Heading into Thursday’s contest at McArthur Court, Washington State had some things going for it.
First off, the Cougars lost by only four to Oregon when the two teams met earlier this season. Secondly, their last Pacific-10 Conference road victory was on Feb. 15, 2001, at Mac Court.
The Ducks knew all of that, and they didn’t let it get in their way.
Oregon had six players score in double figures as the Ducks easily defeated Washington State, 85-52, in front of 4,087 fans.
Sophomore Brandi Davis led the team with 17 points on the strength of four 3-pointers, while Cathrine Kraayeveld, Amy Taylor and Carolyn Ganes all pitched in with 13. For good measure, sophomore Andrea Bills finished the night with 11, and sophomore Kedzie Gunderson had 10.
“We were really looking to get the best shots we could,” Kraayeveld said. “We really wanted to execute our plays.”
The win gives Oregon its first three-game winning streak of the season after the Ducks outlasted California and Oregon State in their two previous contests. Oregon also held an opponent to under 60 points for the fourth-straight game.
But the way the Ducks (11-13 overall, 7-8 Pac-10) handled Washington State was most important, especially after struggling against the Cougars in Pullman. In that game, the Ducks — minus Kraayeveld — shot just 44 percent from the field in a 73-69 victory.
Back then, Oregon led by one at halftime, and never was able to take control of the game.
This time around, it was a different story. The Ducks shot just less than 59 percent while limiting the Cougars to less than 38 percent from the field. That was a team goal, according to head coach Bev Smith.
“We’re a better team defensively,” she said when asked about the differences between the games. “We just made it a collective effort that we had to get better defensively. Our players really respect that team and they sent us a message when we played up there.”
The Ducks sent a message themselves with the win, though, proving they are playing their best basketball of the season when it matters the most.
Smith pointed out the fact that Oregon made 34 shots against the Cougars, and on 26 of those, Oregon was awarded an assist.
Every Oregon player played at least 13 minutes in the victory, and all but senior Kourtney Shreve scored. Oregon’s victory was truly a team effort.
“We created a lead and I think it gave everyone a chance to get comfortable,” Taylor said.
Taylor’s 13 points marked a career high for the sophomore, while Kraayeveld and Bills both missed double-doubles by one rebound. It would have been the 18th career-time for Kraayeveld while for Bills, it would have been the first time she would have achieved the feat.
“We went out and played hard and had fun from the get go,” Kraayeveld said. “We really tried to focus on not looking past (Washington State). We played great defensively and did what we wanted to do.”
The win, coupled with a USC loss to Stanford and an Oregon State victory over Washington, pushes the Ducks into a tie for fifth place in the Pac-10. Oregon, along with the Trojans and Beavers, sports a 7-8 record in conference play.
With Washington — reeling after a 100-86 loss to Oregon State in Corvallis on Thursday — coming to Mac Court on Saturday, Oregon must move forward.
At least that was the consensus view.
“It’s our next game, so it’s the most important one,” Smith said. “We know what they run, and that really doesn’t count unless you apply and get out on the floor and do things you need to do.”