Sports Editor:
Hank Hager
hankhager@dailyemerald.com
Tuesday, January 13,2004
Oregon Daily Emerald
SPORTS
Best bet
NCAA basketball: **
Wake Forest vs. Texas
5 p.m., ESPN2
Hank Hager
Behind the dish
Beavers7
success
beneficial
to Ducks
As easy as it would be for Oregon fans
to show disdain for the loss to Oregon
State in Corvallis on Saturday, the thought
that the Beavers are better than they once
were should bring somewhat of a smile to
their face.
As hard as that is to believe, the sense
that Oregon State — the Pacific-10 Con
ference's doormat since 1990 — may have
a future is actually beneficial to the Ducks.
Oregon State head coach Jay John has
given the Beavers an air of credibility. In
past seasons, a 12-2 lead would have evap
orated, much like it did the other day, but
it wouldn't have been regained. Even
though the Beavers had the likes of Philip
Ricd last season, it simply did not matter.
Saturday was a harbinger of things to
come for the Ducks and the Pac-10. Once
you get past Stanford and Arizona, ar
guably the two best teams of the year in
the West, the conference is a wasteland for
dominance. The days of UCLA running
the table are over.
As of now, only the Bruins and Cardinal
have more than two wins in conference
play. Arizona is close at 2-1 after a loss to
Stanford, but for the most part, the league
is split to the middle. The Ducks (1-2) are
lumped in with the likes of Washington
State, Oregon State, California and USC.
"So, while no coach will admit as
much, the gap is clearly wider than ever
between the two at the top and those be
low," Ed Graney wrote on ESPN.com last
week. "Yes, the co-favorites may lose to
someone other than the other over the
Turn to HAGER, page 6
New options step up for Duck offense
Chelsea Wagner and Brandi Davis provided the Ducks
with an offensive lift from the perimeter; Oregon hopes to
continue its offensive prowess this week in Washington
By Jon Roetman
Sports Reporter
Saturday's win over Oregon State was, among many things, a moment
of clarity for the Oregon women's basketball team.
WOMEN’S
BASKETBALL
For the first time since Cathrine Kraayeveld was
lost to a knee injury on Dec. 2, Oregon (9-6 over
all, 1-4 Pacific-10 Conference) looked like a team
that knew how it wanted to score. The Ducks
seemed confused at the offensive end of late, their
only option being to bang the ball inside to An
drea Bills.
Saturday was different. When the Ducks needed a basket, they looked
to Chelsea Wagner and Brandi Davis to deliver.
Wagner was successful at getting open on the perimeter, knocking
down five three-point shots. Davis was able to create her own shots off
the dribble, connecting on several off-balance jumpers.
The duo combined for 31 points and seven three-pointers, but more
importantly, Oregon might have found the scoring punch the team
needs to improve its 61 points per game average.
"It felt pretty good out there," Wagner said after the game. "My team
mates did a really good job (of finding me). Most of my shots, I was pret
ty open. I better knock 'em down if I'm open."
Davis said she felt good as well.
"I felt a lot of confidence," Davis said. "I was really determined to go
out there and hit some key baskets for us."
Another bonus to having several players shoulder the scoring load was
taking some of the pressure off of Bills. The junior center is Oregon's
leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker and is the only Duck averag
ing double figures in points per game. Bills has connected on 78 field
goal attempts, 36 more than her closest teammate.
"You can tell (perimeter) baskets just lift us," Oregon head coach Bev
Smith said. "Right now we have a very tired young lady in Andrea Bills,
who is working her behind off, but the fruits of her labor aren't paying
off. I think if we can get her some rest and hit those outside shots, then
defensively they can't focus on her."
Areas of improvement
Oregon improved on two areas of concern Saturday.
The Ducks' most noticeable upgrade was how they were able to handle
pressure defense. Oregon players stayed calm in the face of the Beaver
press, taking the necessary time to make smart passes and move the ball
up court. This is something that had been missing earlier in the year, in
cluding a loss to UCLA on Jan. 4, when the Ducks blew a 14-point sec
ond-halflead.
Oregon's other step forward was not allowing itself to fall into an ear
ly hole. The Ducks had made a habit of falling behind big early and nev
er being able to catch up. While Oregon didn't shoot the lights out early
Tim Kupsick Photographer
Junior guard Brandi Davis scored 16 points Saturday against Oregon State; 12
of which came in the game’s final nine minutes.
against Oregon State, the Ducks kept themselves close enough to make a
run at the end of the game. The Beavers' lead reached six in the first half
and eight in the second.
Strong defense
Defense has been Oregon's focus since the first day of practice.
Smith has been quick to praise Wagner and Kedzie Gunderson for
their efforts in shutting down the opposition's best player. The Ducks
will need a total team effort Thursday when they face Washington at the
Bank of America Arena. The Huskies feature two of the Pac-10's top four
scorers in Giuliana Mendiola and Andrea Lalum. Mendiola, the 2002
03 Pac-10 Player of the Year, is second in the conference with 19.6 points
Turn to OPTIONS, page 6
Stanford
head coach
Mike
Montgomery
has led the
Cardinal to a
13-0 start
this season.
Stanford
defeated
Arizona by 10
on Saturday
to take the
lead in the
Pac-10 and
as favorites
for a top seed
in the NCAA
Tournament.
Adam Amato
Senior
Photographer
Montgomery leads Stanford men
to perfect start after latest victory
I The Cardinal are beginning
to look like the favorite to
the take the Pac-10 crown
| -
By Hank Hager
Sports Editor
MEN'S
BASKETBALL
Undefeated.
The word rolls off the tongue.
That's the case at Stanford, where an
_ 82-72 win
over No. 3 Ari
zona on Sat
urday pushed
the Cardinal
to 13-0 this
season, including a 4-0 record in Pa
cific- 10 Conference play.
It has become customary for
Stanford to start off the season
strong. And if it sounds like 13-0 is
a huge accomplishment, it is. But
not necessarily for the Cardinal,
who have had a tendency under
head coach Mike Montgomery to
start off strong.
To start off the 2000-01 season,
Stanford went 20-0 before ending
the year 31-3, losing to Maryland
87-73 in the fourth round of the
NCAA Tournament.
The year before that, the Cardinal
jumped out to a 12-0 start before
losing to Arizona. In 1997-98,
Montgomery led them to 18
straight wins before a loss.
And so on and so on and so on.
This year's 13 straight has come
with wins against Kansas, Gonzaga
and the Wildcats, who were consid
ered the runaway pick to win the
Pac-10 this season.
The Cardinal scrambled that
prediction.
"They did the little things that it
takes to win," Arizona center Chan
ning Frye told the Arizona Daily
Wildcat. "They just put on a clinic,
moving without the ball."
Stanford makes no bones about
its ability to remain cool, calm and
collected on the court. On the cover
of its media guide, forwards Justin
Davis and Joe Kirchofer and guard
Matt Lottich stand with basketballs
by their side and arms folded, eyes
covered by sunglasses.
"They must have to have a pretty
high GPA to get in there or some
thing," Arizona head coach Lute Ol
son was quoted as saying in the Asso
ciated Press, "because they really play
with poise and intelligence. A lot of
that has to do with Mike, too."
The road gets no easier for Stan
ford, however, when it plays tradi
tional rival California on Saturday
at Maples Pavilion.
The Golden Bears haven't won at
Stanford since an 86-61 victory
Turn to VICTORY, page 6