University of Oregon
California
Ducks Back on Form in Pac-10, Blitz Cal
01/06/06 | Women's Basketball
EUGENE, Ore. -- Chelsea Wagner scored 17 points to lead Oregon to its first Pacific-10 Conference win of the season, 70-41 win over California on Thursday.
Cicely Oaks added 13 points for the Ducks (10-3, 1-2 Pac-10) and Gabrielle Richards had 12. "We came out ready to play and ready to defend the paint," Wagner said. "Our posts showed up and played incredible defense." Oregon, playing its first home game since Nov. 28, hit 10-of-21 three-pointers against the Golden Bears, who started the night as the Pac-10 leader in scoring defense. "To be able to get a quality team at home and win by that much is a great feeling," Richards said. "We knew that they were young and we wanted to get after them and show them what playing on the road in the Pac-10 is all about." Off to its best start since the 1992-93 season despite starting four freshmen, California shot 26 percent (14-of-53) from the field and had 19 turnovers. The Golden Bears went almost eight minutes in the second half without a field goal as they dropped their 13th consecutive game in Eugene. "The most important thing was being able to handle their pressure," Oaks said of Cal's defense. "We were able to control the tempo and play Oregon basketball, and we came out on top." Freshman center Devanei Hampton scored 15 points on 5-of-19 shooting for Cal (11-4, 3-2), which was held to its lowest point total of the season. Richards scored on back-to-back inside baskets to give Oregon a 32-15 lead with 4:02 left in the first half. The Ducks led 34-17 at the break and extended the lead in the second half. Wagner's three-pointer with 7:30 left gave the Ducks their largest lead at 59-28.
