Oregon women’s basketball coach Paul Westhead has made no secret of the flexibility of his starting lineup in the exhibition season. The final decision on the five starters against Willamette was apparently made on the floor, seconds before tip-off.
“Right when the game started. Everyone was sitting on the bench, talking about what was going on,” shooting guard Ashley Buis said. “They were like, ‘Ashley, sit down.’ I was like, OK. I had no idea.”
Buis (pronounced BI-as), a junior college transfer from Linden, Ind., was suiting up for her first appearance as a Duck in a game situation. (Oregon’s 121-41 dismantling of Willamette, and its upcoming game against Westmont (Calif.) College, do not count in the official standings). She wound up jumping from the bench, slapping hands with her teammates, throwing a T-shirt into the crowd — and starting the game.
“That was quite the shocker to begin with,” she said. “Once the ball was tipped, the nerves kind of went down with it. It took about, probably the first 30 seconds (to get comfortable).”
Buis missed Oregon’s first two shots of the game, two three-pointers, committed a turnover, fouled a Willamette player and recorded a steal before making her first shot, a layup with 19:09 remaining in the first half. She finished with 18 points (7-15 on field goals, 4-10 on three-pointers) and four steals in 16 minutes.
“I was kind of pleased with the performance of Ashley Buis,” Westhead said. “The decision to start her was, if anything, pure instinct. I was kind of pleased with her shooting and her willingness to keep shooting. Shooters don’t care; they just shoot.”
Every Duck available — center Ellyce Ironmonger was ruled out with an ankle injury — played against the Bearcats. Like Buis, freshmen Chynna Miley, Ariel Thomas, Danielle Love and Deanna Weaver saw their first true action in Oregon uniforms.
“Individually, they each have great skill sets,” forward Amanda Johnson said. “Each of them contributed in their own way.”
Feelings toward those contributions were generally mixed.
“I could have got down the floor faster a few times, got to my man a few times,” said Buis. “That was, I think, my hardest struggle, was picking up on defense.”
Pace and flow were inconsistent despite the eyebrow-raising margin of victory. Westhead substituted liberally throughout the game, with four and five Ducks thrown into line changes as he and the coaching staff continued to search for lineups that work.
The result was occasionally sloppy play — Oregon and Willamette combined for 70 turnovers, 55 of them by the Bearcats — and all manner of mental errors.
“We were supposed to call ‘Ball in!’ (from the bench) to alert whoever was face-guarding (on in-bounds plays) that the ball was in,” freshman forward Danielle Love said. “We should have done that better.”
The freshman from Everett, Wash. described the McArthur Court experience as “really exhilarating” and admitted to nervousness up until she made her first basket. Love, as a trailing big in Westhead’s offense, hit a three-pointer to put Oregon ahead 49-21 with 2:41 remaining in the first half. She finished with eight points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 19 minutes.
“Offensively, I should have done more boarding (rebounding), but I felt like I was where I was supposed to be with my speed and running down the court,” Love said.
Freshman forward Deanna Weaver also filled up the stat sheet, with eight points, eight rebounds, two blocks, two steals and three assists in 19 minutes.
“Deanna kind of showed everybody her athleticism,” Johnson said of the Santa Clara, Calif. native.
Guard Ariel Thomas scored seven points and pulled down five rebounds in 15 minutes. Forward Chynna Miley played just four minutes; she had two rebounds but did not score.
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