Ducks Are Finally a Go: After Some Hard-Luck Years, The System Is Working

Ducks Are Finally a Go: After Some Hard-Luck Years, The System Is Working

Originally posted on CampusAttic.com on December 13th, 2013

    When Matt Knight Arena was built, there were two high-profile University of Oregon basketball coaching hires. Dana Altman has led Oregon’s men’s program to heightened expectations over his four years, but on the women’s side the results have been a mixed bag.

    Oregon women’s basketball has quite a storied legacy since its first official season (1973-74). 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, three times in the WNIT, two Pac-10/12 championships, and an all-time win/loss record nearing .600 in the very difficult Pac-10/12. Oregon legends such as Debbie Adams, Bev Smith, Stefanie Kasperski, Lauri Landerholm, and Debbie Sporcich have all added to its storied place in the Pac–all Oregon Ducks Hall of Famers. Recent Oregon Ducks Taylor Lilley, Amanda Johnson, and Catherine Kraayeveid, among others, have played in the WNBA.

    Legendary coach Paul Westhead was brought in a year before Altman to lead the women’s basketball program, the sixth coach to lead Oregon’s women’s basketball program, part of the new identity to Oregon basketball amidst the construction of a new arena. Profiled as “The Guru of Go” by ESPN films, Westhead’s stellar career over four decades includes coaching NBA, WNBA, and college teams to the highest of levels, famously teaching a system predicated on speed, press defense, and quick shots. He won a NBA championship as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, and his LMU basketball squad retains the NCAA record for the highest-scoring team in history.

    The hire seemed to make sense, what school after all is more directly associated with running and speed than Oregon? If nothing else, Westhead’s system would bring great excitement to Eugene, and a brand name in a hall of fame-caliber coach to sell. And early on, true to his reputation, points were exactly what he brought. In his first two seasons at the helm, Oregon finished top-15 in scoring and led he Pac-10/12 in three-pointers. While buckets were being made though, wins were hit and miss.

Katelyn Loper is leading the NCAA in 3-pointers per game. (courtesy: Lanetoday.com)

    A program that had won just nine games the year before Westhead’s arrival finished the 2009-10 season with an 18-16 record, reaching the WNIT Tournament. But in year two Oregon finished with a losing record, and year three managed 15-15 with once again no postseason play. The 2012-2013 season hit a record low — the team finished a dismal 4-27. Ravaged by injuries, the team was a shell of what it could have been, but still there was something wrong. For whatever reason, the Guru of Go’s system didn’t go.

    It wasn’t for a lack of talent either. Individual talents such as Amanda Johnson, Nia Jackson, and Taylor Lilley earned all-conference honors, while Westhead has also coached multiple academic all-americans — Amanda Johnson was even named the 2012 Toyo Tires Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

    But it all couldn’t be blamed on injuries, and there were rumblings of Westhead’s job being on the line if Oregon didn’t produce in 2013 following such a dismal 2012, maybe the system just wasn’t right for women’s collegiate basketball.

    So far in 2013, Oregon women’s basketball and coach Westhead have proved all the doubters wrong. The team is 5-2 on the year, one loss coming to #1-ranked and perennial national title contender Connecticut in Hartford. The Ducks haven’t just been winning, but the system is working, as Oregon racks up astounding scoring totals each game, eclipsing 100-points four times so far on the young season.

     During Westhead’s five years, Oregon has cracked the century mark 11 times, going 10-1 in those games. Oregon’s return to relevance was announced loudly in the opening game of the season November 9th, when the Ducks scored a mind-boggling 131 points vs. CSU Bakersfield, a Pac-12 single-game scoring record.

Freshman Chrishae Rowe has revitalized Oregon women’s basketball in 2013. (courtesy: GoDucks.com)

    Leading the charge for the rejuvenated Ducks has been freshman Chrishae Rowe, who set a new single-game school scoring record with her 41 point performance vs. Seattle Dec. 4th. For her efforts, Rowe was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, the third time she had received the honor in the first five weeks of the season. She ranks second in the Pac-12 in scoring average.

    It hasn’t been Rowe carrying the team by herself however, some of the talent that suffered through injuries last year are healthy and contributing to the go. Katelyn Loper is leading the nation in three-pointers per game, while Jillian Alleyne has racked up five double-doubles so far in her sophomore campaign.

Liz Brenner will rejoin the basketball team this Saturday now that volleyball season is over. (courtesy: USAtoday.com)

    Now that the volleyball season is over, basketball is set to get a boost, when Oregon’s most multi-talented athlete in school history, Elizabeth Brenner, rejoins the team. Brenner, who has played softball, volleyball, basketball, and thrown javelin for the track team during her time at Oregon, is set to return to the court this weekend after Oregon was knocked out of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament last weekend by Nebraska. She plans to add sand volleyball to her vast resume, when Oregon adds the sport in spring 2014.

    With the athletes healthy and in place, fans are finally getting the opportunity to see what was promised when Paul Westhead was hired five years ago — “the system” working. It is fast-paced, high-energy, quick-hitting basketball at its best, redefining the way the game is played, much like how the Oregon football team’s style of play has sparked a similar revolution on the turf. When the system is running and shots are falling, the Ducks are as entertaining and tough to play as any women’s college basketball team in the country.

    It’s been a lengthy break for the Ducks, a 10-day stay in games happening in the schedule due to finals. Saturday Oregon finally returns to the court, hosting Portland State at 2 p.m. at Matthew Knight Arena. It’s a chance for in-state revenge, as Portland State added to last year’s misery with an 87-85 win over the Ducks in November last year on the Matt Knight floor.

Sophomore Jillian Alleyne already has five double-doubles on the young season. (courtesy: uwire.com)

    This won’t be the same team PSU faced last year though, Oregon is second in the country in scoring, racking up 98.3 points per game, behind only Baylor. The Ducks have already exceeded their win total from the 2012-13 campaign, looking to wipe away all memories of the lost ’12 season, showcasing Westhead’s fully-functional system firing on all cylinders.

    With Pac-12 play still to come, more tests await the 2013-14 Oregon women’s basketball team, but with the 5-2 start and amassing amazing scoring totals, there is no doubt that after a lengthy wait the Guru of Go’s system has arrived. These ladies are running, and it is a sight to see.

NEXT GAME:

Portland State at Oregon
Saturday, December 14th, 2013 – 2 p.m.
Matthew Knight Arena – Eugene, OR
Tickets Available Here
Game will be livestreamed on Pac-12.com

Volleyball Back in the Tourney: Oregon Returns To NCAA Tournament Friday With More To Prove

Volleyball Back in the Tourney: Oregon Returns To NCAA Tournament Friday With More To Prove

Originally posted on CampusAttic.com on December 5th, 2013

    Last year, Oregon Volleyball’s improbable run through the Pac-12 and NCAA Tournament, losing in the title game to Texas, culminated in a #2 overall finish. Led by Oregon’s first AVCA National Player of the Year, Alaina Bergsma, it was a storybook run from a program that has emerged recently as a major power in the country’s premiere volleyball conference under coach Jim Moore.

Oregon has reached the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in school history. (courtesy: Pit Crew)

    With Bergsma having graduated and other key players such as Kat Fischer gone from last year’s runners-up squad, the question was how would the 2013 team replace and reload to continue the success of 2012, the most successful year in school history (30-5).

    Enter Liz Brenner, Oregon’s do-everything four-sport star, who earned 1st team All-Pac-12 honors for the second-straight year. The junior has emerged as the team’s clear-cut leader, a dominating outside hitter with the most powerful rocket arm in the conference, aided in part by her javelin work on the track & field team.

     Liz Brenner’s conference-leading 4.57 kills/set is good enough for 10th overall in the nation, and has earned a well-deserved #BrennerSMASH cult-status twitter meme and baseball-esque K count at Matt Knight Arena during matches with each booming kill. Before coming to Oregon, Liz was a multi-time national champion in badminton. Her older sister was an athlete at Oregon State, while her brother Doug is a redshirt freshman on the Oregon football team.

    The 2013 campaign wasn’t perfect by any means for the Oregon volleyball team, coming off such a brilliant previous year. The team experienced a rough three-week stretch late, going 2-5 starting in late October, and senior setter Lauren Plum missed a portion of the season due to injury. The 2012 Pac-12 setter of the year, Plum’s point guard-like distribution has kept team’s on their toes her whole career, earning All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors in 2013, alongside fellow-senior Ariana Williams. Freshman Amanda Benson also received conference honors, being named to the All-Freshman team, averaging 4.71 digs/set in 2013, a new team record.

    While Brenner may stand out, Oregon plays a very well-rounded team game. Leading the Pac-12 in assists/set, while 11th in the nation in kills and 29th in digs, Jim Moore’s system keeps teams guessing, playing disciplined fast-paced volleyball.

Coach Jim Moore speaks to his team during a timeout. (courtesy: Ducknews.com)

    It has been a steady rise for Oregon volleyball under Coach Jim Moore, now in his 8th season at the helm of the program. Prior to Moore’s arrival, it had been 14 years since the Ducks had finished with a winning record, much less a NCAA Tournament invite.

     In the time since Moore’s arrival in Eugene, Oregon has amassed five seasons of 20+ victories, while earning regional and national coaching accolades along the way for his efforts and grooming multiple All-Pac-12 and All-American student-athletes.

    The 1993 AVCA Division II National Coach of the Year, Moore has tutored 28 All-Americans, three National Players of the Year, two Olympians, and a 1993 Division II National Championship squad during his storied career; which includes stops at Northern Michigan, Kansas State, Texas, and Chico State. A firm believer in the student aspect of “student-athlete”, Oregon volleyball has repeatedly earned AVCA Academic Team Awards and individual Academic All-American honorees, including two this year earning Pac-12 All-Academic honors — Shellsy Ashen and Bethany Bair.

    Entering the 2013 campaign with a #8 preseason ranking, the team did manage to rebound from the tough mid-year stretch by winning their last five matches, finishing 19-11 (12-8 in conference) on the year ranked #25, good enough for a 4th place finish in the Pac-12 behind traditional powerhouses Washington, Stanford, and USC.

    Their season was good enough to be invited to the NCAA Tournament once more, the seventh such appearance in the big dance in the past eight years. Yet despite the consistency, only once (2012) has Oregon advanced past the sweet 16 regional, last year being the shocker of the tournament reaching the title game. Texas exposed Oregon in that title match though as a team lacking height, constantly blocked at the net and unable to return the favor, the Ducks were swept in straight sets. Finding a consistent block remains a problem Oregon has to solve to have any hopes of repeating last year’s accomplishments.

Oregon has been on a roll entering the NCAA Tournament, riding a 5-game winning streak. (courtesy: Pac-12.com)

    While it may have been an up-and-down year, the rigors of playing in the toughest conference in the country has molded this team into focused seasoned veterans, playing well entering the tournament riding a five-match winning streak. To advance, Oregon must get past Miami (19-11), the 51st ranked team in the nation, in the opening round Friday at 2:30 p.m. (PT) in Lincoln, NE.

    It is the 11th all-time appearance of the Oregon volleyball team in the NCAA Tournament. Miami has been on a streak of its own, this its fifth-straight season of reaching the NCAA Tournament. Oregon and Miami have never previously met in women’s volleyball.

    The key for Oregon, much like with the vaunted Duck football team, is getting an early start and overwhelming teams with their fast-paced style of play, forcing opponents to come from behind…c’mon, this is Oregon, would we honestly expect anything less? In 16 of Oregon’s 19 victories on the year, the Ducks won the first set, going on to win 12 of those matches in straight sets, never losing a match after taking the early lead.

    Miami is a team that also distributes the ball evenly, led by setter Blair Fuentez (10.05 assists/set). Outside hitter Savannah Leaf (3.82 kills/set) is the most potent finisher in the Miami attack, but much like with Oregon, the Hurricanes keep team’s guessing as to where the attack will be coming from. Pressure will be on Oregon’s freshman phenom libero Amanda Benson to keep the ball off the floor along the back row when the ball gets past Oregon’s blockers Ariana Williams and Canace Finley.

    Should Oregon advance past Miami, a tall task is in order, likely playing the #8 Nebraska Cornhuskers in the next round on their homecourt in Lincoln on Saturday. The regional semi-finals take place in Lincoln, NE Dec. 13-14th, with the NCAA Finals taking place in Seattle, WA Dec. 19-21st at Key Arena.

    The Oregon-Miami match Friday at 2:30 p.m. won’t have live TV coverage, but will be carried online at www.huskers.com. Follow @oregonvb on twitter for updates.

(courtesy: NCAA.com)