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 for the Ducks and the Beavers. After an early season loss on Oregon’s part, 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, with two free throws to lead 2-0, but didn’t again take charge en route to the Duck victory.
Oregon (10-13, 6-8 Pac-10) increased its lead of the series, which is now 49-21 in favor of the Ducks, along with winning 14 of the last 16 matchups.
“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 t hree-game winning streak.”
It was a strong start for Oregon, being the first of a three-game homestand. It was a battle on both sides for the entire 40 minutes with neither team establishing dominance. 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.
Yet the Beavers had other plans, and with just over five minutes gone found themselves right back in it after a 14-2 run to bring the game to 40-38.
A quick time-out out of frustration for Oregon turned things around, not allowing 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.
“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 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 just 61-58. It looked as if the Beavers could rally a comeback, but with just over a minute left, Chapman was double-teamed in the post, forcing her to lose to 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 over 43 percent from the field and making 6 of 16 from downtown. 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 over 30 percent in the first 20 minutes.
Oregon State finished the night at 39 percent from the field, and did
out-rebound 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 the afternoon 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
the Ducks try to keep the ball moving off the two-game win streak.
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