It was a thriller Thursday night at McArthur Court.
A missed three-point shot by California in the final 10 seconds of the game ensured the Oregon women’s basketball team its second win in Pacific-10 Conference play, 70-67.
Junior Kayla Steen did everything she needed to for her Ducks, going 5 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds to help move Oregon to 6-8 overall and 2-3 in the Pac-10.
“It was an important win for us,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “We came back and we were tough in the end. Kayla is a very good shooter and we talked about getting the ball in her hands.”
It was a battle from the beginning tipoff for both teams. In a back-and-forth first half, neither team could establish a solid lead.
At 9:30 on the clock was the first point when either team would lead by more than a basket, as Cal took the lead off a free throw, 20-17. Oregon would go on to trail by as many as five after that point until a timeout was called.
As the Ducks walked back onto the floor they headed into an 8-0 run to lead 27-24 with just under six minutes left.
After a continuous battle for control, the teams walked into the locker room with the Golden Bears leading 38-36. Through the first 20 minutes, both teams saw eight ties and six lead changes.
Oregon had to be happy with the score, considering Cal shot a blistering 73 percent from the field and 9 of 12 on the free throw line.
“We did really not keep people in front of us,” Smith said. “We had to be much more aggressive and we had to outplay them.”
The Ducks shot 45 percent themselves in the first half, yet only made it to the foul line twice, making just one.
The second half would be much of the same for the 3,861 fans at McArthur Court, as Cal quickly jumped to a five point lead. But after a time out, Oregon went on an 8-0 run to lead 50-47 with 11:16 to play.
The point differential would not get wide until Cal made some bad turnovers, and with a poor shot selection, Oregon converted on a 6-0 run and eventually led 64-58.
Cal refused to go away easily, and fought its way back into the game to bring the teams to a 65-65 tie with just 1:46 to go.
Then Steen went to the line for Oregon and gave the fans a sigh of relief, and a 67-65 Duck lead with just 24.6 seconds left.
The Golden Bears then faltered under pressure, as sophomore Kristin Iwanaga tripped trying to receive the inbound pass, which resulted in an Oregon steal. Steen went to the line again to give Oregon a four point lead.
Cal had its final chance after making a transition basket with 14 seconds left, and Steen made one from the free throw line to finish the scoring at 70-67.
“This is the easiest shot you can take on the court,” Steen said when asked what was going through her head with the game on the line.
Oregon finished the night shooting 46 percent from the field and 53 percent from the foul line. Freshman Carolyn Ganes led Oregon with 18 points, followed by sophomore Andrea Bills who added 13 points and eight rebounds.
The Bears’ shooting frenzy did not continue in the second half, as they only shot 38 percent to finish at 53 percent from the field. The Bears committed 21 turnovers to Oregon’s 13, which Cal head coach Caren Horstmeyer considered a deciding factor.
Cal junior Nihan Anaz led all scores with 22 points, followed by junior center Timea Ivanyi, who went 8-for-8 from the field for 17 points.
Oregon continues its homestead as No.6 Stanford (10-1, 2-0 Pac-10) comes to town Saturday night to face the Ducks, at 7 p.m. at McArthur Court.
Oregon will get quite the challenge from the tough Cardinal squad, though the Ducks have won three of the last four in Eugene.