Sports Editor
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
Friday, January 17,2003
- Oregon Daily Emerald
Sports
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Ducks hope ‘grandma’s house’ helps
Adam Amato Emerald
Ian Crosswhite (with ball) struggled against Arizona, but scored 17 points in Wednesday's win at Portland State.
The Oregon men return home in
need of a win in Saturday’s Civil War
Men’s basketball
Peter Hockaday
Sports Editor
Over the river and through the woods
— well, let’s let Ernie Kent explain it.
“I always say we need to get back to
grandma’s house, and Mac Court is
grandma’s house,” the Oregon head
coach said.
To grandmother’s house they go.
For Kent, the way to fix his team’s re
cent problems is easy: Return home, use
a little McArthur Court magic dust
against a team, Oregon State, that hasn’t
beaten the Ducks in seven tries — nine
at Mac Court — and see what happens.
Maybe grandmother’s cookies will get
Oregon out of the slump.
All kidding aside, the Ducks need a
win against a Pacific-10 Conference op
ponent now. They went to Portland on
Wednesday and scraped by the Division
I-AA Portland State Vikings, mere days
after limping home from a Bay Area trip
in which they lost to California and
Stanford by a combined 40 points.
Oregon is 2-3 in its last five games.
“Come Saturday, it’s a whole new ball
game, we’ve got to go back to work again
and get ready to play,” Duck point guard
Luke Ridnour said. “We’ve got to get
geared up for Oregon State.”
The Beavers are an interesting oppo
nent to start a streak against. They’ve
played a handful of Pac-10 teams
though, including Arizona and Stanford,
but still don’t have a conference win.
Oregon State has won only once in the
last 18 games of the Civil War series.
But the Beaver big men are just big
enough to give the Ducks fits.
“We’re going to have to get ready for
Brian Jackson and (Phillip) Ricci from
Oregon State, and we’re going to have to
do a good job on them,” Oregon forward
Ian Crosswhite said.
Jackson and Ricci are, indeed, the
dual wrecking balls of the Beaver front
court. Ricci averages 17.4 points and 7.8
rebounds per game, while Jackson is
one of only two other Oregon State play
ers averaging in double figures.
The pair will be a challenge for
Crosswhite and the other Oregon big
men, who have struggled against tal
ented Pac-10 players this season.
Crosswhite had a spectacular presea
son but slumped against the Arizona
schools, and Kent kept him off the
floor for much of the Bay Area trip. He
returned to action and form against
Portland State, scoring 17 points.
“A lot of (Oregon’s struggling) has to
do with our big guys,” Kent said after the
game Wednesday night. “We need a lit
tle bit more production out of them. Ian
had a big game tonight; we just need to
continue to come.”
Crosswhite isn’t the only struggling
Oregon big man. Brian Helquist has
been hampered by a shoulder injury
that he suffered in the preseason and
hasn’t returned to form. He is averaging
only 4.1 points per game.
Oregon State will also have the dan
gerous underdog factor, which has
worked for Oregon’s opponents in the
Turn to Men's, page 8A
Women’s War usually comes down to crunch
The Ducks and Beavers have a
recent history of last-second
thrillers and they prepare for war
Women’s basketball
jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
This is no time to be civil.
Oregon comes off one of the clos
est defeats in the nation this season
as the Ducks competed in one of
the most intense games of their col
lege careers.
And Oregon State can’t forget
the buzzer-beater by junior
Gathrine Kraayeveld with 4.4 sec
onds left, after the Ducks rallied
from 12 down to knock off the
Beavers 50-48 in the second round
of the Women’s National Invitation
Tournament last year.
Last February, prior to the tourna
ment, the Beavers received another
blow from Oregon as senior Edneisha
Gurry hit a 10-foot bank shot with
1.8 seconds left in overtime to give
the Ducks a one-point victory.
In the last two matchups of the
Civil War, in a total of 80 minutes of
basketball, all that seems to matter
is 6.2 seconds. And after Oregon’s
last-second loss to Stanford last
week, this game could be downsized
to a matter of mere moments.
“That game against Stanford is
getting us pumped for the games
ahead, and what better game to go
into after that than OSU,” sopho
more Amy Taylor said. “We are con
fident yet knowing we have to play
like we have by working hard, mak
ing stops on defense. It’s going to be
a really good chance for us to get
back on a winning note.”
Oregon (6-9, 2-4 Pac-10) will face
off with Oregon State (8-7, 2-4 Pac
10) at Gill Coliseum Saturday night
with both teams trying to gain some
kind of conference edge.
The Ducks have won 13 of the
last 14 in the rivalry, including six
in a row in Beaver territory. Oregon
State has not had a victory over
Oregon at Gill Coliseum since Jan.
5,1996.
“As a player, you know you have
to prepare for war, and it is exciting
both ways,” Oregon head coach Bev
Smith said. “Our players are going
to make it exciting for us as a
coaching staff.”
Oregon lost in Eugene last year to
Oregon State, as the Beavers
cracked the Ducks’ 11-game win
streak with a 61-53 wake-up call.
This season, the Beavers had a
very strong start, winning three
out of their first four. Yet, prior to
a win over Gal last weekend, Ore
gon State had lost four straight in
conference play.
The Ducks have not fared well ei
ther, losing three out of their last four
Pac-10 games. But the statistics prove
to be in Oregon’s favor, as they have
won 40 of their last 44 games against
the Northwest schools.
It may be tough for the Ducks to
continue their streak in Corvallis,
because the Beavers will be ready.
"As a player, you know
you have to prepare for
war, and it is exciting
both ways "
Bev Smith
Oregon head coach
They have a 9-2 record at home
this season.
“It’s going to be a tough game,”
senior Alissa Edwards said. “We are
going in anxious to play again. After
Turn to Women's, page 6A
Wrestlers return home lor meet
Oregon hosts two Pac-10 foes in
back-to-back dual meets today
Wrestling
Mindi Rice
Freelance Sports Reporter
One month after starting the dual meet
season at home, the Oregon wrestling
squad competes again at McArthur Court
in two dual meets today.
The Ducks host Stanford at 3 p.m.,
and battle California-Davis at 7 p.m.
“We’re at a point where we need to
start putting things together,” head
coach Chuck Kearney said.
Oregon, with a 3-4 overall dual meet
record and 2-0 record in the Pacific-10
Conference, will face both conference
opponents for the first time this season.
“We want to be wrestling smart,
strategic, tough matches,” Kearney said.
Three guys who are wrestling consis
tently well are seniors Casey Hunt and
Tony Overstake, and sophomore
Shane Webster.
Hunt, who wrestles in the 141 class
this season, finished fourth at 149 in the
Pac-10 last year. He has continued the
strong finish into this season, recently
winning three of four matches during
Friday’s Oregon Classic. Hunt is ranked
No. 20 by The Wrestling Mall in the lat
est 141 class poll.
“141 will be a weight class where he
will make a run for the Pac-10 title,”
Kearney said.
Another wrestler who dropped down
one weight elass, Overstake won the
Pac-10 title at 157 last season. This
year, he has improved upon his success,
winning six of his last eight meets. The
two losses have been to ranked oppo
nents. Overstake is currently ranked No.
19 in the latest 149 class poll by Ama
teur Wrestling News.
“He’s coming off a Pac-10 Champi
onship,” Kearney said. “He’s setting his
sights at not just achieving at that level,
but achieving at the national level.”
Webster won all four of his matches in
the Oregon Classic, putting him at 16-2
on the season at 174. Between three
wrestling polls, Webster is ranked No.
12, No. 13 and No. 14 in his weight
class. Webster is 5-2 against ranked
opponents this season with the two
Turn to Wrestling, page 8A
leremy Forrest Emerald
Casey Hunt (top) is one of three Oregon wrestlers ranked in the top
20 of their weight class. He is ranked 20th in the 141 class.