Oregon WBB Weekly Release: Arizona State
01/14/12 | Women's Basketball
Arizona State at Oregon LIVE COVERAGE
• Date: Saturday, Jan. 14
• Time: 2:00 PM
• Venue: Matthew Knight Arena
• TV: None
• Radio: KUGN 590 AM in Eugene/Springfield; Terry Jonz, play-by-play
• Webcast: O-Zone
• Live Audio: O-Zone • Live Stats: www.GoDucks.com
• Twitter: @OregonWBB for in-game updates, stats, etc
• Facebook
• vs. Arizona State: Tied at 28-28
Tickets: www.GoDucks.com
GAME DAY PROMOTIONS
Arizona State, Jan. 14 - Social Media Day
Check the Oregon women's basketball facebook page and find a promo code to receive $3GA tickets and Mac Club access. The Ducks will also be available postgame for autographs.
THIS WEEK
Oregon (10-7, 2-3) opened its third weekend of Pac-12 play with an electrifying 87-73 win over Arizona on Thursday night at Matthew Knight Arena. The Ducks return to action at 2 p.m., Saturday hosting Arizona State (10-5, 1-3).
PROMOTIONS
If Oregon scores 100 points or more in a game this season at Matt Arena, all fans in attendance will receive free garlic parmesan bread sticks from Papa John's Pizza by taking their ticket stub to any of the three Eugene-Springfield Papa John's locations within 10 days for redemption. Students will receive vouchers at the end of the game.
HEALTH REPORT
• Freshman center Janitah Iamaleava suffered a season-ending left knee injury during a pre-season practice that will keep her off the floor for the 2011-12 season.
• Oregon leading scorer and rebounder Amanda Johnson is currently out of action after suffering a left thumb fracture on Dec. 11 in a loss at Denver. She will miss Saturday's game against ASU and will be evaluated on a weekly basis.
• Oregon senior point guard Nia Jackson is day-to-day with knee trouble.
ARIZONA STATE NOTES
• Arizona State finished non-conference play 9-2, but the Sun Devils are currently on a three-game losing streak after getting swept by USC and UCLA in Tempe last weekend, and falling at Oregon State, 56-51, on Thursday night.
• Senior Kimberly Brandon leads ASU averaging 9.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, while junior guard Deja Mann averages 4.0 assists per game.
• Arizona State leads the conference in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to a .332 clip, while also holding opponents to just 53.1 points per game. Oregon ranks 11th in the Pac-12, allowing opponents to shot 40.4 percent from the floor.
• The Arizona State-Oregon all-time series is currently tied at 28 games apiece. The Ducks have defeated the Sun Devils just once in the last 13 attempts. UO's last win was an 82-81 victory on Feb. 13, 2010 at Mac Court as seniors Taylor Lilley and Micaela Cocks combined to score 46 points.
• Arizona State opened up Pac-12 play with a 60-45 victory over Arizona on Dec. 31 in Tempe, and also defeated Illinois, 51-50, on Nov. 25 in the San Juan Shootout. Oregon is also 2-0 against those two opponents.
• The Sun Devils are coached by interim head coach Joseph Anders as Charli Turner-Thorne has taken a leave of absence. Anders is in his 11th year with the ASU program and his first as interim head coach.
LAST TIME OUT
True freshman Lexi Petersen recorded a career-high 17 points to propel Oregon to an 87-73 victory over Arizona on Thursday night at Matthew Knight Arena.
Petersen came in for senior Nia Jackson, who was experiencing knee problems to begin the second half, and took over point guard duties for the Ducks.
Although Oregon (10-7, 2-3) took a 21-point advantage into the half, the Wildcats (12-4, 1-3) chipped away at the UO lead by scoring eight straight points at the start of the second before sophomore Danielle Love drained a lay-up to give Oregon a 49-34 lead at the 16:59 minute mark.
The Wildcats were able to cut the lead down to 10 points with a little over 10 minutes left in play behind the hot shooting of Erin Butler, who had a game-high 23 points for UA. Butler became the 11th opposing player over the past 12 games to knock down at least five three pointers against the Ducks.
In addition to Petersen's 17, Jasmin Holliday and Ariel Thomas both finished with 16 points as Holliday set a new career-high knocking down four three-pointers. Freshman Jordan Loera and Love added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Freshman Liz Brenner led the Ducks with a team-high 11 rebounds.
The Ducks knocked down 10 first-half three-pointers - the most in a half this season - and headed into the locker room with a commanding 47-26 halftime lead after shooting 51.5 percent (17-of-33) from the floor.
FRESHMAN FINISH
In Thursday night's 87-73 win over Arizona, Oregon freshmen led the Ducks in three categories: points (Lexi Petersen, 17), rebounds (Liz Brenner, 11) and assists (Lexi Petersen, 4).
NATIONAL TOP 25
Oregon currently ranks second in the Pac-12 and 11th in the nation averaging 77.9 points per game. Notre Dame leads the nation scoring 84.2 points per game. The Ducks' 8.0 three-pointers per game lead the Pac-12 and rank 10th in the nation, while UO's 11.5 steals per game lead the league and rank 35th in the country.
PLAYING FAST
Head coach Paul Westhead said before the season started that he wanted his team playing even faster. After UO's 6-0 start, the Ducks were averaging 87.7 points per game, but that number has dropped to 77.9 points per game (2nd Pac-12) with the absence of Amanda Johnson for the last eight games.
During head coach Paul Westhead's three years at Oregon, the Ducks have finished in the country's top-15 in scoring in back-to-back seasons, averaging 81.4 points (2010, 2nd) and 73.3 points per game (2011, 15th). In fact, during the last two seasons, the Ducks have averaged 79.0 points per game overall, out done only by Oral Roberts (84.7 ppg) and Gonzaga (82.7 ppg). In the last three years, Oregon has produced seven 100-point games, recording a 6-1 mark in those contests.
Oregon's 8.0 three-pointers per game rank first in the Pac-12 and 10th in the nation. The Ducks have proven to be a deadly three-point shooting team, finishing third in the country averaging 8.5 three-pointers per game in 2011, while ranking seventh in 2010 knocking down 8.4 long-distance buckets per game.
SCHEDULE
The Ducks have compiled a difficult schedule as 14 of their opponents reached the postseason a year ago. Nine teams played in the 2011 Women's National Invitation Tournament, and five appeared in the NCAA Tournament.
DOUBLE-FIGURES
• Oregon has recorded five wins by 10 points or more. The Ducks have also posted a 4-1 record in games decided by four points or less.
• Oregon's roster has totaled 56 occasions of players scoring in double figures led by Jasmin Holliday (14).
• The Ducks have also posted 11 double-figure rebounding efforts led by Amanda Johnson (6).
• Oregon has recorded six games with 10 or more three-pointers.
TREY TROUBLE
On nine occasions this season, Oregon has allowed an opponent to knock down at least 10 three-pointers in a game. On the year, the Ducks have allowed opponents to drain 173 long-distance shots as opponents are shooting 37.0 percent from 3-point range.
In its last 12 games, Oregon has a 5-7 record, and has allowed opponents to knock down a total of 128 three-pointers (10.7 per game). In the last 12 games, UO opponents have been shooting a remarkable 38.4 percent from three-point range compared to Oregon at 32.5 percent. In the last 12 games, an opponent has had an individual player knock down at least five three-pointers on 11 occasions: KK Babin 5-9 (Nicholls State), Rosie Moult 5-14 and Ki-Ki Moore 5-8 (Fresno State), ReZina Teclemariam 6-11 (Portland), Morgan Van Riper-Rose 5-5 (Denver), Danika Sharp 5-10 (Nevada), Jasmine Smith (7-14) Saint Mary's, Kellie McCann-Smith 6-11 (Washington), Taylor Greenfield 5-8 (Stanford), Bonnie Samuelson 6-13 (Stanford) and Erin Butler 7-10 (Arizona).
SENIOR MOMENT
Senior Jasmin Holliday worked harder than ever this offseason, and apparently hard work pays off. The native of Chino Hills, Calif., is averaging a career-best 15.2 points per game. Holliday has led Oregon in scoring on five occasions, and has led the Ducks on the boards a team-best eight times.
She leads the team with 14 double-figure scoring games, and set a new career high, scoring 26 points in a loss at Nevada on Dec. 14. This season, Holliday has posted four 20-point efforts and three double-doubles.
In Thursday night's 87-73 win over Arizona, Holliday scored all 16 of her points in the first half, and recorded a new career-best four three-pointers.
AWARD WINNER
Before two knee injuries sidelined her for the final nine games of last season, senior guard Nia Jackson led the Pac-10 averaging 17.0 points and 5.7 assists per game. Despite missing the final half of conference play, Jackson was named to the 2011 Pac-10 First Team and the 2011 Media All-Pac-10 Team.
The Ducks were 12-9 with Jackson in the lineup, and 1-8 in the final nine games of the year without her. The Ducks averaged 80.5 points per game with Jackson in the lineup, and 66.7 points per game without her.
The Seattle native has returned from off-season surgery and is cleared to play, but is continuing to regain her strength and stamina. She missed her first and only game of the year with right knee trouble on Dec. 29 against Washington State.
Currently Jackson is averaging 9.6 points and a team-leading 3.9 assists per game. Jackson's 181 career steals rank fifth all-time, and her 319 career assists rank ninth. Jackson has delivered at least six assists on four occasions this year.
JOHNSON ON FIRE
Before her injury, Oregon senior forward Amanda Johnson had recorded six double-doubles in nine games this season, along with eight double-figure scoring games.
The Santa Rosa, Calif., native's average of 20.1 points per game ranked second in the Pac-12 and 16th in the country, while her 10.7 rebounds per game rank third in the conference and 15th in the nation.
Johnson's career numbers include; 1,327 points (11th), 797 rebounds (8th), 142 three-pointers (7th), 178 steals (5th), 26 double-doubles (7th), 65 double-figure scoring games, three 30-point games, 18 20-point games, 33 times leading the club in scoring and 62 occasions leading the team in rebounding.
D WEAVE FOR THREE
After ending the 2010-11 season starting the last nine games of the year, Deanna Weaver and Ariel Thomas started their sophomore season on the bench as both battled injuries.
After missing three games at the start of the year with a toe injury, Weaver started her first game of the year at Nevada on Dec. 14. She scored a career-high 18 points in the loss.
Weaver is currently averaging 8.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. In the last six games, Weaver is averaging a team-leading 12.0 points per game.
SHOOTING TOUCH
In the absence of Nia Jackson last season, Ariel Thomas took over point guard duties and started the final nine games of the year, averaging 14.3 points, 4.3 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game during that stretch.
With Jackson back on the floor, Thomas has moved into the starting role at shooting guard, registering her first start of the year at Nevada. She missed the first three games of the year with Achilles trouble.
Currently averaging 9.8 points per game, Thomas has led the Ducks in scoring twice this year, and in UO's last six games leads the Ducks averaging 13.0 ppg.
MAJOR MINUTES
Sophomore Danielle Love is the one player head coach Paul Westhead can't take out of the game as she is playing a team-best 31.8 minutes per game.
The Everett, Wash., native has recorded three new career scoring highs this year, and is averaging 7.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
MEET THE NEWCOMERS
Oregon's freshman class was ranked 49th in the country by ESPN HoopGurlz.
SHE'S A SHOOTER
Freshman guard Jordan Loera is a second generation Duck as her mother, Lori Carver Loera, played basketball at UO from 1983-84.
Loera scored a career-high and team-high tying 17 points in an 89-77 victory over UC Irvine, while also knocking down a career-best five three-pointers. The Moses Lake, Wash., native is averaging 7.4 points per game, and leads the Ducks with 30 three-pointers.
Loera has the chance to become the first freshman to lead UO in three-pointers since Taylor Lilley tied with Carolyn Ganes for the team lead (39) during the 2006-07 season.
RUNNING THE FLOOR
With Nia Jackson battling knee trouble, Lexi Petersen's speed has been put to good use at the point guard position. In Thursday night's 87-73 victory over Arizona, Petersen scored a career-high 17 points and led the Ducks in scoring for the first time this year. She shot a near-flawless 9-of-10 from the free-throw line, and also led the Ducks with four assists - another career high.
NEW ADDITION
Oregon freshman Liz Brenner joined the UO women's basketball team officially on Dec. 19 after being cleared for competition by the NCAA. Brenner recently finished her freshman season competing for the UO women's volleyball team, receiving Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honors.
Brenner is averaging 3.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in seven appearances and four starts. The Portland, Ore., native led Oregon in rebounding for the second time on Thursday night with a career-best 11 rebounds.
A FIRST
Freshman guard Amanda Delgado (Las Vegas/Liberty HS) was named the 2011 Gatorade Nevada Girls Basketball Player of the Year after averaging 16.1 points, 3.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game as a senior. Delgado has appeared off the bench in 10 games, and on Dec. 29 against Washington State posted a career-high three assists.
UNDER THE BASKET
Freshman center Megan Carpenter (Longmont, Colo./Longmont HS) was a two-time all-4A Northern Conference selection and two-time Longmont Times Call all-area selection in 2010 and 2011. Carpenter is averaging 3.1 rebounds per game.
RUNNING THE POINT
Junior point guard Laura Stanulis continues to handle back-up point guard duties as Ariel Thomas spends time at shooting guard. A former walk-on and now on scholarship, Stanulis is averaging a career-best 3.6 points per game, and is also second on the team with 40 assists.
