A six-point possession by Oregon’s Carolyn Ganes and Cathrine Kraayeveld was the final lead change in Tuesday’s game.
The No. 24 Ducks took charge six minutes into the second half and slowly built up a lead, eventually winning, 73-57, in front of 1,017 fans at The Kennel.
“We were struggling a little bit with the first time in a new gym and we were all just trying to get our bearings,” Ganes told KUGN after the game. “It was nice to be able to come in and really try to help get the flow of the offense going.”
The flow turned Oregon’s direction when — with the Ducks (3-0) down, 40-39 — point guard Corrie Mizusawa inbounded the ball to forward Kedzie Gunderson at the top of the three-point arc. Gunderson found Ganes inside, and Ganes made the basket and was fouled, giving Oregon the 41-40 lead.
On the missed free throw, Kraayeveld grabbed the rebound and found Ganes inside, where she made the shot and was fouled again.
Ganes missed her second opportunity at a three-point play, but Kraayeveld again came down with the rebound. The senior hit a turn-around jumper to make it a 45-40 game.
After a turnover by Gonzaga (1-2), Ganes made another two-point shot, with an assist by Mizusawa.
“That really took the air out of their sail,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith told KUGN after the game . “A big six-point swing with very little time off the clock.”
The Ducks and Bulldogs went into halftime tied at 28. The teams had six ties and eight lead changes in the first half.
“We really had some people step up big time,” Smith said. “Particularly Carolyn Ganes. In the second half, she found that space that they were leaving her with the defensive attention they were giving to (Kraayeveld) and she really stepped up big.”
Ganes came off the bench and scored 15 points as the Ducks’ second-leading scorer. Forward Andrea Bills led the way with 16 points and eight rebounds.
“Coming into this game, we had a long week off after our tournament,” Smith said. “We talked about our 24th ranking, a (Pacific-10 Conference) school coming into (Gonzaga) and we’ve got to give this our ‘A’ game.”
Mizusawa, the junior transfer from Saint Mary’s (Calif.), tied an Oregon single-game record with 14 assists. In Oregon’s three games this season, Mizusawa is averaging 10.7 assists.
“She’s a silent killer,” Smith said. “She did a great, great job. I thought she made some very smart plays, particularly towards the end.”
In the first game of the season, Mizusawa had 13 assists against Valparaiso. She now accounts for two of the top 10 spots for single-game assists in Oregon’s history just three games into her first season as a Duck.
Freshman forward Jessica Shetters and sophomore guard Chelsea Wagner saw their first on-court action as Ducks, with Shetters grabbing two rebounds and Wagner getting two steals.
“Jessie came in and did some very good things,” Smith said. “Chelsea didn’t shoot that well, she’s a shooter and I think she was so excited that she almost shot one all the way back to Eugene. But what the young lady did was came in and she got two steals and she really flustered them.”
Shetters, Wagner and their teammates return to action Friday and Saturday in the Oregon Classic at McArthur Court. Oregon takes on Kansas at 8 p.m. on Friday and North Carolina State at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.