Senior Lindsey Dion said the Ducks had a good week of practice in preparation for Washington State tonight at Mac Court. Oregon has lost four straight, all on the road.
With all apologies to Rolaids, the Oregon women’s basketball team has a new way to spell “relief”: M-A-C C-O-U-R-T.
After two weeks on the road, and six of their past eight away from McArthur Court, the Ducks (12-9 overall, 5-6 Pacific-10 Conference) are home tonight for a 7 p.m. tipoff against Washington State with high expectations of snapping a four-game drought and regaining control of their postseason plans.
In eight years under head coach Jody Runge, the Ducks have never lost five consecutive games.
“The community has been very compassionate since we’ve been back in town, and that’s a really big factor for us right now,” Runge said. “I’ve heard nothing but ‘Why do you have to play so much on the road? That’s horrible.’ Our fans warrant dearly to be a factor in our success, and I’m sure they’ll be here in full force [this weekend].
“And I’m looking forward to it; it’s something we’ve missed.”
The Ducks have not been the same since their first meeting with Washington State (9-12, 4-7) in Pullman, where Oregon lost its first Pac-10 game of the season 67-64. Since that Jan. 20 game, the Ducks are 1-6.
Joanna Smith, a Washington State senior, who did not play in the first half, hit three three-pointers in the second period of that game, her final trey coming with 17 seconds left to put the Cougars ahead for good.
“Ideally, this would be the team we would want to lick first since they gave us that first loss a month ago,” senior forward Lindsey Dion said after Wednesday’s practice. “I think we have every capability of doing that. We’ve had two good practices, and that’s something we haven’t been doing very well these past two weeks.
“I think we’re going to be just fine.”
Dion and senior Angelina Wolvert did not play against the Cougars because of injuries suffered two days earlier at Washington. Dion, in fact, is still struggling with the left ankle sprain, which is not healing properly.
“I just have no strength in my ankle,” Dion said. “I can’t really push off it or jump off it. I doesn’t necessarily hurt, it’s just feels really weak.”
Oregon is also hampered by several other injuries, particularly senior post Jenny Mowe’s pulled sartorius muscle. Several of the players are also battling the flu, as is Runge.
In Pullman, senior forward Brianne Meharry paced the Ducks with 17 points and eight rebounds before fouling out late in the game; junior Ndidi Unaka had a career-high 15 points against the Cougs.
“They beat us without two of our starters. So if that’s a satisfying win for them, great,” Meharry said. “Now it’s time for them to face our team with everyone ready to go. So we’ll see what happens.”
Washington State is fresh off a victory over Arizona last Saturday, with senior forward Yvonne Volkman leading the way with a career-high 22 points.
“They’re a much better team, and Volkman is playing really well for them,” said Runge, who holds a 14-2 record against Washington State. “They’re going to be a tremendous challenge. But the road in the Pac-10 is not easy, and [the Cougars] are going to have to bring it.”
No. 23 Washington (15-6, 8-3) will bring it’s first-place standing to Eugene for a 1 p.m. show time Saturday.
Scoring the final 14 points of the game, the Ducks defeated the Huskies 67-53 in Seattle on Jan. 18. Craighead scored 16 points to lead Oregon.
No current Washington player has ever taken part in a victory against the Ducks.
The Huskies have won four straight, including a sweep of Arizona and Arizona State last weekend.
