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Hank Hager
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Oregon Daily Emerald
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5 p.m. Friday, ESPN
Friday, February 20,2004
Adam Amato Senior Photographer
Arizona senior Salim Stoudamire (20) scored a career-high 37 points against Oregon. The Portland native hit six three-pointers.
Emotion leads to Arizona win
No. 14 Arizona now has three
wins in a row after Oregon,
scoring at least 100 points
By Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
Both teams felt it. It lingered in the air
long before the game began.
It was evident for 40 minutes — from
the opening tip to
MEN’S
BASKETBALL
the final shot.
Both coaches ex
pressed it in their
sideline display of
emotion, eventu
ally leading to a technical foul for both.
"I think all the guys were really emo
tional," Arizona guard Chris Rodgers
said. "This was an intense game."
Intense doesn't begin to describe it.
Arizona head coach Lute Olson headed
in Oregon head coach Ernie Kent's way at
one point.
"He was just trying to make a statement"
senior Luke Jackson said of Olson. "He's just
trying to show emotion. It just shows how
bad both teams wanted this game."
In the end, Arizona wanted it more.
Emotion didn't get the best of the No. 14
team in the country that scored 100
points for the second straight game.
"We wanted to win this game," Arizona
forward Hassan Adams said. "This game's
getting us ready for the tournament."
Arizona (16-7 overall, 9-5 Pac-10) has
won three straight as it finishes up its fi
nal road trip of the season. The Wildcats
have struggled recently, at one point los
ing three of four in midseason.
But Adams is confident. Arizona has
started to play its best basketball as the
season winds down. He's seen it in every
one of his players.
"We're playing good, 1 know that,"
Adams said. "The last three games, we're
playing together and we're getting better.
Everyday in practice, everybody's getting
better and more focused. Sky's the limit
with us. We keep the intensity up, keep
playing hard, we should be all right."
It was a huge win for an Arizona team that
has lost four games on the road against Pacif
ic- 10 Conference opponents. But at McArthur
Court, Arizona didn't play like a team that
started two freshmen and two juniors.
Adams, a sophomore out of Los Ange
les, scored 10 points above his average
and doubled his rebounding average.
With Arizona's final road game against
Oregon State Saturday, the Wildcats are
readying for the Pac-10 Tournament and
Turn to MEN, page 10
Oregon looks for more victories on the road
The Duck tennis teams hit
the road this weekend in hopes
of continuing their early success
By Alex Tam
Freelance Reporter
Challenging times lie ahead for the
Oregon tennis teams.
While the women and men have com
bined for just one
loss on the year,
the schedule only
gets tougher for
both squads.
1TM
TENNIS
The 42nd
ranked Oregon women (8-0 overall, 2
0 Pacific-10 Conference) take the road
for the first time this dual match season
* ************
* * * * *
as they face Washington State today and
fifth-ranked Washington on Saturday.
The matches do not count toward the
conference record, and the Ducks play
each team again in Eugene next month.
Oregon head coach Nils Schyllander
said he wants to see his team bring
their high level of play from home
onto the road.
"We're very excited," he said. "We
feel like we have a lot of momentum
going in."
Singles play is proving crucial, with
four Ducks holding undefeated dual sin
gles records, led by senior Davina
Mendiburu's eight wins. Junior Daria
Panova has compiled a 6-0 record at the
No. 1 position, with each coming against
the opponent's best player.
Beginning Saturday, the Ducks see a
stretch during which they face five
straight opponents on the road who are
ranked in the top 15 in the nation, in
cluding No. 1 Stanford.
The biggest test this weekend, howev
er, comes against Washington.
The Huskies (6-1) have three wins
against top-25 schools. Their only loss
came against Stanford. They also boast
three players among the top 90 players in
the country. Claire Carter, ranked 35th,
heads up the field on a squad that
Huskies head coach Patty McCain de
scribes as having a "refuse-to-lose atti
tude" and demonstrating "mental tough
ness," which she said they will need
against the Ducks.
"Oregon is a very tough squad," she
said. "We knew they were going to be
Turn to TENNIS, page 8
Ducks struggle
to find offense
in loss toASU
Oregon scores only 40 points in a 25-point loss
to Arizona State at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe
By Jon Roetman
Sports Reporter
Thursday's game against Arizona State marked yet another low
point in a season of disappointment for the Oregon women's
basketball team.
The Sun Devils outscored the Ducks 36
WOMEN’S 14 durin8 the game's final 16 minutes en
RAQIfPTRAI I route to a 65-40 victory in front of 1,754
DAoftt I HALL fans at Wells Fargo Arena.
Oregon (12-13 overall, 4-11 Pacific-10
Conference) pulled to within two midway
through the second half when a basket by guard Corrie Mizusawa
cut the Arizona State lead to 34-32.
Sun Devil forward Emily Westerberg then nailed a jump
shot from the foul line to spark a 31-8 Arizona State run to
close the game.
The loss put Oregon below .500 for the first time all season and
marked its lowest scoring output since November 2002 when the
Ducks scored 40 in a loss to South Carolina.
"Certainly we have to take our hats off to Arizona State," Ore
gon head coach Bev Smith told KSCR (1320 AM) Radio after the
game. "They're playing very well. The rotation of players that
come in don't lose their intensity, they don't lose their focus, and
above all, they don't lose their discipline.
"We just can't find a number of players that are going to play
together with that kind of intensity for 40 minutes, and quite
frankly, that's my responsibility."
Oregon experienced offensive troubles early and often. The
Ducks had only 21 points at the half and didn't have a player
reach double figures in scoring.
Guard Brandi Davis lead the Ducks with nine points on 4 of 11
shooting, while forwards Kedzie Gunderson and Eleanor Haring
added eight points apiece.
Guard Chelsea Wagner, who torched the Sun Devils for 20
points and five three-pointers in the season's first meeting, was
held scoreless in 14 minutes.
Oregon shot 35 percent for the game, connecting on 16 of 46
field goal attempts. When the Ducks missed, they rarely got a sec
ond chance. Arizona State (16-8, 10-5) outrebounded Oregon 40
26, holding the Ducks to only seven offensive rebounds.
Haring lead Oregon with seven rebounds, while Gunderson
snatched six. Center Andrea Bills grabbed five boards, snapping
a streak of 19 games in which the 6-foot-3 junior led, or tied for,
the team lead in rebounding.
"You've got to compete," Smith said. "You've got to get out
Turn to WOMEN, page 8
Ducks head south
to rainy California
The softball team opens its third preseason
tournament with a trip to San Diego
By Mindi Rice
Senior Sports Reporter
The No. 21 Oregon women's softball team makes its first trip
of the season to California this weekend.
In the annual Campbell/Cartier Classic, the Ducks face five
teams, including three schools hailing from California.
Opening the weekend, Oregon (5-4) plays Hawaii (5-6) at
__10 a.m., then has the afternoon free until
DUCK
SOFTBALL
5:3U p.m. when the Ducks play No. 14
Fresno State (4-1).
Oregon faces two more California
schools Saturday — Sacramento State (2
5) and Long Beach State (7-3) — before
uusnig uie tournament against umo (U-UJ on Sunday.
"This is going to be a real test for us as vve try to find a way to
be more consistent in our game," head coach Kathy Arendsen
said. "Our pitching is getting better, our hitting is getting more
consistent. We need to produce more runs; we're getting people
on base."
After a day playing inside and out of the rain, the Ducks prac
ticed on a mixed dirt and mud version of Howe Field on Wednes
day before they left for the San Diego State-hosted tournament.
Turn to SOFTBALL, page 8