The Ducks’ fast-paced offense and a number of mismatches exploited by Oregon head coach Bev Smith and her squad facilitated Oregon’s sixth win of the season on Saturday in Portland against Prairie View A&M.
Oregon scored the game’s first four points and never looked back, finishing 102-36 in the Pape Jam. The Ducks limited the Panthers to making 18.6 percent of shots from the field and five of 19 three-point shots.
The Ducks came into the game on the heels of a 12-day break from competition. Smith said the rest played a part in Saturday’s win.
“We’ve had 12 days off, and it helped us focus on the important things tonight,” she said.
A combined effort
For the second straight game, every player on Smith’s roster had a hand in scoring. No Duck scored less than three points.
Smith’s starters ended with 49 points, leaving 53 points to Oregon’s bench. Senior guard Brandi Davis was the most productive reserve, scoring 14 points, three rebounds and an assist.
Height advantage
Oregon’s front court players were virtually unchallenged by the Panthers’ starting forwards who, with the exception of Twila Stokes, are all under six-feet tall. This mismatch helped the Ducks to 54 rebounds and 23 second chance points.
“We certainly are a bigger and stronger team than them and we took advantage of that,” Smith said.
Gabrielle Richards led the Ducks with 16 points and nine rebounds, one board short of her second career double double. The six-foot-three center towered over Stokes and Prairie View A&M’s other forwards.
“We knew we had a size advantage,” Richards said. “We did a good job staying disciplined.”
Junior forward Carolyn Ganes of Oregon grabbed six rebounds of her own alongside a trio of teammates who finished with four.
Foul trouble
Prairie View A&M stumbled out of the gate, recording three fouls in the first 1:01 minutes of regulation play. Oregon enjoyed the final seven minutes of the first half in double bonus. The Panthers ended the first frame with 11 team fouls and finished with 23 total.
The Ducks capitalized on Prairie View A&M’s foul trouble by going 22-27 from the free throw line. The Panthers did not fair as well. They made 50 percent of their charity shots.
Speed kills
The Ducks rewarded themselves on offense by utilizing speed. Oregon guards sprinted past defenders, leaving them open for lay-ups and two-on-one situations. Oregon helped itself to eight fast-break points.
Threes aplenty
Oregon was 8-11 from beyond the arc with five players making three-point shots. Davis led the Ducks in three pointers, shooting a flawless 4-4. Kedzie Gunderson, Kaela Chapdelaine, Chelsea Wagner and Cicely Oaks all added a three-pointer of their own.
