Six minutes into Saturday’s game at Washington State, things were going downhill for Oregon.
A 9-3 run put the Cougars ahead, 15-9, and it looked like Oregon’s troubles were going to be extended.
Four minutes later, Brandi Davis had put the Ducks (10-7 overall, 2-5 in Pacific-10 Conference) ahead, 17-15, with two three-pointers and a jumper.
Oregon didn’t look back on the way to a 60-50 victory.
“Tonight (Davis) did it very well in terms of her shot selection,” head coach Bev Smith told KSCR (1320 AM) Radio after the game. “I just really tip my hat off to Brandi tonight because she really followed the game plan and we were successful because of it.”
Davis led the Ducks with a season-high 20 points off the bench. It was the first time since a Nov. 16 victory against then-No. 9 LSU that any Oregon player scored 20 points.
Forward Eleanor Haring led the starters with 13 points, one shy of tying her career high, and a career-high nine rebounds. Andrea Bills also had nine rebounds and added nine points.
Oregon outrebounded an opponent for the first time in seven games, pulling in 42 rebounds to Washington State’s 39.
“We’re very happy with the performance tonight,” Smith said. “We can’t forget the Washington game. It was humiliating and I think our players understood that. We know we can’t control what’s taken place in the past, we had to come out and be ready to beat this very stubborn Washington State team.”
The 10-point victory against Washington State came two days after the Ducks were handed their worst loss in Pac-10 history, a 95-50 pummeling by Washington.
“It was a good win for us today,” Davis said. “It was something that we really needed for our confidence, so it was big for us.”
After being down 15-9, the Ducks closed the first half with an 18-6 run for a 6-point lead at halftime. It was the second-lowest scoring half for an Oregon opponent this season.
“(The team) really played as we asked them to and followed the game plan the whole way through the game,” Smith said.
It was the first time in eight games, dating back to a 68-56 win against Santa Clara, that the Ducks scored 60 points in a game.
The Cougars dropped to 4-13 overall and 0-8 in the Pac-10 with their 11th consecutive loss.
“It’s a very important win after coming off a real tough game against Washington,” Smith said. “Our players did a great job staying together. They have great chemistry off the floor. Now we just have to keep building. We can’t afford to take two steps back as we did after the Oregon State game.” Oregon held the Cougars to 50 points, marking the third time this season that the Ducks have held an opponent to 50 points or less.
“I’ve never underestimated Washington State,” Davis said. “They’re known to sneak up on you. I knew they were going to come back hungry in the second half.”
The Ducks extended their 27-21 halftime lead and led by as many as 21 in the second half. Washington State pulled to within nine with 4:31 remaining, but couldn’t get any closer.
Up next, the Ducks host Arizona at McArthur Court on Thursday followed by Arizona State on Saturday. Tipoff is 7 p.m. on Thursday and noon on Saturday.