Loree Payne sat behind a microphone Saturday, moments after herHuskies had beaten the Oregon women’s basketball team, 75-59, infront of 5,369 at McArthur Court.
The senior didn’t show too much outward emotion, at least notuntil the end of her session with the media. But she did showflashes of a smile, because after all, Washington had justbeaten the Ducks at Mac Court for the first time since 1993.
And Payne, playing in her last regular season game against theDucks, played a big part in that victory.
“It’s great to celebrate a victory, but we know we have work todo,” she said of the Pacific-10 Conference’s second-place team.”Every win is huge. Each victory is sweeter and sweeter.”
Payne poured in 24 points — 15 in the second half — while fellowsenior Kellie Dalan was close behind with 23. Together, the duoled Washington to the convincing victory.
“Everybody had fire in their eyes,” Dalan said. “When you canlook at a teammate and they have no doubts, you know you’re OK.”
For Oregon, the loss is the team’s first since losing toStanford on Feb. 6, snapping a three-game winning streak.
The Ducks, according to junior Cathrine Kraayeveld, didn’t playthat badly. Aside from shooting 19 percent from the field in thefirst half, Oregon’s poise was key to keeping the game close inthe first half.
But the Huskies were a far more experienced team, led by thefact that their five seniors accounted for 51 of the team’s 75points.
“We ran into a team that was very good and very determined,”Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “Certainly, they are anexperienced team.”
Sophomore Andrea Bills led the Ducks with 14 points whileKraayeveld, in just her third game back since suffering a staphinfection in her right knee Dec. 26, scored 11.
Oregon’s seniors — Alissa Edwards and Kourtney Shreve — played aminimal role in the loss. Edwards had three points in 31 minuteswhile Shreve ended up with three rebounds and one turnover in 14minutes. The game marked the last time the two will play at MacCourt in an Oregon uniform.
Overall, as a team, the Ducks shot just over 30 percent from thefield, and hit on 6-of-20 shots from beyond the 3-point arc.Sophomore Brandi Davis was just 3-of-11 on the night, all threecounting as treys.
“In the beginning, nobody was making anything,” Kraayeveld said.”We rushed a little bit and panicked because our shots weren’tfalling and that hurt us.”
To say that nobody made anything in the beginning is anunderstatement, especially for the Husky offense. Head coachJune Daugherty’s squad missed their first six shots of the game,and went 1-of-11 from the field in the first six minutes.
Oregon, on the other hand, was just as bad, hitting for just sixpoints in the first seven minutes. The Ducks finished the halfjust 5-of-26 from the field, a statistic that is blurred byshooting 3-of-12 from 3-point land. Oregon was just 2-for-14 on2-point attempts in the first half.
“When you shoot 19 percent, it doesn’t help matters,” Smith saidof the woeful first half.
Defensively, both teams played strong. The Ducks kept Washingtonat a 42 percent shooting clip. The Huskies meanwhile, keptOregon from establishing its inside presence, evidenced by just12 overall points in the paint for the Ducks.
“I thought we just came down here and played great defense,”Daugherty said. “That’s what was key.”
The game remained close until the last four minutes of the firsthalf. Washington, up 23-18 at the 3:48 mark, went on a 15-5 runto separate itself from Oregon.
Dalan and Payne combined to score the last 20 points of the halffor Washington, which had pushed its lead up, 20-38, with lessthan 10 seconds left.
Davis, however, made sure Oregon ended the half on a hot streakby nailing a pull-up 3-pointer as time expired.
Contact the sports reporter at [email protected].
Huskies’ bite proves too much for Oregon women
Daily Emerald
February 22, 2003
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