University of Oregon
California
Oregon WNIT Run Halted By Cal
03/26/10 | Women's Basketball
EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon's postseason run in the Women's National Invitation Tournament came to a close on Thursday night as the Ducks fell 71-57 to California at McArthur Court.
The Bears (21-13) will move on to the quarterfinals to play BYU, who was victorious at Wyoming on Thursday night.
The Ducks end their first season under first-year head coach Paul Westhead with a record of 18-16 – the most wins for the program since 2004-05 (21-10). Oregon's WNIT appearance was also the first postseason appearance for the Ducks since 2007's trip to the WNIT third round.
Thursday night's game was the final for seniors Micaela Cocks, Taylor Lilley and Lindsey Saffold.
Lilley fell three 3-pointers short of the NCAA single-season 3-point record, ending her season with 124 - putting her total at third all-time in NCAA single-season history. The Newhall, Calif., native came into the game needing five 3-pointers to break the record but was 2-of-12 from behind the arc.
Oregon shot just 25.8 percent (8-of-31) in the second half and 32.4 percent (22-of-68) for the game. The Ducks were outrebounded 29-15 in the second half, and for the game, California scored 14 second-chance points off 15 offensive rebounds, and outscored the Ducks 36-22 in the paint.
Oregon sophomore Amanda Johnson led the Ducks with 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting. The Santa Rosa, Calif., native was forced to leave the game with 16:02 to play in the second half after committing her fourth foul of the game. She reentered the with 7:10 left, and fouled out with 1:01 left on the clock.
Oregon opened the second half with a 3-pointer from Nia Jackson, who finished with 12 points for the Ducks, but Cal outscored UO 13-6 in the opening moments of the second half as the Bears took a 43-41 lead with 15:50 to play.
The Ducks trailed just 56-55 with 6:25 remaining, when a Bears miss and a Johnson rebound led to a Ducks break led by Jackson. The sophomore guard lost the ball after contact in the open floor, and the turnover led to a open 3-pointer that Alexis Gray-Lawson drained. The Ducks were held scoreless until the 1:12 mark when Johnson converted a lay-up.
Gray-Lawson scored 23 points to keep her collegiate career alive, while helping guard Lilley most of the night along with fellow senior Natasha Vital. The combo held the Ducks' leading scorer to eight points on a 3-of-18 performance.
Cal was led by DeNeesha Stallworth's 28 points and nine rebounds. The freshman forward was 9-of-15 from the floor and 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. Cal also totaled eight blocks on the night, and was 14-of-17 from the charity stripe.
Sophomore forward Jasmin Holliday led the Ducks with 10 rebounds and scored seven points.
Oregon led 35-30 at halftime led by Johnson's 10 points, while Stallworth scored 14 to lead the Bears.
Oregon opened game on 9-4 run, and went on to take a 12-6 lead with 17:18 to play after Lilley's fist 3-pointer of the game.
Cal answered with an 11-0 run as the Bears led 17-12 with 14:36 to play, but back-to-back treys from Johnson and Holliday gave the Ducks the lead again.
With a slight 20-19 edge with 11:09 remaining in the half, Oregon rallied for a 15-4 run as back-to-back lay-ups from Jackson and Kenyon, and a Johnson 3-pointer from the top of the arc put the Ducks ahead 35-23 with 3:08 to play.
Cal ended the half on a 7-0 run, holding the Ducks scoreless for the final three minutes of the period.
In the first half UO shot 37.8 percent from the field and the teams were even on the boards with 21 apiece.
Cal committed seven turnovers that turned into 10 of Oregon's 35 first-half points.
Notes: Micaela Cocks played in the 125th game of her career to break the all-time record at Oregon...Taylor Lilley ends her season with 124 3-pointers – third all-time NCAA single-season history and a new Oregon and Pac-10 single season record…the senior ends her career having made 270 over four years, a new Oregon all-time record and ranking third in the Pac-10.
