It wasn’t pretty Saturday night in Pullman.
But it was a win, and that’s the most important thing to the Oregon women’s basketball team.
The Ducks had solid all-around performances and pulled out another last-second thriller against Washington State, 73-69.
The Ducks were ahead the entire second half but never could find comfort in it. Oregon led the Cougars 71-66 with 28 seconds left, but after a few missed free-throws for Oregon and clutch free-throws from the Cougars, Washington State had the ball with six seconds left, trailing by two.
But the Ducks, who lost to Washington State on a last-second shot at Mac Court in the 2000-01 season, would not suffer the fate again, as they swept the Cougars in two regular-season games and at the Pac-10 Tournament during the 2001-02 season.
“This is a very tough game for us, psychologically and emotionally,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith told KSCR-AM. “Our team did a really good job knowing that this was a good opportunity. We did some things offensively that we haven’t done in the past.”
Oregon (7-11, 3-6 Pac-10) splits its weekend with the Northwest rivals after a loss to Washington on Thursday, and the Ducks will move within one game of fifth place in the Pacific-10 Conference with the win.
The Ducks shot 44 percent from the field on the night and went 9-for-15 from the free throw line. Oregon turned the ball over 13 times and was out-rebounded by four.
The Cougars shot 43 percent from the field, and were 5-for-12 on three-pointers. Washington State accumulated 43 rebounds on the evening, yet gave the ball up 20 times thanks to Oregon’s newfound defensive energy.
It was a game that was evenly matched from the open tip-off. And after the first 10 minutes of play, the teams were almost square with Oregon leading just 18-17.
The Ducks struggled from that point, as junior Lindsey Egeland hit a three-pointer to give the Cougars their first lead of 20-18 en route to an 11-0 run. But after a hot first half by sophomore Brandi Davis, the Ducks weathered the storm and fought their way back to a halftime lead of 36-35.
Davis was hot from the start, scoring eight of Oregon’s first 10 points, and she headed into the locker room with 19 points of 9-of-14 shooting. She fell just one shy of her career-high 20 points and had played only 17 minutes.
The California native finished the night with 24 points, a new
career high.
“She is just unbelievably talented,” Smith said. “She did a great job of taking advantage of her opportunities. Thank god she was hot in that first half, because it really kept us feeling good about ourselves offensively.”
When Oregon entered the second half, it found the offensive rhythm and defensive intensity that it had been looking for. The Ducks led the final 20 minutes, by as many as nine, although the Cougars did not make it easy on Oregon.
“Defensively, we rallied harder than we ever have and I think that was the turning point tonight,” Smith said.
The Ducks had solid performances across the board tonight, and it made the difference. Davis led all scorers, followed by freshman Carolyn Ganes, who earned her first career double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Sophomore Kedzie Gunderson also came through strong for Oregon with some clutch offensive rebounds, and added 11 points in her 32 minutes.
Junior Bianca McCall, who had 20 points and nine rebounds, led Washington State, followed by Egeland with 14 points and eight rebounds.
The Ducks are past the halfway point in Pac-10 play and now return home to McArthur Court, where they face Arizona State on Thursday night.