Sports Editor:
Adam Jude
adamj ude@dailyemerald. com
Assistant Sports Editor:
Jeff Smith
jeffsmith@dailyemerald. com
Tuesday, November 27,2001
Late surge not
enough for UO
■ Despite 72-65 loss, the Ducks are able to gauge
where they stand against No. 8 Texas Tech
By Adam Jude
Oregon Daily Emerald
It seemed destined for another miracle at Mac Court.
Trailing 63-52 with less than four minutes to play, the
Oregon women’s basketball team came scorching back to
within three points in the final minute against No. 8 Texas
Tech on Monday at McArthur Court.
Guards Shaquala Williams and Ed
niesha Curry had back-to-back steals
to cut the Lady Raiders’ lead to 66-63
with 54 seconds left, and after two
missed free throws by Texas Tech’s
Casey Jackson, Curry took a pass from
Williams and found herself open be
yond the three-point arc.
“We had a wide-open three at the
end, and that’s as good as it gets,” Oregon head coach Bev
Smith said. “If that goes, it’s a whole different ballgame.”
Curry’s three sailed long, and her next two shots could
n’t find the bottom of the net either, as the Ducks ended a
five-game, nine-day stretch with a 72-65 loss to Texas Tech
in front of 4,206 fans.
For the second straight game, the Lady Raiders nearly
Turn to Women’s, page 6
' i
_m
Adam Amato Emerald
Texas Tech’s
Plenette Pierson
grabs one of her
12 rebounds
over Oregon’s
Shaquala
Williams in the
Lady Raiders’
72-65 win
Monday at
McArthur Court.
Texas Tech won
the battle of the
boards, 48-36.
Texas Tech’s rebounding advantage sparks win over Ducks
■The Lady Raiders dominated
the paint against Oregon, which
helped lead them to a
seven-point victory
By Hank Hager
Oregon Daily Emerald
Texas Tech isn’t No. 8 in the
country for nothing.
In what ultimately came down to
the battle of the boards, the Lady
Raiders outrebounded Bev Smith’s
Oregon squad, propelling Texas Tech
to its second win of the season and
sending the Ducks their third loss.
With a backcourt that could
match any in the country, Oregon
knew it had to neutralize Texas
Tech’s inside game, especially
when it came to getting offensive
rebounds. The Ducks couldn’t do
that, though, and allowed the Lady
Raiders’ offense to get second and
third chances. Texas Tech scored
10 second chance points in the first
half, as opposed to Oregon’s three.
“We knew the guards could be a
standoff, so we needed to take ad
vantage in the paint,” Texas Tech
head coach Marsha Sharp said.
“Any time you’re on the road, you
have to play great defense and get
the rebounds.”
The Ducks were unable to keep
the Lady Raiders away from the
ball offensively in the first half,
surrendering 14 offensive re
bounds while collecting only three
of their own. Texas Tech junior
Plenette Pierson victimized the
Ducks for seven total rebounds in
the half, including four off of Lady
Raiders’ missed shots.
“In the first half, they got some
key rebounds that hurt us,” Ore
gon freshman Andrea Bills said.
The Lady Raiders’ rebounding
advantage in the first half allowed
them to take 36 shots but they only
connected on 11, allowing the
Ducks to stay in the game.
“We knew we had to crash the
boards because their guards were go
ing to run,” Texas Tech sophomore
Casey Jackson said. “When you
shoot like that, you have to rebound. ”
The Ducks seemed to sense the
urgency to pick up their play in the
second half and grabbed 21 re
bounds while allowing the Lady
Raiders to collect 22. Oregon
picked up nine offensive rebounds
and held Texas Tech to only six. But
Sharp’s squad utilized their shots in
the half, connecting on 12 of 25.
Pierson played a huge role in
controlling the paint, scoring 22
points and grabbing 12 rebounds,
both game-highs.
“She’s a go-to player,” Smith said
about the Lady Raiders’ leading scor
er. “In a game such as this, you want
to give her the ball. She hit some
shots and they are eighth in the na
tion because of her contributions. ”
Overall, Texas Tech held the
Ducks to 36 rebounds while grab
bing 48 of its own. What really made
the difference, though, was the Lady
Raiders’ 20 offensive rebounds.
“Our post players certainly have
to come down a little bit more ag
gressively with that ball,” Smith
said. “That’s a learning process
and we’ll work to improve it. ”
Emerald sports reporter Hank Hager can be
reached at hankhager@dailyemerald.com.
Civil War week begins for antsy UO
■The Ducks hit the practice
field Monday with renewed
energy after not playing
a game since Nov. 10
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
Sitting, waiting, practicing,
resting, watching and eating.
Finally, after two weeks of
nothingness, it’s game week.
But not just any game week. It’s
Civil War week.
“It’s here. I can’t wait. We’re
ready,” defensive lineman
Chris Tetterton said.
A lot has happened since the
Ducks (9-1 overall, 6-1 Pacific
10 Conference) last played Nov.
10, when they beat UCLA.
Good teams have since lost,
and Oregon has been guaran
teed at least a trip to the Fiesta
Bowl, regardless of what hap
pens against Oregon State.
But while the Ducks have re
mained in contention for the na
tional championship, they didn’t
receive much help Monday from
the new Bowl Championship Se
ries rankings, which has Oregon
at No. 5. Miami moved into the
top spot, followed by Florida,
Texas and Nebraska.
“I thought we’d move up a
couple, but oh well, what are
you gonna do?” tight end Justin
Peelle said.
“I think the problem is not
playing,” Oregon head coach
Mike Bellotti said. “Had we
played and secured a victory I
think it would have changed
things. I certainly would like to
be higher, but I think we have to
win this last game.”
The game against the Beavers
begins at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at
Autzen Stadium. Oregon has
treated the contest as its first
bowl game and has tried to use
its time off wisely. But even
Bellotti admitted that the long
break between regular season
games is a little ridiculous.
“We’re used to one-week
byes and sitting back, and that
was OK, but the second week
in a row of sitting around and
watching other people play got
very old for me,” Bellotti said.
“Watching other people deter
mine our fate, I’m tired of that.”
There was plenty for Oregon
to watch these last couple of
weeks. On Nov. 17, Washing
ton’s victory in the Apple Cup
secured the Ducks’ Fiesta Bowl
berth and took some of the pres
sure of having to win the Civil
War off their backs.
And this past weekend, the
losses of Nebraska and Okla
homa certainly grabbed Ore
gon’s attention.
“I watched a lot of football. A
lot of crazy stuff happened,”
linebacker David Moretti said.
“Nebraska, by the way they got
beat, and Oklahoma — both
were pretty big shockers. It
shows you that in a rival game,
you throw everything out. ”
With a win against Oregon
State, the Ducks could have a
chance to finish first or
Turn to Football, page 8
Men hit road for first trip,
look to ‘a-Mass’ 5th victory
■The Oregon hoopsters will look
to thwart U Mass’ revenge bid
in Springfield, Mass, tonight
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
The Oregon men’s basketball locomo
tive keeps on chugging through the pre
season.
The latest victim? Louisville.
Tonight’s candidate for steamrolling is
Massachusetts.
The Ducks already ran over the Min
utemen once, last season at the Pape
Jam, 91-76, the same tournament where
Oregon (4-0 overall) toppled Louisville
on Saturday, 9Q-63.
The most important part of the
Ducks’ trip to Massachusetts may be the
trip itself.
“It’s good to get out by ourselves,”
Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said.
“Typically, my teams have really grown
together when they can just be the guys
out there.”
The Ducks flew out to the East Coast
on Sunday after their game Saturday
night, and have spent their time touring
the Basketball Hall of Fame in Spring
field, Mass., among other tilings.
“It’s a good chance for them to go
back there and get a little sense of histo
ry,” Kent said. “Hopefully they’ll learn a
new respect for the game and how it all
started.”
On the court, the game should be
hard-fought. The Ducks embarrassed
the Minutemen last year in Portland,
and UMass will be looking to avenge
that loss.
Even without the revenge factor,
tonight’s game could be gritty. The Min
utemen play tough defense, and have
given up just 59.5 points per game this
season. Oregon has also found defen
sive intensity this season, as the Ducks
allow 57.5 points per game. That num
ber is drastically reduced from last sea
son’s four-game average of 71.5.
“We feel like we’ve come a long way
Turn to Men’s, page 8