All it took was a few sparks within the Oregon women’s basketball
team to get it back on track.
The Ducks (8-2 overall, 1-0 Pacific-10 Conference) avoided a
three-game losing skid with an 81-50 victory over California, Monday.
At the same time, Oregon used its best offensive output of the season
to prevent the Bears from collecting their first win at McArthur Court
since 1993.
“We played a full 40 minutes tonight,” Oregon center Andrea Bills
said, “Everybody, whether they started or not, was ready to play.
“We finally were able to see that we could put a whole game together
and rely on each other.”
Neither team showed an advantage over the other in the opening ten
minutes of the contest; however, after a few substitutions Oregon
heated up and Cal (6-4, 0-1) froze.
With the score in Cal’s favor at 19-14, senior Cathrine Kraayeveld
sank a three-pointer with eight minutes left in the first half to
initiate Oregon’s 19-2 scoring streak. Corrie Mizusawa then tied the
game at 19 with a fast-break layup.
Senior Brandi Davis stepped it up for the Ducks by scoring 10 of her
12 points (4 of 6) during that stretch.
“She gave us a nice lift,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said.
“Everyone on this team has a role and Brandi played her role well
tonight.”
Oregon shot 36 of 63 (.525) from the field and its bench contributed
36 points for the night.
Oregon guard Brandi Davis is challanged by California’s Jessica Lawson as she drives the lane and throws up a successful finger-roll layup.
Freshman Kristen Forristall made her first collegiate start for
Oregon, replacing sophomore Eleanor Haring at forward. Coach Smith
said she adjusted the lineup to improve rebounding and rest Haring.
“She’s a very capable player,” Smith said. “She brought the
things we needed tonight and started us off well.”
Forristall scored nine points (4 of 5) and hauled in six boards.
“I just wanted to have really strong defense.” Forristall said,
who has accrued 19 points and 13 rebounds in the last two games. “We
have scorers on the team so I just wanted have some good stops and get
some rebounds.
Kraayeveld finished the night 5 of 12 from the floor with a game-high
15 points. Bills racked up 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks for
the Ducks.
Cal’s Kiki Williams drained three shots from beyond the arc and also
finished with 15 points (4 of 8).
Senior shooting guard Kristin Iwanaga, who is shooting .750 from
three-point land and averages 13 points per game this seasonfor the
Bears, took no shots from the field but made a pair of free throws.
Oregon’s Ashley Allen (5) is carried off the floor by teammates Jessica Shetters (left) and Andrea Bills after she sustained a minor knee injury in the final minute of the game.
Cal was limited to 25 points in each quarter and shot 36.4 percent (16
of 44) for the night. Oregon held the best three-point shooting team
in the nation to .444 from behind the curve.
The Bears scored no fast-break buckets while the Ducks scored 11
points from breakaways.
“This is a great start to our Pac-10 season,” Smith said. “It
was a solid win and that’s important for us.”
Ashley Allen worked four minutes for Oregon and quickly posted five
points and four rebounds. She injured her left knee in the final
minute of the game but was medically cleared afterward, according to
Coach Smith.
The Ducks host No. 5 Stanford at McArthur Court, Wednesday at 7 p.m.
