Women’s basketball

The Oregon women’s basketball team would not be denied Saturday afternoon in its return to McArthur Court, as the Ducks triumphed over Oregon State, 68-58.
Saturday marked the 70th Civil War meeting between the Ducks and Beavers. After an early-season loss to Oregon State, the Ducks were not about to let the Beavers come into their house and show them up.
The Beavers led the contest only once, right after tip-off, but didn’t again take charge en route to the Duck victory.
“This was a huge game because I didn’t get to play in the first game,” junior Kayla Steen said. “Everyone wanted it bad enough and we came out and started a great three-game winning streak.”
It was a strong start for Oregon (10-13, 6-8 Pac-10) to its three-game homestand. It was a battle on both sides for the entire 40 minutes, and, as with the past, the game went down to the wire.
The Ducks came out of the locker room for the second half with a strong advantage, leading 36-24. Freshman Carolyn Ganes made two quick free throws for Oregon and things looked to be right on track.
But the Beavers had other plans, and with just more than five minutes gone, they were right back in it after a 14-2 run brought the game to 40-38.
After a quick time out, Oregon turned things around, and didn’t allow a repeat of what happened in Corvallis earlier this season.
Oregon State immediately had some tough breaks, as juniors Hollye Chapman and Brina Chaney picked up their third fouls, causing them to sit on the bench.
“One of the things we did not do in the first game was attack their inside players,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “The important thing was to get the ball inside, to penetrate inside and if you are aggressive, you will be rewarded with some fouls.”
The Oregon offense found its rhythm again and the Ducks led 51-42 with just more than 10 minutes to play.
The Beavers again weathered the storm and after a time out with 2:21 left to play, Oregon State trailed 61-58. It looked as if the Beavers could rally, but with just more than a minute left, Chapman was double-teamed in the post, forcing her to lose the ball out of bounds to Oregon.
After free throws by senior Alissa Edwards and sophomore Kedzie Gunderson, Oregon had secured its sixth conference win, leading 64-58 with less than 30 seconds to play.
“The Civil War is a big game, and if you lose the first one you are pretty upset,” Edwards said of her final Civil War game. “Coming into this game, we wanted to have fun and work hard, and it was good to get a win.”
Oregon had a solid night all around, shooting better than 43 percent from the field. The Ducks were able to dominate on the foul line as Oregon attempted 18 more than Oregon State and converted 13 of those.
The Ducks dominated the first half of the game as Oregon led by as many as 12 points at one point, and the Beavers couldn’t keep pace. Oregon State shot just better than 30 percent in the first 20 minutes.
Oregon State finished the night shooting 39 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Ducks 34 to 31. The Beavers turned the ball over 11 times and accounted for two blocks.
The Ducks were led by Gunderson, who finished with 12 points and five assists, followed by Steen, who added 11 points in her 21 minutes. Junior Cathrine Kraayeveld returned to action for the Ducks after missing the last 13 games due to injury, and had a solid performance with nine rebounds, seven points and two blocks.
Junior Leilani Estavan paced the Beavers with 17 points to lead all scorers, followed by Chapman, who added 15 points and nine rebounds.
Oregon continues its homestand next week hosting the Washington schools as it tries to keep the ball moving off the two-game win streak.