Oregon daily emerald., March 17, 1997, Page 13, Image 13

On the Web
Second round coverage of
iW-gaL the NCAA women’s tour
nament can be found at:
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~ode
Emerald
NCAA TOURNAMENT: THE FIRST ROUND
Ducks too tough to handle
- Player of
the Game
Ariarne
Boyer had 19 points and
11 rebounds in the first
round victory.
Play of
the Game
^:Oregon's
Natalie Hughes hits a
20-foot jumper with 2:30
left in the game to put
the Ducks ahead by 13
points.
Quote of
the Day
“I think we
knew our size inside was
going to be an asset for
us, and we did a good job
of givingpeople one shot
most of the time."
— Jody Runge
UO head coach
Up Ahead
The Ducks
will face
Tennessee, the defending
national champion, at
4:30 p.m. today
Oregon forward
Arianne Boyer scores
two of her team-high 19
points against the
Aztecs Saturday night.
The senior also
collected 11 rebounds.
MARK McTYRE/Emerald
■ WOMEN: Oregon’s size helped
defeat San Diego State, as the Ducks
look to their game today against the
defending national champion
By Ryan Frank
Sports Reporter
KNOXVILLE, Term. — It was expected to
be a game of defenses, but Oregon’s 80-68
victory over San Diego State in the first
round of the Midwest Region Saturday was
anything but a defensive battle.
The No. 11 seeded Aztecs came into the
game giving up only 51 points per game, the
second fewest in the nation, and forcing
more than 27 turnovers per game.
Apparently someone forgot to tell the
Ducks.
Four Ducks scored in double-digits as
they shot 57.7 percent from the field, in
cluding 68.2 percent in the first half, and
turned the ball over just 16 times.
“In the first half, I was really surprised
how well they handled our pressure,” San
Diego State forward Jodi Nowlin-Tres said.
However, the Aztecs (23-7 overall) were
able to pressure the Ducks early as they
jumped out to a 12-7 lead with 13 minutes,
40 seconds remaining in the half. Nowlin
Tres carried the Aztecs to the lead with 10
of their first 12 points.
Turn to WOMEN, Page 14
The NCAA puts
Oregon to the test
Knoxville,
Tenn. — Like
any sport these
days, making it
to the postseason is the
easy part, but finishing
is what defines the good
from the elite.
The Oregon women’s
basketball team has ac
Mark
McTyre
compnsnea me easy part — and has even
taken a step toward finishing — but if the
Ducks want to earn the respect they’ve
been asking for all season, it is time for
them to walk the walk.
To do so, Oregon will have to beat the al
most insurmountable odds favoring the
Tennessee Lady Volunteers. Better put, the
Ducks will have to beat the definition of
women’s basketball.
Let me give you a brief history of the
Lady Vols.
—They’re the defending national cham
Turn to McTYRE, Page 14
Seven Ducks to compete at championships
■ WRESTLING:
Senior Scott
Norton will take
one last shot at
the title
By Ryan Halvorsen
Sports Reporter
The final stage of the season is fast ap
proaching for the Oregon wrestling team
with the national championships in Cedar
Falls, Iowa, less than a week away. The
Ducks, ranked 17th in the nation, will send
seven wrestlers, three of those making re
turn trips to the tournament.
The three returning wrestlers, Scott Nor
ton at 150 pounds, Jeremy Ensrud at 134
and Rich Polkinghorn at heavyweight,
know what the national meet is all about,
and all of their first time jitters were spent
at their first appearance against the nation’s
best.
“Last year was my first year, and there
were thousands of people there, and the
seats were filled,” Polkinghorn said. "It af
fects you.”
“I’m a lot more relaxed [this year], and
I’m just worried about going out there and
winning,” Ensrud said.
Norton, along with Ensrud, is making his
third appearance at nationals, and he is
looking to erase his disappointing perfor
mance of a year ago when he was bounced
Turn to WRESTLING, Page 16
--I
OHAO PATTE9ON/EfTl0faW"
Scott Norton
and six other
Ducks will
test their
skills against
the rest of the
nation this
Thursday at
the NCAA
Wrestling Na
tional Cham
pionship in
Cedar Falls,
Iowa.