It was hard not to notice Cicely Oaks on the floor or bench Monday night at McArthur Court. The junior from Portland highlighted her team and season-high 15 points with fist pumps and crossovers leading Oregon to a 70-40 win over Drake.
“It’s always easy to have confidence when you’re making shots,” Oaks said. “When I make shots I get pumped, and I like to get my teammates into it so they can start hitting shots. I just like to have fun.”
Oaks’ swagger on the court delighted most of the 3,063 fans in attendance and is a sign of her new-found confidence developed this season. Prior to 2005, she saw limited action as an underclassman, but thanks to rigorous off-season workouts she has made herself into coach Bev Smith’s most productive reserve.
“I’m very happy with Cicely,” Smith said. “This young lady has a lot of credible basketball potential. She’s a great athlete, she’s very strong. Her success this year has been because that young lady committed to her fitness this summer and ran her butt off every day and got ready to play.”
Most of Oaks’ points came from the free-throw line where she was a flawless 10 for 10. She was not the only substitute on Smith’s roster who left her mark on the game – the fifth-year head coach cleared her entire bench. Not one Duck saw less than 11 minutes of action or failed to score from the field. Oaks’ teammate Brandi Davis also reached double figures going five for six from the field. Her 12 points helped Oregon’s reserves outscore their starters 52-18. Davis ended a late spurt by the Bulldogs with a three-point play with just less than a minute left in regulation.
Kristen Forristall added eight points of her own for the Ducks despite playing only 14 minutes. Kedzie Gunderson and Gabrielle Richards both had five points and led Oregon with eight rebounds apiece.
Oregon’s motion offense combined with Smith’s constant player rotation made running Drake’s offense hectic for coach Amy Stephens.
“It’s hard to prepare for a team like that because they have so many weapons offensively,” Stephens said. “Personally, I think they get better as they sub. They get quicker and more athletic and the offense is more dynamic.”
Stephens marveled at Oregon’s offense after the game but had no sympathy for her team’s output. The loss drops Drake’s record to 2-2.
“I’m very disappointed in our performance, but Oregon’s a good basketball team, and they made us do a lot of things tonight,” Stephens said. “They exploited our weaknesses and did some good things and you have to give them credit.”
Leading the Bulldogs in points were Jill Martin and Jane Horkey who both had eight. Martin also grabbed four rebounds playing in all but 11 minutes of the game. As accurate as Drake was at free throws, making 12 of 13, the Bulldogs were just as off-target from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs made only two of their 19 three-point shots – forward Lindsay Whorton accounted for both.
The Ducks (5-1) have 12 days until they face against Prairie View A&M Dec. 10 at the Pape Jam in Portland. Oregon has five more road games before returning home to start Pacific-10 Conference play. The Ducks host California and Stanford Jan. 5 and 7.

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