Ducks Bid Farewell To Mac Court With Win
EUGENE – McArthur Court was put to rest on Saturday afternoon as Oregon sent off the 84-year old venue in style, with a 68-64 victory over Washington at The Pit.
In front of a season high 2,854 fans in attendance, the Ducks (11-4, 2-2) needed all the support they could to hold off the relentless Huskies (6-7, 1-3).
Once again it was the combination of junior point guard Nia Jackson and senior centerNicole Canepa creating the majority of the offense for Oregon, as Jackson led all scorers with 22 points.
The Seattle native also recorded game highs with seven assists and five steals, while completing two 3-point plays. Jackson has now scored double figures in 16 consecutive games dating back to last season, has led the Ducks in scoring for three straight games, and has reached the 20-point threshold four times this year.
Canepa scored 15 points off the bench, recording double figures for the fourth straight game while also shooting 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
Freshman Danielle Love came off the bench and made a significant difference in the second half, scoring a career-high nine points and knocking down a career-best three 3-pointers.
Oregon led by as many as 12 in the second half after using a 13-0 run to gain a 45-33 lead with 15:11 to play. But like the first half, Washington wouldn’t go away and came back within four, 45-41 after an 8-0 run was capped with a Sarah Morton jumper.
But it was Love’s first 3-pointer of the game that broke up the Huskies’ 8-0 run and ended UO’s scoring drought.
Washington’s Marjorie Heard tied the game at 54-54 with 6:11 to play, but again it was Love with her third 3-pointer of the game that put Oregon ahead for good.
Despite shooting just 55.6 percent (20-of-36) from the free-throw line and only 31.3 percent for the game from the floor, the Ducks forced Washington into 25 turnovers which was the distinction in the game.
Kristi Kingma led Washington with 21 points, knocking down six 3-pointers. Heard added 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Huskies, while Regina Rogers fell short of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
Washington shot 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from the floor, and outrebounded the Ducks 45-52, although Oregon was sent to the line 36 times compare to Washington at 17.
Oregon junior Jasmin Holliday scored six points, while leading the Ducks with seven rebounds and a game-high three blocks.
The Ducks’ senior class ends its record in Eugene against Washington at an undefeated 4-0, while UO’s all-time record at McArthur Court is 338-127.
Oregon led by as many as 17 in the first half, but went into the locker room with a slim 32-28 lead.
Canepa led the Ducks with 10 points, while Kingma drained four first-half 3-pointers to lead all scorers with 12 points in the first 20 minutes.
Oregon built its first 10-point lead by the 12:48 mark as two free throws from Canepa put the Ducks ahead 18-8.
The Ducks then went on a 9-2 run, building a 27-10 lead with 9:06 remaining in the first until Kingma finally broke Washington’s scoreless streak with her first 3-pointer.
Kingma knocked down three 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions, and added a fourth at the 4:21 mark as UW pieced together a 14-0 run that was finally stalled whenVictoria Kenyon made one-of-two free throws from the line with 4:06 left.
Canepa then made a lay-up at the 2:58 mark as 6:08 was the time lapsed between UO’s last field goal made.
The Ducks head back out on the road to Los Angeles next week, taking on USC at 7 p.m., Thursday at the Galen Center. UO’s game with 12th-ranked UCLA is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. start from Pauley Pavilion and will be aired on Fox Sports Net.
The Ducks will return to Eugene and make their first appearance at Matthew Knight Arena hosting Oregon State in Civil War action on Jan. 23, 2011. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net as UO attempts to Pack Matt.
General admission tickets are currently available online for $2, and will be available on the day of the game at the ticket box office. Fans will also be able to show their BI-Mart card while purchasing a reserved ticket to the Oregon State game on Jan. 23, and will receive a free general admission ticket to the game against California at 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 29.
At the Matthew Knight Arena opener, students in attendance will be able sign up at the guest services booth to win a round trip flight courtesy of Allegiant Air.
The school’s sparkling new 12,500 seat venue is scheduled to make its grand opening on Thursday, Jan. 13, when the Oregon men’s basketball team faces USC, with tip-off for that contest scheduled for 8 p.m.
TICKETS
Tickets can be purchased by clicking HERE, calling 1-800-WEB-FOOT, or in person at the Casanova Center ticket office. Tickets can also be purchased at the McArthur Court ticket window 90 minutes prior to game time. The doors to Mac Court open 60 minutes prior to tip.
Notes: Crowd of 2,854 was largest for Oregon since 2,892 fans attended last season’s UCLA game on senior day (Feb. 27, 2010)…Nia Jackson extended her double-figure scoring streak to 16 games dating back to last season, and recorded her fourth 20-point effort of the year (6th career), including her second straight…Jackson has also led UO in scoring for three straight contests… Nicole Canepa recorded her fourth consecutive double-figure scoring effort, all of which have come in Pac-10 play…Canepa finished with 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting and tied a season-best by going 7-of-8 from the free throw line…in her past six games, the senior has scored in double figures five times and is averaging 12.3 points on 61.1 percent shooting from the floor…freshman Danielle Lovescored a career-high nine points and knocked down a career-best three 3-pointers…Amanda Johnson, battling a chest infection, was held to a season-low four points…Oregon’s senior class won all four games in Eugene against Washington during its tenure…the Oregon women say goodbye to Mac Court with a record of 338-127…Kristi Kingma’s six 3-pointers tied an opponent season high set by Jazmine Perkins of Washington State on Jan. 6.
Updated 01-09-2011
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