Monday
Best Bet
Women’s NCAA Basketball: ACC Tournament, final (taped)
7:30 p.m., FoxSports Net
SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com
Wildcats thrust dagger into UO’s postseason
Aaron Farnsworth Arizona Daily Wildcats
Arizona center Loren Woods exploded from a season-long slump to score 17 points against Oregon, including this monsterous, two-handed slam.
■The Oregon men's basketball team flatlines at
\rizona with its worst loss since '92
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
TUCSON, Ariz. — The love fest at
McKale Center began early, and ended
late.
Just like the Arizona domination.
On senior night, 14,545 made up a
sea of red that stretched from the boost
ers on courtside all the way up to the
die-hards in the rafters. They cheered
and hailed their beloved Wildcats
through their every move in Arizona’s
final home game of the year.
There certainly was plenty to be
jovial about for Tucson natives as noth
ing could go wrong for Arizona (21-7
overall, 13-3 Pacific-10 Conference)
Saturday night in a 104-65 laugher.
And, by the way, the team they were
playing was Oregon, but the men in
green hardly made their presence felt as
they wilted away in the desert heat.
“We didn’t handle ourselves well
with our composure in this environ
ment,” said Ernie Kent, Oregon head
coach. “It needs to hurt. They need to
be angry at themselves.”
The 39-point deficit was Oregon’s
worst loss since a 106-54 defeat to the
same Wildcats on Feb. 27, 1992, in
McArthur Court. And if it weren’t for
Arizona’s benchwarmers’ occupying
most of the second-half court time, Sat
Turn to Men’s, page 11
(( To know
exactly
when your
season is
over...you
never want
that.
Freddie Jones
Oregon guard
Aaron Farnsworth Arizona Daily Wildcat
Oregon’s Mark Michaelis (50) tries to stop Arizona’s Lamont Frazier.
Ducks play like champs despite postseason destiny
PEZ SEZ
SCOTT PESZNECKER
It’s been a season of hard lessons
for the Oregon women’s basket
ball team.
The Ducks learned that confi
dence can be fragile, along with knees
and ankles. They learned that no mat
ter how hard you try, it’s hard to be a
go-to player. They found out that op
ponents love to kick you when you’re
down.
But the latest lesson learned has
been the most valuable: Having a con
ference-leading record isn’t the only
characteristic of a true champion.
For the third time in three home
games, the relentless Oregon women
downed a Pacific-10 Conference foe
that is bound for the NCAA tourna
ment. This time, the prey was Arizona,
which fell 83-78.
The Ducks won convincingly, not
trailing once in the final 10 minutes of
play. Junior guard Jamie Craighead
swished three-pointers, building her
single-season school record to 75 treys.
Senior center Jenny Mowe, who domi
nated the paint early, sank a short
jumper. And senior forward Angelina
Wolvert hit all kinds of shots.
Point guard Alissa Edwards dished
out nine assists and, with the score
knotted at 53, sank a three-pointer to
put her team ahead for good with 9:49
left.
It was Oregon basketball, almost at
its best.
Sunday’s game was more than a win. j
It was a last-second shout-out to the
NCAA selection committee, as if
telling it to overlook that loss to UCLA,
because this Duck team is capable of so
much more.
Whether Oregon’s recent perform
ances will be noticed is another story
altogether.
But the point is this: Since losing to
the Bruins and seemingly wiping away
all remaining chances of an invite to
the Big Dance, the Ducks have found a
way to regroup and rebuild.
How did they do it? What was their
motivation?
Earlier this season, lighting a fire un
der the Ducks seemed about as easy as
burning a water-logged chunk of wood.
Yet there was obviously something
burning at McArthur Court as Oregon
withstood Arizona’s attempts to regain
Turn to PezSez, page 13
Laura Smit Emerald
Forward Brianne Meharry scored 12 points against Arizona Saturday.