In the final game of a regular season rife with inconsistency and ignominy, the Oregon women cemented one of the worst seasons in school history by securing their 20th defeat, 94-64, against USC at McArthur Court on Saturday.
The Ducks (9-20, 5-13 Pacific-10 Conference) set new school records with 20 losses and 10 home losses, and suffered through their worst conference season since 2004-05. (That team finished 14-15 overall.) The 94 points allowed was the most since a 95-50 loss on Jan. 15, 2004, to the Washington Huskies in Seattle.
Oregon has now lost 11 of its past 13 heading into this week’s Pac-10 Tournament, with the only hope of a postseason in winning the tournament as the conference’s seventh seed.
“We’re gonna have to do a little soul-searching,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said in reference to the Pac-10 Tournament. “Looking at our energy levels, it’s going to be a real struggle, that first game.”
Saturday’s contest represented guard/forward Rita Kollo’s senior night and what will likely be Oregon head coach Bev Smith’s last game at McArthur Court in that position. A crowd of 2,202 was on hand to support Kollo, who opted not to play Saturday because of a broken right foot suffered during Oregon’s exhibition season. Kollo finishes her Oregon career without having played in a regular-season game.
The Ducks kept pace with the Women of Troy early, even taking a 13-7 lead with 12:57 remaining in the first half. From there, USC pressured Oregon, forcing as many as three turnovers in a row and outscoring the Ducks 40-17 over the duration of the half.
“They were scoring off of all those turnovers, and our defensive transition wasn’t there to stop them,” freshman forward Jasmin Holliday said. “That’s how they got the lead off us, off of our turnovers.”
The Ducks committed 14 turnovers in the first half, leading to 20 points for USC.
“That really snowballed, and we never got the focus or the concentration or the intensity back again,” Smith said.
USC kept its foot on the proverbial gas pedal in the second half, using full-court pressure on defense and running by the Ducks on offense for a glorified layup drill. The Women of Troy shot 63.0 percent (17-of-27) in the second half, including 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from three-point range, as USC head coach Mark Trakh inserted his backups and gave them approval to shoot from long range.
“We weren’t really aggressive. We weren’t really attacking their zone,” junior guard Taylor Lilley said. “I thought we did a good job of that at the beginning of the game.”
USC shot 57.4 percent (35-of-61) from the field for the game, including 50.0 percent (11-of-22) from three-point range. Oregon shot 34.5 percent (19-of-55) and 25.9 percent (7-of-27) in those two categories, respectively. The Ducks finished the game with 22 turnovers and seven shots blocked by USC.
Four USC players scored in double figures, led by junior guard Heather Oliver (16 points, 7-11 shooting). Senior guard Brynn Cameron had 15 points and four assists, senior guard Camille LeNoir had 13 points and four steals, and freshman forward Briana Gilbreath had 12 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots.
All 12 USC players who entered the game scored, and eight of them had five or more points.
Lilley led the Ducks in scoring with 14 points and five rebounds, and Holliday added 13 points.
“It was disappointing. It was embarrassing for the people that were there,” Smith said. “We’re sorry that we couldn’t come up with a better performance.”
Hangover effect
One possible explanation for the Ducks’ lack of energy Saturday originated in Thursday night’s loss to UCLA, at the hands of sophomore guard Darxia Morris. The Bruins guard banked in a half-court shot as time expired to give UCLA a 70-69 win and avoid a season sweep at the hands of the Ducks. Oregon had come from as far behind as 13 points to secure a two-point lead with 4.6 seconds remaining, undone by Morris’ miracle shot.
“Thursday was tough, but we really wanted to try to bring our aggression from that game to this game,” Holliday said. “But I think we failed at that, and we came out pretty flat in the first half.”
Smith’s final game
Saturday’s game may have been Smith’s final game as head coach of the Ducks at Mac Court, and the mood in the postgame press conference was one of introspection.
“I’m a Duck. I love the University of Oregon. I would do anything for the University of Oregon,” Smith said. “I would love to coach those young women. I wish we would’ve had an opportunity to have the (full) team. Looking back at other coaches at Oregon, I think my record was a lot like Rich Brooks’, and I was hoping that this year would be the Rose Bowl year. But it just didn’t happen, and it’s something you can’t control.”
Smith’s contract expires at the end of the season, and athletic director Pat Kilkenny is not expected to renew her contract.
She remains one of Oregon’s greatest players ever, a two-time All-American and the school’s leading rebounder and second-leading scorer. Smith also holds single-game records for the Ducks in points and rebounds. Her record as a head coach is 123-120 over eight seasons, with one NCAA Tournament appearance, one Women’s National Invitational Tournament championship and five losing seasons.
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