What a roller-coaster season of ups and downs it has become for head coach Bev Smith and the women’s basketball team.
After a week in the desert, there’s been plenty more downs than ups.
The Ducks, down to nine active players due to injuries and suspensions, fell to Arizona on Thursday, 96-65, in Tucson, then couldn’t hold off the potent Arizona State offense and lost to the Sun Devils, 78-63, Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe.
Oregon failed to hold the lead once in either game, as the Ducks (5-8 overall, 1-3 Pacific-10 Conference) were mismatched on the boards by both schools.
Against the Sun Devils, sophomore Brandi Davis had 18 points and sophomore Andrea Bills continued her hot hand with 13 while pulling in a team-high nine rebounds.
Still, it wasn’t enough.
Arizona State (10-3, 2-2) got solid production from Kylan Loney, who hit five 3-pointers and led the team with 21 points. Jill Noe also had a big night, hitting on 10-of-12 free throws en route to 18 points.
“Our effort, work ethic and aggressiveness were much better today,” Smith said. “Our players left the floor dead-dog tired. It hurts to lose a game like this because of how hard we played.”
The Ducks were outrebounded, 41-31, and noticeably missed the presence of junior Cathrine Kraayeveld, who missed her fourth-straight game with a staph infection in her right knee. Kraayeveld is still expected to miss at least five more weeks.
Still, the Ducks figured they put on a better showing than the 31-point blowout victory by Arizona Thursday.
“We all got a little better today,” Davis said. “Sometimes you give your all and it doesn’t go the way you want it to.”
Sophomore Kedzie Gunderson, ever-proving she is deserving of the team’s early season courage award, posted a career-high 12 points. The forward suffered a broken nose against Montana Dec. 19, and has been wearing a face guard to protect it.
The win was Arizona State head coach Charli Turner Thorne’s 100th while with the Sun Devils.
Against Arizona, all Smith could do was praise No. 20 Arizona’s (9-3, 3-1) effort.
The Wildcats shot 53 percent from the field on the night and jumped out to a 43-29 halftime lead.
“Hats off to Arizona,” Smith said. “They really crashed the boards, and we didn’t meet their intensity. We weren’t very aggressive, and we allowed Arizona to get into their game.”
Oregon shot just 40 percent from the floor, but was 9-of-19 from beyond the arc.
However, the Ducks were played poor defense, evidenced by Krista Warren’s 18 points and nine rebounds, and Shawntinice Polk’s 16 points and 11 boards.
Overall, Oregon was outrebounded, 50-27, and just generally out-skilled by the Wildcats.
“Polk is a very good player, and
we didn’t make her pay a price when she had the ball,” Smith said. “We didn’t battle hard enough down low, and our post players need to realize that they have to come with more firepower.”
If anyone on Oregon did capitalize — at least on offense — against the Wildcats, it would’ve been Bills and freshman Carolyn Ganes. The duo combined for 30 points, with Ganes leading the way at 19.
Oregon’s loss to Arizona also marked a milestone. The win was Arizona head coach Joan Bonvicini’s 200th with the Wildcats and was her 525th career victory in 24 seasons with Long Beach State and Arizona.
Oregon must now regroup and look for its second and third wins of the Pac-10 season. But it won’t come easy.
The Ducks host California Thursday at McArthur Court at 7 p.m. Oregon swept the Golden Bears last season, but struggled in a 65-53 victory in Berkeley.
The true test will be against No. 6 Stanford Saturday at 7 p.m. at The Pit. The Cardinal have won the last three contests between the teams, and recently returned star forward Nicole Powell to the lineup.