sports
Oregon tangles with league-leading Arizona
By Brent De La Paz
Of the Kmemld
In a country where the sun, desert,
cactus and wildlife are just some of the
dangers in the Southwestern part of the
United States, the Oregon men's basket
ball team has found another.
The Ducks find themselves in Tucson,
Arizona for a Pacfic-10 Conference game
against the league-leading University of
Arizona Wildcats starting tonight at 7:35
in the McKale Center.
Arizona coach Lute Olson's team has
been one of the surprises of Pac-10 this
year. The Wildcats, 19-6 overall, are sit
ting in a first place tie at 10-3 for the
Pac-lO’s top spot with Southern
California.
With only five games remaining,
Olson knows his team can’t afford a loss
at this juncture in order to win the title.
“Well. I hope we have enough energy
left to play." Olson says about the
Oregon game tonight, Arizona’s third
game in six days.
“This crazy Pac-10 scheduling makes
everyone get weeks likes this. It makes
no sense at all,” Olson says. “Four
games in an eight-day period. It is a little
tough.”
The Wildcats are just beginning to un
pack their suitcases after playing a Mon
day night game against the Washington
State Cougars in Pullman, Wash. The
result was a hard-fought 63-60 win for
the Wildcats, but Arizona must now face
the two Oregon schools with the league
championship hanging in the balance.
"I think our kids will be ready,” says
Olson, who complained of only one
preparation day for the Ducks. “Every
game is vital.”
Vital is what the game means to
Oregon, who could have its second win
ning season under coach Don Monson.
The Ducks, 12-13 overall and 5-7 in the
Pac-10, aren’t thinking about a league
championship, but they consider the
Arizona game as a chance to make up for
the last meeting betweeen these two
teams.
That game, an easy 73-54 Arizona vic
tory at McArthur Court, has Monson and
the Ducks looking to even the score. An
Arizona loss would possibly prevent the
Wildcats from winning their first-ever
Pac-10 basketball title.
“I got extremely beat bad in my own
gym,” Monson says of the last contest
between the two in January.
Monson remembers the shellacking
and so do the Ducks, who would like
nothing better than to knock the
Wildcats from their lofty position atop
the standings.
The Ducks in their past two games
have gained some momentum after
sweeping the Washington schools last
week. The momentum seems to be hit
ting Oregon’s 7-foot center Blair
Rasmussen right in stride. Rasmussen,
last week's Pac-10 Player of the Week,
has three consecutive 20-point and
above performances and that has Olson
worried.
“He (Rasmussen) is going to get his
points,” Olson says. “We match up ex
tremely well in all the other four
positions.”
Arizona has the quick guard combina
tion of Steve Kerr and Brock Brunkhorst.
Their pinpoint outside shooting has
opened up the inside for the Pac-10's
version of the “Bruise Brothers.”
The Wildcats have one the best front
lines in the league with forwards Eddie
Smith and Morgan Taylor and center
Pete Williams. Smith, a 6-7 senior, has
been hitting at a 16.4 points per game,
while Williams has been hitting 12.5 and
8.8 rebounds per Pac-10 game.
Ducks hope to nab NorPac playoff spot
By Robert Collias
Of the Emerald
The Oregon women’s basketball team will try
to nail down a playoff spot this weekend as the
Ducks travel to the state of Washington to take on
two NorPac Conference opponents. Oregon will
play the 12th-ranked University of Washington
Huskies tonight at 7:30 and then venture to
Pullman to face the Washington State University
Cougars on Saturday night.
A win in either game this weekend will
clinch a NorPac playoff spot for the Ducks.
Oregon, 11-12 and 4-4 in the NorPac, is currently
tied for third in the conference with Fresno State
University with seven points. Washington (13
points) and Oregon State (12 points) have clinch
ed, the top, two spots IjV the league.
In the conference’s complicated scoring
system, each game this weekend is worth one
point because the teams will be meeting for the
second time this season. In games in which the
opponents meet each other once during the
season, the contests are worth two points.
Against the Huskies, Oregon will be facing a
team that is on a roll. Washington is 21-1 overall
and 8-0 in the NorPac. The Huskies, who have
won 16 games in a row, beat the Ducks in Eugene
earlier this year, 65-57,
Washington is led by All-American can
didate Leteia Hughley, who is averaging 18.6
points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Hughley
scored 21 points in the first meeting between the
two schools.
Hughley is one of the finest shooters and ball
handlers in the country,” Oregon coach Elwin
Heiny says. “We will have to stop her if we plan
on beating Washington.”
Oregon’s best chance for a victory this
weekend will be against Washington State at
Pullman Saturday night. WSU, 9-14 overall and
3-5 in the NorPac, are one of the four teams in
CPmpjeUtio« for thfttyyo tejpaining Ni^PacplayoffL
Jspots. The Cougars fro dhOregon’sheefs wfro si*
NorPac points.
‘‘The Washington State game could be for a
playoff spot,” Heiny says.
The Ducks have won three games in a row at
home, and Heiny hopes his team will be ready to
continue its winning ways on the road.
“We have been playing well at home, but we
need to keep it going on the road,” Heiny says.
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Swimmers ready for PacWest
The Oregon men’s and
women’s swimming teams
will open up post-season
competition with the
PacWest Championships to
day through Saturday in
Seattle. The women will be
trying to improve on their
seventh place finish of a year
ago, and the men will try to
match their second place
finish.
“Everybody seems to be
pretty excited,’’ Oregon
coach Dan Cole says. “And
they all Ipok pretty good. In
workouts; Tve‘re just
ing up, getting relaxed.”
According to Cole,
Washington will again be the
favorite in the women’s com
petition. Runaway winners
last year, Washington has a
lot of depth. They are led by
Nancy Gillingham in the
sprint freestyle races. The
Huskies’ Twila Porter and
Jana Ellis also are favored to
win a lot of events.
Other teams Cole figures
will be in the women’s title
chase are Washington State,
Cal-San Diego, Oregon and
Montana, but none will
challenge Washington. The
Huskies won last year’s
meet.
In the men’s competition,
Washington, is again the
favorite and defending
cTiampion, but Cal-San Diego
should be a close second.
After those two, Oregon,
Puget Sound and the Univer
sity of San Diego will battle
for third.
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