University of Oregon
Washington
Ducks Hold off Huskies, 86-77
01/13/05 | Women's Basketball
EUGENE, Ore. ? Senior center Andrea Bills scored a season-high 21 points while junior guard Chelsea Wagner had 20 behind a personal-best six 3-pointers Thursday as the University of Oregon women's basketball team defeated Washington, 86-77, before 3,970 at McArthur Court.
The Huskies (6-11, 2-5 Pac-10) went on an 11-2 run to tie the game at 77 apiece with 1:52 left. But Bills hit a basket, followed by an Eleanor Haring 8-foot jumper, then four straight Bills free throws put the game out of reach. Oregon, which had lost the previous four to Washington, improved to 11-4 and 4-2.
"I think that tonight Andrea solidified herself as one of the best post players in the Pac-10, both offensively and defensively," Oregon coach Bev Smith said.
Bills scored 17 of her points in the second half and finished making 5-of-8 from the field and a career-best 11-of-15 from the foul line. With the Ducks trailing 48-46 with 16:11 left Wagner took over by scoring 11 points on three 3-pointers and two free throws as Oregon took a 61-52 lead at the 10:36 mark. Wagner, however, went down with 7:54 on the clock with a right knee injury. She left the court and returned a few minutes later to cheer her team from the bench.
"What an incredible game Chelsea played tonight," said Smith, whose team set a season-high for points and had its highest scoring output at home under her coaching tenure. "She was huge ? 20 points in 21 minutes."
Her specific injury remained unclear. "We'll probably have to take her in tomorrow and get an MRI," Smith said. "But we're keeping our fingers crossed."
The Ducks played without starting senior point guard Corrie Mizusawa, who had not practiced the last three days because of flu-like symptoms. Freshman Kaela Chapdelaine stepped in to make her first career start. She finished with three points and five assists in 35 minutes.
"We dealt with a lot of adversities throughout the game," Smith said. "But everyone hung together. It was a great team effort and a lesson that we can get through things and count on each other when we need to."
Oregon freshman Gabrielle Richards came off the bench to score 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting and grab six rebounds in 15 minutes. Senior forward Cathrine Kraayeveld notched her 10th straight double-figure scoring game with 10 and her fourth double-double this year with a game-high 10 rebounds.
"I think everyone came on for us tonight," Smith said. "There were some tough moments, but we showed some fight. I didn't think we had 86 points in us tonight, but we got it done. I give Washington a lot of credit, they played great. We had a nice advantage getting the ball inside and drawing some fouls, which got us into the bonus late in the game."
Kayla Burt led four Huskies in double-figures with 19, nailing 8-of-13 from the field including 3-of-6 from 3-point territory. Cameo Hicks added 16 while Jill Bell had 12 and three steals before fouling out.
Oregon shot 8-of-15 from long range while Washington managed just 6-of-21.
Oregon next plays host Saturday to Washington State (4-12, 0-7) at 7 p.m.
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