Sports Editor:
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Sports
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Friday, February 21,2003
Women deflate Cougar offense in victory
Oregon shoots 59 percent and
keeps Washington State to under
60 points in its third-straight win
Women’s basketball
Hank Hager
Sports Reporter
Heading into Thursday’s contest at
McArthur Court, Washington State had
some things going for it.
first off, the Cougars lost by only
four to Oregon when the two teams met
earlier this season. Secondly, their last
Pacific-10 Conference road victory was
on Feb. 15, 2001, at Mac Court.
The Ducks knew all of that, and they
didn’t let it get in their way.
Oregon had six players score in double
figures as the Ducks easily defeated Wash
ington State, 85-52, in front of 4,087 fans.
Sophomore Brandi Davis led the
team with 17 points on the strength of
four 3-pointers, while Cathrine
Kraayeveld, Amy Taylor and Carolyn
Ganes all pitched in with 13. For good
measure, sophomore Andrea Bills fin
ished the night with 11, and sophomore
Kedzie Gunderson had 10.
“We were really looking to get the best
shots we could,” Kraayeveld said. “We re
ally wanted to execute our plays.”
The win gives Oregon its first three
game winning streak of the season after
the Ducks oudasted California and Ore
gon State in their two previous contests.
Oregon also held an opponent to under
60 points for the fourth-straight game.
But the way the Ducks (11-13 over
all, 7-8 Pac-io) handled Washington
State was most important, especially af
ter struggling against the Cougars in
Pullman. In that game, the Ducks —
minus Kraayeveld — shot just 44 per
cent from the field in a 73-69 victory.
Back then, Oregon led by one at half
time, and never was able to take control
of the game.
This time around, it was a different
story. The Ducks shot just less than 59
percent while limiting the Cougars to
less than 38 percent from the field.
That was a team goal, according to head
coach Bev Smith.
“We’re a better team defensively,” she
said when asked about the differences
between the games. “We just made it a
collective effort that we had to get better
defensively. Our players really respect
that team and they sent us a message
when we played up there.”
The Ducks sent a message them
selves with the win, though, proving
they are playing their best basketball of
the season when it matters the most.
Smith pointed out the fact that Ore
gon made 34 shots against the Cougars,
and on 26 of those, Oregon was award
ed an assist.
Every Oregon player played at least
13 minutes in the victory, and all but
senior Kourtney Shreve scored. Ore
gon’s victory was truly a team effort.
“We created a lead and I think it gave
everyone a chance to get comfortable,”
Taylor said.
Taylor’s 13 points marked a career
high for the sophomore, while
Kraayeveld and Bills both missed dou
ble-doubles by one rebound. It would
have been the 18th career-time for
Kraayeveld while for Bills, it would have
been the first time she would have
achieved the feat.
“We went out and played hard and
had fun from the get go,” Kraayeveld
said. “We really tried to focus on not
Turn to Women's, page 6
Adam Amato Emerald
Oregon's Kedzie Gunderson keeps the ball away from a Cougar defender in the Ducks'85-52 victory over WSU on Thursday.
Oregon post players shut down WSU’s McCall
The Ducks play hard defense
on the Cougars’ top post
player, junior Bianca McCall
Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
After Washington State’s Bianca
McCall had her way with Oregon in
the teams’ first matchup of the sea
son, the junior forward was stopped
short of anything Thursday night as
the Duck post players dominated.
McCall scored 20 points and had
nine rebounds in the Oregon win on
Jan. 25. But in the Cougars’ trip to
McArthur Court, McCall had just
three points and two rebounds.
“She was a focus because she
played really well before,” junior
Cathrine Kraayeveld said. “We
definitely wanted to try and stop
her and her momentum. We did a
great job on her.”
Oregon’s post was a much differ
ent story, as three out of the Ducks’
six players in double figures were
post players. Freshman Carolyn
Ganes and Kraayeveld both had 13
points, followed by sophomore An
drea Bills, who netted 11.
Kraayeveld had an all-around solid
performance, shooting 6-for-8 from
the field and adding nine rebounds
and three blocks. Bills was just as
dominant with her nine rebounds
and three assists in 24 minutes.
“Tonight we were just working
hard,” Bills said. “We’ve been practic
ing all week to get down low and get
position and think in our mind that
we have an advantage in there.”
The Ducks’ four players down low
did just about whatever they want
ed right from the start and had no
trouble converting in the paint. To
start the game, Oregon’s post con
tributed 18 of the first 20 points.
The low post has made some solid
strides over the season to better es
tablish dominance as each player
has started to learn her strengths.
From Ganes’ high-arching shot to
the defensive presence of Bills, Ore
gon head coach Bev Smith has seen
great improvement.
“They really did a very good job de
fensively,” Smith said. “They have
done their homework in studying
their opponent and all four of them
are very supportive of each other.”
The Ducks big women got it done
on both sides of the floor Thursday
night and did not give the Cougars
anything easy. McCall, who is the lead
ing scorer and rebounder for Washing
ton State, was extremely limited as she
turned the ball over four times.
Forward Holly Harris and center
Candance Fields did combine for 23
points and 12 rebounds for the
Cougars, but Oregon won the battle
of the boards.
With Kraayeveld back in the
lineup for Oregon, it has allowed
the Ducks to have a solid rotation
of four players at any time down
low to contribute both offensively
and defensively.
Turn to Post, page 6
Adam Amato Emerald
Luke Ridnou r had 21 points and seven assists against the Cougars.
Men put hush on WSU in Pullman
The Ducks blow out the Cougars
in a game that’s never close atWSU
Men’s basketball
Peter Hockaday
Sports Editor
Friel Court was a black hole of sound
Thursday night.
It was quiet to begin with. Then the
Oregon men’s basketball team went up
by nine at halftime, and it went even qui
eter. Then Oregon broke the game open
in the second half and sound actually dis
appeared into the arena.
Well, not really, but the point is that
the Ducks silenced the silent with an 89
70 victory over the Cougars in Pullman
on Thursday night. Oregon played its
second solid road game in a row and
moved to 18-6 overall and 8-5 in the Pa
cific-10 Conference.
More importantly, the Ducks moved
to 3-3 on the Pac-10 road, which puts
them into good position for the NCAA
Tournament.
“This was a complete game on our
part,” Oregon head coach Emie Kent told
KUGN-AM after the game. “We were
businesslike and workmanlike, and that
was a good thing.”
KUGN’s Jerry Allen commented that
his station actually turned up its crowd
microphones during the game. It didn’t
help. Oregon shot 58 percent from the
field, and held the Cougars to 40 percent
shooting in a solid defensive effort.
Though the Cougars kept the game semi
close in the first half, the Ducks dictated
the tempo and never seemed threatened
by Washington State, which still hasn’t
won a Pac-10 game.
Oregon was led by Luke Jackson’s 24
points and Luke Ridnour’s 21. Ridnour
also went 8-for-8 from the free-throw
line, extending his Pac-10 record for con
secutive free throws to 59.
Ridnour added seven assists, his most
spectacular assist coming on a behind
the-back feed to Robert Johnson in the
second half, which Johnson finished to
give the Ducks a 57-38 lead.
The play almost solicited a cheer from
the Washington State crowd.
“Ridnour was just outta control
tonight,” Johnson said. “That was a
great pass.”
Johnson led the Oregon big men with
Turn to Men's, page 6