UO women struggle
in win against Cougars
The Ducks find a way to win
after losing three straight
close games in Pullman
Women’s basketball
Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
It wasn’t pretty Saturday night in
Pullman.
But it was a win, and that’s the
most important thing to the Oregon
women’s basketball team.
The Ducks had solid all-around
performances and pulled out anoth
er last-second thriller against Wash
ington State, 73-69.
The Ducks were ahead the entire
second half but never could find
comfort in it. Oregon led the
Cougars 71-66 with 28 seconds left,
but after a few missed free-throws for
Oregon and clutch free-throws from
the Cougars, Washington State had
the ball with six seconds left, trailing
by two.
But the Ducks, who lost on last
second shots in Pullman last season
and the year before, would not suffer
the fate again, as Edwards stole the
ball to secure Oregon’s first victory
in its last four games.
“This is a very tough game for us,
psychologically and emotionally,”
Oregon head coach Bev Smith told
KSCR-AM. “Our team did a really
good job knowing that this was a
good opportunity. We did some
things offensively that we haven’t
done in the past.”
Oregon (7-11, 3-6 Pac-10) splits
its weekend with the Northwest ri
vals after a loss to Washington on
Thursday, and the Ducks will move
within one game of fifth place in the
Pacific-10 Conference with the win.
The Ducks shot 44 percent from
the field on the night and went 9-for
15 from the free throw line. Oregon
turned the ball over 13 times and
was out-rebounded by four.
The Cougars shot 43 percent
from the field, and were 5-for-12 on
three-pointers. Washington State
accumulated 43 rebounds on the
evening, yet gave the ball up 20
times thanks to Oregon’s newfound
defensive energy.
It was a game that was evenly
matched from the open tip-off. And
after the first 10 minutes of play, the
teams were almost square with Ore
gon leading just 18-17.
The Ducks struggled from that
Adam Amato Emerald
Brandi Davis (front) had 24 points, a career high, in the win over Washington State.
point, as junior Lindsey Egeland hit
a three-pointer to give the Cougars
their first lead of 20-18 en route to
an 11-0 run. But after a hot first half
by sophomore Brandi Davis, the
Ducks weathered the storm and
fought their way back to a halftime
lead of 36-35.
Davis was hot from the start, scor
ing eight of Oregon’s first 10 points,
and she headed into the locker room
with 19 points of 9-of-14 shooting.
She fell just one shy of her career
high 20 points and had played only
17 minutes.
The California native finished
the night with 24 points, a new
career high.
“She is just unbelievably talent
ed,” Smith said. “She did a great
job of taking advantage of her op
portunities. Thank god she was hot
in that first half, because it really
kept us feeling good about our
selves offensively.”
When Oregon entered the second
half, it found the offensive rhythm
and defensive intensity that it had
been looking for. The Ducks led the
final 20 minutes, by as many as nine,
although the Cougars did not make
it easy on Oregon.
“Defensively, we rallied harder
than we ever have and I think that
was the turning point tonight,”
Smith said.
The Ducks had solid performanc
es across the board tonight, and it
made the difference. Davis led all
scorers, followed by freshman Car
olyn Ganes, who earned her first ca
reer double-double with 19 points
and 10 rebounds.
Sophomore Kedzie Gunderson
also came through strong for Oregon
with some clutch offensive re
bounds, and added 11 points in her
32 minutes.
Junior Bianca McCall, who had 20
points and nine rebounds, led Wash
ington State, followed by Egeland
with 14 points and eight rebounds.
The Ducks are past the halfway
point in Pac-10 play and now re
turn home to McArthur Court,
where they face Arizona State on
Thursday night.
Contact the sports reporter
atjessethomas@dailyemerald.com.
Ducks pinned by Oklahoma
The Ducks return with two
losses against Oklahoma
and No. 1 Oklahoma State
Wrestling
Mindi Rice
Freelance Sports Reporter
Oregon travelled to the heart of
Oklahoma and came out with two
losses, but many lessons learned.
“We’re proud of the way the kids
competed and we’re excited about
the kids’ talent,” Kearney said.
“We’re just making little mistakes
that are keeping us from getting to
that level.”
Against Oklahoma on Friday, Ore
gon earned three wins in its 21-13
loss, and the Ducks had two wins in
their loss to No. 1 Oklahoma State.
Freshman Tony Rolen, who won
both his matchups in back-to-back
home meets Jan. 17, pinned his Ok
lahoma opponent 51 seconds into
the second period.
The pin gave Oregon six points.
Derrick Brown, Rolen’s Sooner com
petitor, came into the match ranked
No. 3 by The Wrestling Mall at his
weight class.
Rolen wrestles at the 184 weight
class, where sophomore Elias Soto
wrestled during the early part of the
season. Soto has moved up to the
197 class, filling in for injured red
shirt junior Jake Leair.
Tony Overstake, at 149, took out
his Sooner opponent forcefully. After
Sooner Daniel Rubenstein tied the
match in the first period, Overstake,
a senior, took control. He won 16-5
earning a major decision for the
Ducks. Redshirt sophomore Luke
Larwin came on strong early in the
165 match and held his lead, win
ning 6-4. Larwin’s win gave the
Ducks three points.
Three of Oregon’s losses against
the Sooners came by one point,
and three more were lost by
two points.
“We’re at a point where we’re
wrestling with the best people in
the country,” head coach Chuck
Kearney said. “We have just got to
find a way to get it done.”
Junior Branson Phillips battled his
high school teammate Rafael Maturi
no. After two scoreless periods, Ma
turino scored a takedown late in the
third to take the 157 match 2-1.
Sunday, the Ducks battled the Cow
boys of Oklahoma State and were
handed a 33-2 loss to the No. 1 team
in the nation.
No. 11 Skyler Holman of Okla
homa State lost a 8-6 overtime
match to sophomore Martin Mitchell
at the 125 weight class. Shane Web
ster, the sophomore ranked No. 14
in the nation at the 174 weight class,
took out his Cowboy opponent with
a 7-3 decision. Webster is now 19-3
on the season after going 1-1 over
the weekend.
Three Ducks were pinned by their
Cowboy opponents, for 18 of Okla
homa State’s 33 points. Oregon plays
host to Boise State on Friday and
Arizona State on Sunday in return to
Pacific-10 Conference competition.
Mindi Rice is a freelance writer
for the Emerald.
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