The Oregon women’s basketball team got out to a quick start Thursday night against the Gaels of St. Mary’s College and the Ducks never looked back, charging forward to claim a 79-53 victory that was all but decided by the end of the first half.
With senior guard Cicely Oaks back in the lineup, the Ducks opened the first half by scoring seven unanswered points before the Gaels managed to get on the board with a pair of free throws by Lauren Shaugnessy.
Despite the absence of freshman guard Taylor Lilley, who injured her left hand in practice on Tuesday, everything flowed for the Ducks.
Led by Eleanor Haring’s 23 points, Oregon made 57.1 percent of its three-pointers and went 14-of-29 on the floor. Five Ducks scored in double digits – Oaks had 12 points in her return from a left ankle sprain, and Tamika Nurse and Micaela Cocks had 11 points apiece, with Jessie Shetters contributing 10 points and putting up 10 boards to go along with it.
The Ducks went into the half with a 43-19 lead.
Oregon coach Bev Smith said she was very pleased with the group effort.
“We need that. We’ve been looking for that for a long time and I think we found it tonight,” Smith said. “I was really happy for Cicely. She came in and hit her first couple of shots and that was really important for her confidence. She can score, and for her to come out and score like that really helped the scoring margin.”
Oaks got the ball rolling for the Ducks when she sank a three-pointer within the first 20 seconds of the game.
“I just wanted to try and be aggressive and get myself going,” Oaks said. “If you make a shot you’re going to feel good about yourself, and if you air ball, then you’re not.
“It’s a good thing I didn’t air-ball my first shot. That would have been sucky.”
Freshman guard Micaela Cocks benefited from Lilley’s absence and proved to be a solid outside threat for the Ducks. Cocks made three of her five three-point attempts and played 27 minutes.
With the Ducks leading the Gaels 74-46 and less than four minutes left in the game, the 2,920 fans cheered as senior guard Nicole Garbin checked into the game to make her second appearance of the season.
Fans gasped collectively every time Garbin touched the ball, and even her teammates cheered her on from the sideline, eager to see her score.
The soccer star-turned basketball player took a couple of shots, but couldn’t quite manage to convert. She finished the game with a steal.
Smith said that with Lilley out of the lineup for at least four weeks, Garbin would probably see more playing time.
“We have to work Nicole in,” Smith said. “I’ve told the girls that the honeymoon’s over. It’s not a party when she comes in. It’s a basketball game, and she’s going to be able to contribute.”
Lilley broke the fourth metatarsal bone in her left hand in a freak accident in practice on Tuesday when her hand got tangled in the jersey of one of the men on the scout team that the Ducks scrimmage against. Smith said the freshman would be out for about four weeks.
The injury unfortunately comes at a time when Lilley was just settling into her rhythm.
“I was getting very comfortable out there and I was finding my spot on this team,” Lilley said. “I think it’ll still be there, I’ll still be as comfortable when I come back. But I’m just going to have continue staying in shape and dribbling and I can still shoot, I’ve still got that right hand, so I can make it work.”
[email protected]