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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 1999)
Matt Hankim'T.memld Senior guard Natasha O'Brien keeps a close eye on Idaho's Jennae Krell in the Ducks' 76 58 victory earlier this season at McArthur Court. Ducks look for split in desert To remain contenders for the Pac-10 title, Oregon needs a victory over Arizona State By Allison Ross Oregon Daily Emerald Hopefully the Oregon women’s basketball team en joyed its stay in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll, because it probably won’t last long after a 78-74 loss to Arizona on Thurs day. Now the Ducks must rebound, not only to avoid a sweep, but to avoid falling out of contention for the Pacific-10 Conference championship. Oregon (14-4 overall, 5-2 Pac 10) finishes its road trip in the desert when it travels to Tempe tomorrow to face the Arizona State Sun Devils (8-7, 2-2). Oregon won nine of its last 10 contests before falling to the Wildcats, while the Sun Devils, burdened with injuries since conference play began, have won just two conference games, in cluding a 57-53 win over Oregon State on Thursday. Arizona State’s biggest setback came when freshman for ward Leah Combs fell on Dec. 30 with stress fractures in both legs. Combs was al most averaging a double double, scoring 10 points and grabbing nine rebounds per game. On a more positive note, fresh man Theresa Jantzen is healthy and is making an impact for the Sun Devils. The 6-foot-3 forward came off the bench to record her first double-double in Arizona State’s loss to Arizona on Jan. 16. The Sun Devils also tied a school record against the Wild cats by hitting nine three-point ers in 22 attempts. "This is probably the best perimeter shooting we’ve had in my tenure,” Arizona State head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “It really is kind of fun to have better shooting, but honestly it’s not something we go out and try to do. If it’s there, we take it.” Oregon struggled from the arc on Thursday, making just one three-pointer in seven attempts. If Arizona State pressures Ore gon the way Arizona did and can continue to hit its three pointers, this crucial game for Oregon could prove to be more difficult than expected. “Arizona State is tough, and they’ve improved a lot the last couple years,” Oregon senior Sonja Curtis said. "We need to take care of business, and we can’t play like we did [against Arizonal the rest of the sea son.” Defending House, Lazor is paramount for a Duck victory Oregon needs to contain the Pac-lO’s highest-scoring tandem to earn its first Pac-10 home win By Tim Pyle Oregon Daily Emerald If any team knows how to defend the confer ence’s most prolific scoring tandem, it should be Oregon. Ducks men’s basketball assistant coach Don Newman directed Arizona State as interim head coach last season, calling plays for guard Eddie House and forward Bobby Lazor, who rank second and third in the Pacific-10 Conference in scoring, respectively, and combine for nearly 39 points per game. Head coach Ernie Kent will assuredly call on Newman’s expertise Saturday when Arizona State (10-8, 2-4) visits McArthur Court to battle Oregon (10-6, 2-5) at 3:05 p.m. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net. The Sun Devils have suffered multiple nar row defeats in league play, similar to the Ducks. On its Pac-10 opening road swing through Southern California, Arizona State lost to the Irojans and UCLA by a com bined five points, with the loss to the Bruins going to overtime. After handily beating both Washington schools at home to even their Pac-10 record, the Sun Devils were unable to conquer the close-game hump against archri val Arizona on Jan. 14, losing 74-73 at home. Arizona State’s visit to the Northwest began on a sour note Thursday night, as Oregon State tram pled the Sun Devils 81-51 in Corvallis. Before that blowout loss, Arizona State had been averaging al most 77 points per game, which was good for third in the conference. The Sun Devils’ biggest team strengths have been free-throw shooting and assists. They ranked first in the conference from the foul line at more than 73 percent and second in the Pac-10 in assists at nearly 18 per game heading into this week’s games. Lazor leads the team in rebounding and field goal percentage and ranks second in free-throw percentage in addition to his scoring. His 8.5 re bounds per game also place him fourth in the Pac-10, and his better than 50 percent field-goal shooting and .780 conversion rate from the line rank eighth and 10th in the conference, respec tively. House’s penchant for theft leaves him third in the Pac-10 at 2.24 steals per game, and he ranks eighth in the league in free-throw percentage, making more than 79 percent of his freebies. On Tap WHO: Arizona State (10-8,2-4) at Oregon (10-6, 2-5) WHEN: Saturday, 3:05 p.m. WHERE: McArthur Court Rodman wants to play this season Former Chicago Bulls star Dennis Rodman won’t decide where to play until next week By Greg Beacham The Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY — Dennis Rodman’s agent said today that the flamboyant seven-time rebounding champion won’t be making his next move until next week. Rodman announced Wednes day on his Web site that he had changed his mind and decided not to retire. His agent, Dwight Manley, confirmed that Rodman wants to play in the NBA this season. During a press conference today for Karl Malone, another of Man ley’s clients, the agent’s cellular phone rang repeatedly. Manley said the calls were from teams in terested in Rodman, although he refused to name them. Manley said there will be no deal for Rodman’s services before next week. After flying to Toronto today, Manley plans to return to Los Angeles on Friday and speak to Rodman after his appearance on the "Tonight Show.” “I’ve been reviewing my op tions,” Rodman wrote in his Web site message, “and those options still include playing in the NBA this season with a contender. Chicago, New York and L. A. are all cities I’d like to play in. Playing overseas could be pretty cool, too.” Rodman announced Tuesday he would sit out a year as rumors spread that he was about to be traded to the New York Knicks. “OK, so here’s the deal,” Rod man’s Web site message began. “I’ve had some long discussions with the people I love, the ones whose opin ions matter most to me, and I’ve de cided not to retire after all. “1 know yesterday 1 said I was history, and with the NBA lockout and everything going on, I really thought I should stop playing.” Aftergoing on about his supposed options in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, Rodman wrote: “There’s one tiling I have always told my fans I would do in my last game that I still haven’t done. I’m sure you know what it is, but I still have to come back for at least one more game so that I can get buck naked on the court,” Rodman wrote. If the Bulls plan to resuscitate a sign-and-trade deal for Rodman, they’ll have to do so by 2 p.m. EST today, when teams can start mak ing deals. Chicago is expected to renounce its rights to Michael Jor dan and execute sign-and-trade deals for Scottie Pippen (to Hous ton), Luc Longley (to Phoenix) and Steve Kerr (to San Antonio). Sports Brief Track and field meets in Reno and Eugene The indoor track and field season kicks off for the Oregon men’s and women’s teams this weekend as both squads send a select group of athletes to compete at the Silver State Invita tional Saturday in Reno, Nev. Those who do not make the trip to Reno will have the option to compete on Sunday at the Eugene Indoor at the Lane County Fairgrounds. The Oregon men will send a group of 15 to Reno, comprising mainly middle distance runners and jumpers. The 800 features Pa cific-10 Conference scorers and seniors Greg James and Richard Girvan, along with newcomer Ross Krempley. Steve Fein, who transferred to Oregon from Wisconsin in Septem ber, will join juniors Todd Humcke and Laird Prosser in Reno as some of the mile’s fastest entries. In the jumps, previous Pac-10 champions Kyley Johnson and Pi otr Buciarski begin their seasons in the high jump and pole vault. Howard Moore could be one of the top entrants in the 400-meter dash after garnering an outdoor-season best of46.83 seconds last spring. The Oregon women will have the chance to see their newest pair of recruits in action as freshmen Endla Abrante and Alexis Yeater will open their careers at the invita tional. The Ducks will also show some youth in the pole vault, where freshman Nikki Reed, for mer Oregon state champion, will join forces with sophomores Kari na Elstrom and Holly Speight. The Eugene Indoor will be the only indoor meet of the season to be held in Eugene. Martin Smith, in his first year as men’s head coach, wants to place more emphasis on the indoor circuit this season. Two pivotal matches await UO in Portland By Scott Pesznecker Oregon Daily Emerald Before the competition gets any easier for the Oregon wrestling team, it will get much more difficult. The Ducks, who are on a three-game losing streak and hold a 3-3 dual meet record, travel to Portland today to com pete in the 16th Annual Wrestling Classic. Oregon faces No. 10 Nebraska at 6:30 p.m., then Portland State at 8:15 p.m. WRESTLING Unfortu nately for Oregon, the Huskers will be hungry for a win after losing meets to No. 3 Iowa and No. 6 Okla homa. And to complicate things for the Ducks, Nebraska’s weak est point is at 133 pounds—the weight class in which Oregon has no choice but to forfeit. ‘They’re a very solid team from top to bottom,” Oregon head coach Chuck Kearney said. “Ironically, they are probably most suspect at 133, and we don’t have a 133-pounder, but there will be a lot of great matchups. ” Two ofthose great matchups will take place in the upper weights. Oregon’s Doug Lee, ranked No. 17 at 184 pounds, will go against No. 7 Brad Vering. In the past, the two wrestlers have split 1-1 against each other, in cluding a victory by Lee at the NCAA Tournament last March. At the 197-pound weight class, No. 9 Chael Sonnen will wrestle No. 15 Scott Munson. According to Kearney, Mun son is much like the Beavers’ Shane Zajac, whom Sonnen beat last Saturday in Corvallis. Sonnen believes he can wrestle well against Munson. “It’s no big deal,” Sonnen said. “If it was the No. 1 guy or the No. 20 guy, any of them can beat me, and I can beat any of them, so I really don’t care.” While sizing themselves up against Nebraska, the Ducks must remember that they have a second opponent for the evening. The Vikings are a new team to Division 1-A wrestling, and Kear ney said the team’s youth could be their most dangerous threat. “It’s a dual that we have to get up and wrestle to,” he said. “There’s nothing scarier in the world than a freshman or sophomore who has nothing to lose and everything to gain. ” The Ducks have been incon sistent this season, winning their first three dual meets before los ing the next three. Sonnen said the reason for the turbulence was simply a matter of “bad timing.” Hopefully the team will bounce back, because the V ikings could be the easiest opponent re maining on Oregon’s schedule.
