University of Oregon
California
Pair of top-25 foes on tap this week
02/01/18 | Women's Basketball, @GoDucksMoseley
The Oregon women host No. 25 California on Friday in Matthew Knight Arena, looking to protect their first-place standing in the Pac-12.
As a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Oregon sophomore Sabrina Ionescu was a little disappointed when the 2017-18 Pac-12 schedule was released, and the Ducks weren't slated to play at Cal and Stanford.
The Oregon women's basketball team faces the Golden Bears and Cardinal just once in the regular season. Those games are this weekend, in Matthew Knight Arena. And though Ionescu may not be able to play on her native turf this season, she's definitely pleased to be facing two top-25 opponents this weekend on her new home court.
"It's going to be so fun playing here," Ionescu said of the weekend series, which begins for the Ducks against No. 25 Cal on Friday (8 p.m., Pac-12 Network). "Our crowds have been great, and hopefully people come out for the games. They play such a big role in our games here. We're just so juiced and fired up to play teams here, because it's definitely a hard place to compete at, when we have so many Duck fans cheering for us. That definitely plays to our advantage."
To help encourage robust crowds this weekend, the UO athletic department initiated a "4k Challenge," with the goal of getting the UO women's average home attendance for this season above 4,000 fans per game. That will require some big crowds during this homestand, and one later this month featuring USC and UCLA. To spur interest, a 50-inch 4k television will be handed out to one lucky fan at each of those four games.
But of course, the chance to watch some pretty good college basketball is a draw, as well. The Oregon women reached the 20-win mark at Utah on Sunday, and have yet to lose in regulation during Pac-12 play. The Golden Bears (15-6, 6-4 Pac-12) feature all-American forward Kristine Anigwe, who is averaging 17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, and had a double-double in Cal's win in Eugene last season.
"Friday's game is the biggest game we'll play all year," UO coach Kelly Graves said. "And then after that game, Sunday (against No. 24 Stanford at noon) will be the biggest."
Such is life when the Ducks are fighting for their first conference championship in nearly 20 years, and for the right to host early round play in the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks moved up to No. 6 in the Associated Press top 25 this week, the best in program history, and at 9-1 they have a one-game lead in the Pac-12 over UCLA and Sunday's opponent, Stanford.
The Ducks have reached those heights despite having a roster heavy on freshmen and sophomores, which in at least one case could be an advantage: a level of youthful naiveté that belies their national standing.
"We joke around, 'How are we sixth?' " Ionescu said. "There's so many top teams with seniors and juniors leading the way. I don't think we realize how good we actually are. But none of that stuff matters at the end of the day, when you come to play.
"We definitely feel pressure coming into this weekend, playing two top-25 teams. We have to be on our 'A' game the whole weekend."
Oregon's margin for error remains reduced by the absence of senior shooting guard Lexi Bando, who will be sidelined at least one more weekend with a lower leg injury. Bando was getting up shots prior to Wednesday's practice and not wearing a protective boot on her leg, but the Ducks are still targeting the final stretch run of the season for her return.
The team's perimeter depth almost took another hit last weekend when junior point guard Maite Cazorla was stepped on and feared to have suffered a broken hand. Having played every minute of Oregon's two-game split with Oregon State the weekend before – including overtime in Corvallis – Cazorla played just 27 minutes before being sidelined with the injury at Colorado.
Cazorla went for an X-ray after the game, and Graves began considering lineup options in the event the hand was broken. The fears were allayed when the X-ray came back clean.
"It was awesome; obviously I was so scared," Cazorla said. "But then I went to the hospital and it was fine. Thank God, because I was really scared."
Not only was Cazorla able to play Sunday at Utah, she scored 21 points on 5-of-5 three-point shooting. Ionescu jokingly wondered whether Cazorla had been fitted with some sort of bionic hand while getting X-rays, while Graves breathed a sigh of relief – while also expressing confidence in his backups had Cazorla been sidelined.
In the Colorado game, senior Justine Hall came off the bench to play 17 minutes, making two three-pointers and two steals. And freshman Aina Ayuso, Cazorla's fellow Spaniard, scored four points in eight minutes.
"When those players are called on, they're capable of doing it," Graves said.
Fortunately, though, Cazorla will be in action for this weekend's critically important homestand that begins Friday against California. The Ducks will be happy to see her in uniform and on the court – and hope a few thousand Oregon fans will be packed into the stands to watch.
