University of Oregon
Washington
Women's Hoops Tame Huskies, 77-73
08/06/03 | Women's Basketball
By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Sports Writer
SEATTLE (AP) - Jamie Craighead is certain Washington's Loree Payne helped her 3-pointer swish through the net.
A little tip from Payne's hands.
Maybe so, but she didn't get any assistance on the next two.
Craighead made three 3-pointers in the final 2:15 and finished with 17 points and seven assists as Oregon defeated Washington 77-73 Wednesday night in the quarterfinals of the women's NIT.
Craighead swished one from the baseline over Payne's outstretched arms with 2:15 left for a 70-69 Ducks lead.
"I thought it was going to be an airball," she said.
Payne turned the ball over on Washington's next possession, throwing a high pass that went out of bounds off Andrea Lalum's hands and Craighead scored another 3 at 1:47.
Lalum answered with a 3 for the Huskies at 1:31 before Craighead came up big from long range again with 41.6 left.
"We weren't going to go home with a loss," Craighead said. "We wanted to play at home again and against a team we haven't seen."
The Ducks (20-13) got their wish.
They will play at home at 7 p.m. Saturday against Michigan State, a 79-61 winner over Alabama on Tuesday. The championship is scheduled for next Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday at the site of one of the final two teams, to be determined by results.
The other semifinal this weekend matches Houston at Virginia Tech.
"We needed to get this win, a road win in the postseason, to know how hard it is and so we know how to do it," Oregon coach Bev Smith said.
Cathrine Kraayeveld led the Ducks with 26 points and 12 rebounds. She scored 16 in the first half on 7-of-9 shooting.
Oregon also eliminated Washington from the Pac-10 tournament with a 14-point win March 2, and won three of four meetings between the teams this season.
Lalum scored 21 points, including her team's first nine, to lead three Washington players in double figures. Lalum also had a team-high nine rebounds.
Giuliana Mendiola had 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Huskies, who ended their season at 19-12 and missed reaching the final four of a national tournament for the second consecutive year. They were eliminated in the final eight of the NCAA tournament last season.
They considered their NIT run a positive step toward getting back in the NCAA tournament next year.
But it was tough to end the season against Oregon.
"I know our team gets pumped up to play them and I'm pretty sure they get just as excited to play us," Mendiola said.
Payne added 15 points and six rebounds for the Huskies.
Washington coach June Daugherty was called for a technical foul with 5:18 left for arguing and Craighead made both free throws to pull the Ducks to within 66-62. Craighead then made a 3-pointer at 4:36 and Kraayeveld converted a one-and-one free-throw opportunity at 3:51 to pull Oregon within one, 68-67. Craighead finished 5 of 15 from the field, including 5 of 13 from 3-point range.
"We came in with good confidence," she said. "It is always a good game here."
The Ducks shot 51.5 percent in the first half for a 45-39 halftime lead. But they started the second half 0 for 8 with six turnovers and Washington went on a 12-0 scoring spurt that featured 3-pointers by Payne and Mendiola.
Kraayeveld made a 3-pointer at 13:16 for Oregon's first field goal of the half.
"I felt like things were going our way," Daugherty said, noting Washington was backed by one of its loudest crowds of the season. "You have to give them credit, they had one run left in them."
Alyssa Fredrick added 11 points and four rebounds off the bench for Oregon.
Oregon Head Coach Bev Smith
General Comments:
"This was a real important game. An important win on the road in the post season to prove to ourselves we are capable of winning in the post season, in Mac Court and outside Mac Court. Both teams of doing good at keeping it close. We weren't feeling good, but we dealt with it and went from there."
Kraayeveld and Craighead combined to score points. They gave us a good offensive execution. This kept us going in the second half and helped our outside game open up. We knew Washington well. We tried our best to execute the little things to make a difference for the bigger things. Washington played more man-to-man defense than I have seen them play in a long time. They challenged us, but we made adjustments to weather the storm."
Thoughts about Washington hosting three NIT games in a row:
"As coaches we have to look at ourselves first. We should be more up front with the NIT as they are with us. Home games are important. We needed to get this win regardless of where we were playing next, though, to prove that we could win anywhere in the post season."
Washington Head Coach June Daugherty
General Remarks: "It has been a very beneficial experience to play in the NIT. We got a lot out of it as a team and individually. This summer as we prepare for next season we will be able to look back on this and build on it. We played some very good basketball in these three games and I am pleased with that aspect of it."
On the team's performance: "We didn?t play particularly well in the first half. Catherine Kraayveld got a lot of good looks down low and took advantage of it. In the second half we played really well. One less turnover here or there or getting through one more screen on a three pointer shooter might have made the difference. But there is nothing we can do about it but wish Oregon well."
Forward Cathrine Kraayeveld
General Comments:
"We came in with good confidence. It is always a good game here. We wanted to come out strong after our last game here. It is nice to play in front of friends and family. It was nice to have the support here to keep me going in the post season."
On playing in the NIT Final Four in Mac Court:
"It is going to be huge. It will be great to have the fans there to keep us going. We want to send a message that we are a good team, even good enough to play in the NCAA tournament as well."
Guard Jamie Craighead
General Comments
"They shot the lights out the last time we played them. We picked it up defensively and were not going to go home with a loss as we did last time we played them. The team did a good job of coming to me. I was glad to step up and shoot big shots. I had a rough start, but knowing that I am a senior, and that this could be my last game at any time, I was not going to stop shooting the ball."
On playing in the NIT Final Four in Mac Court:
"It is pretty cool to move on in the tournament and play an opponent our fans haven't seen before. It will be nice to play a team we don't see every time with new faces. It will be huge to be in Mac Court where our fans are always behind us and keep us going."
Washington Center Andrea Lalum
On Oregon's success with the lob in first half: "We knew they were looking for that pass so we made some adjustments at the half. It was a matter of our guards sinking low and being too worried about their outside shooters. They have a tremendous outside game and they made threes when it mattered. It was just a matter of shifting our defense and getting the rotations down.
On Oregon's success from the outside in the second half: "I think in the last couple minutes we had so much pressure defense, pressuring the shooters and posts and going all out, that we just lost it and they got some wide open shots. We knew that their posts were hurting us in the first half so we made adjustments but they can really shoot the three."
Washington Guard Giuliana Mendiola
On the UW-UO rivalry: "I know our team gets pumped up to play them and I'm pretty sure they get just as excited to play us. We knew coming in it would be a battle and it was again tonight. We didn?t get the win tonight but we'll take this and prepare for next year. We have the same squad back and I'm excited about next year but today was very disappointing."
On Oregon's defense: "Their defense was solid the whole game. It wasn't anything we didn't expect down the stretch, we just didn't make the plays when we needed them. You hate to say it but this is how you learn. You learn from the losses and move on and look towards next year."
Washington Guard Loree Payne
On Oregon's late run: "They hit big shots down the stretch. Jamie Craighead came out firing and made some huge threes at the end. They definitely executed toward the end of the game."
OFFICIAL BASKETBALL BOX SCORE -- G A M E T O T A L S
Oregon vs Washington
03/20/02 7:00 p.m. at Bank of America Arena, Seattle, Wash.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Oregon 20-13
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
No. N A M E FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
33 Kraayeveld, Cathrine f 9-13 2-3 6-6 2 10 12 1 26 2 1 2 0 37
44 Bills, Andrea c 4-8 0-0 1-2 4 3 7 3 9 0 3 0 0 20
00 Curry, Edniesha g 0-4 0-1 1-4 2 1 3 4 1 2 2 0 2 24
03 Williams, Shaquala g 3-11 2-6 0-0 0 3 3 3 8 2 5 0 0 28
10 Craighead, Jamie g 5-15 5-13 2-2 0 2 2 1 17 7 2 0 0 34
12 Edwards, Alissa 1-3 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 3 3 3 2 0 0 27
23 Gunderson, Kedzie 0-2 0-1 2-2 0 1 1 2 2 1 0 0 1 7
31 Fredrick, Alyssa 3-5 0-0 5-5 2 2 4 1 11 0 1 0 0 20
52 Unaka, Ndidi 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3
TEAM ........................................ 2 2 4
TOTALS 25-61 10-26 17-21 12 26 38 18 77 17 18 2 3 200
TOT-FG 1stH: 17-33 51.5% 2ndH: 8-28 28.6% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 41.0% Deadbl
3pt-FG 1stH: 5-14 35.7% 2ndH: 5-12 41.7% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 38.5% Rebs
FThrow 1stH: 6-6 100.% 2ndH: 11-15 73.3% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 81.0% 2, 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: Washington 19-12
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
No. N A M E FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
22 Payne, Loree f 6-16 3-9 0-0 1 5 6 0 15 1 2 0 1 35
23 Autrey, Emily f 3-9 0-0 0-0 3 2 5 4 6 1 1 0 0 27
21 Lalum, Andrea c 8-15 2-7 3-4 3 6 9 1 21 0 0 1 6 32
13 Mendiola, Giuliana g 7-17 1-2 3-4 4 3 7 2 18 5 3 0 0 36
33 O'Neill, Kristen g 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 2 0 0 3 1 2 13
04 Keeler, Sarah 0-3 0-0 2-2 0 1 1 3 2 0 0 0 1 9
20 Burt, Kayla 3-7 0-4 3-4 1 2 3 2 9 0 1 1 1 18
24 O'Neill, Kellie 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 12
31 Mendiola, Gioconda 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 0 1 11
44 Sorenson, Cheryl 0-1 0-0 2-2 1 3 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 7
TEAM ........................................ 1 1 2 1
TOTALS 27-70 6-23 13-16 15 26 41 18 73 11 10 3 12 200
TOT-FG 1stH: 15-43 34.9% 2ndH: 12-27 44.4% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 38.6% Deadbl
3pt-FG 1stH: 3-13 23.1% 2ndH: 3-10 30.0% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 26.1% Rebs
FThrow 1stH: 6-6 100.% 2ndH: 7-10 70.0% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 81.3% 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICIALS: Michael Price, Cameron Inouye, Michelle Duncan
TECHNICAL FOULS:
Oregon - none
Washington - the bench(1)
ATTENDANCE: 2,779
SCORE BY PERIODS: 1st 2nd OT1 OT2 OT3 OT4 TOTAL
Oregon 45 32 77
Washington 39 34 73
