Sports Editor
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
Friday, December 6,2002
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Sports
Best bet
NBA: Dallas at L.A. Lakers
7:30 p.m., ESPN
Adam Amato Emerald
Sophomore Brandi Davis victimized Portland for 19 points Thursday night as the Ducks routed the Pilots despite Shaquala Williams' absence.
UO women snap
3-game streak
with blowout win
The Ducks really take care
of business by toppling the
Pilots 85-63 at McArthur Court
Women’s basketball
Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
The Oregon women’s basketball
team stepped onto McArthur court
on Thursday night, and all the right
vibes were there.
The Ducks would not be denied for
a fourth-straight time, as Oregon
went on to beat Portland 85-63.
After a rough weekend in the Vir
gin Islands, the Ducks had suffered
three straight losses away from
home and were looking to get back
on the right track.
And being at home was all it took.
“Our confidence was a little bit
shaken in those three games on the
road and we weren’t feeling very good
about ourselves,” Oregon head coach
Bev Smith said. “And I give our play
ers all the credit. They came back,
they focused, they just decided they
were going to go out and play disci
plined basketball. And there is noth
ing like Mac Court.”
The Ducks began a little shaky as
they turned the ball over four times
in the first three minutes. But after
some patience and after sophomore
Brandi Davis scored seven unan
swered points, her Ducks were right
back where they needed to be.
The Pilots would not go away,
though, and after a few from down
town, Portland had tied the game,
12-12, halfway through the first
half.
Both teams battled for the lead
but after solid contributions from
every Oregon player, including jun
ior Kayla Steen, who finished the
half with back-to-back baskets from
beyond the three-point arc, the
Ducks entered half-time comfort
able at 38-30.
But for Oregon, an eight point lead
just wasn’t good enough, and Smith
discussed it in the locker room.
And after a strong start in the sec
ond half with back-to-back three
pointers by senior Alissa Edwards,
Oregon led 54-35.
The small Pilot lineup, which had
four starting guards and one for
ward, never had a chance, as the
Ducks increased their lead to 68-42
at one point.
The outside shooting of Portland
could not match Oregon’s deep ac
curacy, as the Pilots went 10-for-27
from downtown.
Oregon never looked back en
route to the 22 point victory, and
took care of all the sore spots that
needed attention.
“Everybody just stepped it up
Turn to Women's, page 10
Duck offense thrives despite Williams’ absence
Oregon has no problem making up
for the loss of its suspended star
point guard in Thursday’s victory
Hank Hager
Sports Reporter
The Ducks answered the cynics Thurs
day night against Portland, telling the rest
of the rest of the collegiate basketball world
that, yes, they could win without senior
Shaquala Williams.
Williams, Oregon’s starting point guard
and former Pacific-10 Conference Player of
the Year, was suspended indefinitely Tuesday
by head coach Bev Smith, and failed to make
an appearance at McArthur Court in the
Ducks’ 85-63 victory.
Still, Oregon did not miss a beat, despite a
sluggish first half that placed the Ducks just
eight points ahead of the Pilots as the teams
entered the locker room.
“I sort of had a feeling they would play
harder and better than they had,” Portland
head coach Jim Sollars said, adding that the
Pilots did not concern themselves with
Williams’ absence.
Maybe they should have, as Oregon’s back
court stepped up in Williams’ place. Sopho
more Brandi Davis ended the night with a
team-leading 19 points, 12 of which came in
the first half.
Davis brought a majority of the 3,570 in at
tendance to their feet late in the first half with a
circus-like shot that had no business going in
the basket. The guard drove from the right side
of the baseline into the lane with the ball in her
left hand, and upon switching it to her right,
banked it into the hoop.
Davis said she understands Williams’ im
pact on the court and admitted she’s not try
ing to replace the star.
“I’m not even trying to fill those shoes,”
Davis said.
Senior Alissa Edwards, normally Oregon’s
starting shooting guard, moved over to the
point in plaee of Williams. She responded
with six points, but more importantly, six as
sists in leading the Ducks out of early game
doldrums that produced four turnovers in
less than three minutes to start the first half.
“I though Alissa Edwards was a rock,”
Smith said. “There was a sense of determi
nation in her. She set the tone tonight.
When we faltered at the beginning tonight,
Turn to Shaq, page 10
Men look to Jam on Kansas in Pape
The Ducks will have revenge
on their minds as they face Kansas
in the Pape Jam on Saturday
Men’s basketball
Adam Jude
Senior Sports Reporter
For more than eight months, Oregon
has dreamed the Kansas blues.
The Ducks spent the offseason reliving
the horror of their 104-86 loss to Kansas
in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tourna
ment, a loss that ended Oregon’s magical
season.
The Ducks waited patiently for another
chance, careful not to look past their first
opponents of this young season. That pa
tience will soon evaporate, as could the
Ducks’ nightmares.
“Now we can finally start talking about
Kansas,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent
said Wednesday after Oregon’s 96-66 win
over Portland.
No. 7 Oregon (4-0) has a rare chance at
redemption Saturday when Kansas visits
Portland for the Pape Jam at the Rose
Garden. The game, set for 12:30 p.m., will
be nationally televised on CBS.
“It’s a big-time revenge game,” forward
Robert Johnson said. “We’re looking for
ward to it, but we had to take care of
(Portland) first.”
More than 17,300 tickets have been
sold for the game, which should have the
largest audience at a college basketball
game in the state’s history.
And it should be a dandy.
Kansas (3-2) entered the season
ranked No. 2 in the polls, but lost consec
utive games last week to North Carolina
and Florida and fell to No. 14 this week,
the Jayhawks’ lowest ranking since the
end of the 1999-2000 season.
To make matters worse for the Jay
hawks, preseason All-American Kirk Hin
rich sat out Kansas’ 97-70 win over Cen
tral Missouri State on Wednesday because
of a strained back he suffered in the loss to
North Carolina. Hinrich is expected to
play against Oregon.
“They’ve got some revenge on their
minds, possibly, and they are playing very
well and we’re not playing as well,”
Kansas head coach Roy Williams said. “It
will have to be our best game of the year.”
If history holds true, Kansas should
have the advantage in the paint, where
the Jayhawks outrebounded the Ducks
Turn to Mens, page 12
Jeremy Forrest Emerald
Luke Ridnour and the Ducks will look to avenge last year's
season-ending, Elite Eight loss to Kansas on Saturday in Portland.