Oregon held off a 15-point second-half swing Thursday night to preserve a 54-50 win over Washington State. The Ducks improved to 2-5 in Pacific-10 Conference play (11-6 overall) and handed the Cougars their 10th straight loss.
The Ducks led by as many as 18 in the final frame before Kate Benz and the Cougars cut the deficit to two heading into the final minute of play. Benz ended with a game-high 14 points.
Washington State was in position to tie the game in the closing seconds after a missed layup by Oregon forward Jessie Shetters. Washington State’s Katie Appleton grabbed the rebound and dished the ball to Crystal Blue, who took a shot that missed long with nine seconds remaining.
The Ducks took over following a rebound by Eleanor Haring and went to the free-throw line for one-and-one shots to ice the game.
The win snapped a three-game slide for Oregon, but it was hard to tell from the players’ post-interviews.
“You’ll always take a win, but it was definitely not how we wanted it to go,” Oregon guard Chelsea Wagner said. “We didn’t have any intensity whatsoever going out there. You can’t worry about what happened last game. – You have to move on to the next game.”
The win in front of 3,360 at McArthur Court is a step forward for the Ducks, who dropped two close games in Arizona last week.
Wagner feels the Ducks’ play on defense is to blame for Oregon’s collapse in the second half.
“We were not playing good defense, and it’s hard to score in transition when you’re not playing well on defense,” Wagner said.
Wagner leads the conference in three-pointers made this season but was quiet from beyond the arc Thursday. She went 1 for 2 from three-point range and 3 for 4 from the field.
“I didn’t have that many (threes) tonight. … We weren’t shooting well and were working to get the ball inside more.”
Wagner’s teammate Brandi Davis also had an unusually slow night. The senior guard scored nine points in 23 minutes. Her single three-pointer was not as important as her game-ending free-throw shots, which put the game out of reach for the Cougars.
“I have to say Washington State is a team that never goes away,” Davis said. “They have a lot of heart. … They went all-in.”
Oregon coach Bev Smith was unhappy with how her team handled the ball. The Ducks lost the possession battle, with 19 turnovers as opposed to the Cougars’ 15.
“We need to start keeping the ball in our hands,” Smith said. “The turnovers we had were mostly on first touches and made out of panic and trying to score too early. We made too quick of passes and took the first open shots.”
Reaching double figures alongside Benz, Appleton finished with 12 points and three assists.
Haring and Carolyn Ganes led Oregon in scoring with 10 points apiece and combined for nine rebounds. Ganes started Thursday in place of Gabrielle Richards, who is sitting out with a skin infection.
Haring’s seven rebounds were her biggest total since she had eight against Arizona State one week ago. She would like to see her team play smarter against Washington.
“We need to stop having lapses and continue to build our leads for the entirety of the game,” Haring said. “We’re going to have to pick our game up. Everyone is going to have to bring everything they’ve got.”
The Ducks meet the Huskies Saturday for their second of four straight games played in the Willamette Valley. The Cougars wrap up their week on the road with Oregon State Saturday.
The Huskies cruised to a 70-53 win over the Beavers on Thursday. With the win and California’s upset of No. 13 Arizona State, the Huskies are tied with USC for second place in the conference. Stanford still leads with a one-loss Pac-10 record.
Washington (13-4, 6-2 Pac-10) has won five of its last six games and is Oregon’s final home game before the Civil War on Wednesday at Oregon State. Wagner insists that she and her teammates will play with more intensity Saturday against the Huskies.
“We will be prepared,” Wagner said. “We start preparing tomorrow. … I’m sure we’re going to be intense for Washington, we always are.”
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