three games that won’t be easy.
“It’s about playing hard and who wants it more,” sophomore Brandi Davis said. “We just need to have confidence in ourselves and know that we have an opportunity to do something great here with this Pac-10 Tournament.”
Oregon’s first test is Saturday night against UCLA. The Ducks lost to the Bruins on Saturday after a late shot by senior Michelle Greco.
Oregon will head into Saturday with the same game plan: stay patient, run the offense and try and drive the ball inside. Oregon led most of the game last Saturday and it plans to have the final say this time around.
If the Ducks can overcome the Bruins, the most likely scenario is for them to face Stanford. That is, provided the Cardinal are not upset by the winner of the Arizona State-California game.

The Cardinal visited the Pit in early January and left the crowd shocked as the Ducks lost by only one point. When Oregon traveled to Maples Pavilion, Stanford had its way, winning 85-54.
The Ducks would love the chance to have their turn against Stanford one more time.
“Stanford is always within our reach,” sophomore Kedzie Gunderson said. “To me, we are the best matchup with them. Overall, our guards and our post match up well to them.”
If Oregon can manage the top-seeded Cardinal and contain junior Nicole Powell, the Ducks will head to the championship game Monday.
Who would they face? Probably Washington or Arizona, provided upsets by Oregon State, USC or Washington State don’t occur.
The Huskies and Wildcats pose two completely different threats to Oregon.
With Arizona, there is the post dominance with freshman Shawntinice Polk, and Washington brings strong ball handling and scoring from junior Giuliana Mendiola.
But for the Ducks, who they play doesn’t seem to matter, because they have to reach the title game first.
“Whoever we play I’m going to be just fine and we will have to deal with that,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “If we get in the final, hey, we could play Connecticut for all I care. We would just be ready to beat anyone that we’re in there with.”
The scenarios are all hypothetical but what is true is that Oregon has three tough opponents to surpass to before stepping back into McArthur Court.

Injuries continue
Just when the Ducks thought things were full steam ahead again with a full bench, another injury came along.
Junior Kayla Steen tore her anterior crucial ligament in her left knee in Saturday’s game, which leaves her teammates wondering how they will fare with just nine eligible players.
“She comes in and does a great job and is a very steady player,” said Gunderson, who was Steen’s roommate in Los Angeles. “We’re definitely going to miss her. It’s tough and I have to give her a lot of credit because she is handling it really well.
“It’s going to be a loss. I know it’s tough on her and tough on this team. We’ve been through a lot but at the same time we have got a job to do.”

Could be a sellout
As of Monday morning, the State Farm Women’s Basketball Pac-10 Tournament had sold 4,344 all-session tickets and 894 single-session tickets.
The arena seats just 6,828 for the tournament, which provides the possibility for a sellout and more hype.
“If the Pac-10 Tournament sold out, that’s all the better,” Gunderson said. “That’s definitely playing in our corner, we are used to having big crowds.”