Oregon defeats women's hoops squad.

January 17, 1999

EUGENE, Ore. - The inside play of Jenny Mowe's 16 points and six rebounds and a clutch three-pointer from Natasha O'Brien led the Oregon Ducks to a 72-64 win over Washington State in a women's Pacific-10 conference game Sunday before 3,805 fans at McArthur Court.

The Cougars (7-7 overall, 1-4 in Pacific-10 Conference play) were led by Victoria Harrod's career high 18 points. Alke Dietel added 15 and grabbed seven rebounds for WSU, while Yvonne Volkman chipped in with 12 and Tricia Lamb 10.

Mowe's scoring help came from Shaquala Williams, 14 points, and O'Brien, 12 points, as the Ducks (14-3, 5-1) survived 21 straight points from WSU just when the game appeared to be a runaway for Oregon in the second half.

Oregon led 44-27 at halftime and eventually opened up a 25 point advantage, the last time 60-35 on a basket by Sonja Curtis with just over 11 minutes to play in the game. That's when Harrod and her teammates went to work.

Volkman started the 21 point run with a bucket with 10:52 to play and not until Mowe banged home a close shot with 5:35 to play did Oregon score again. Meanwhile, Harrod collected four field goals and hit two free throws to complete a pair of three-point plays. Dietel added seven points, including one trey, and Lamb chipped in with a jumper as WSU made the final six minutes more intense than any other part of the game.

Eventually WSU pulled to within two points, 64-62, on Lamb's three point basket with 1:44 to play. That's when O'Brien hit her huge bucket, a three-pointer that 21 seconds later answered Lamb's bomb. Over the final 70 seconds WSU's only scoring came on a pair of Volkman free throws that cut Oregon's lead to 67-64.

After Volkman started WSU's dramatic come-back attempt, Harrod knocked down a pair of free throws after being fouled by Curtis. She then completed a three-point play with a layin and a foul shot after Curtis fouled her again.Dietel then hit a jumper and Harrod made two more free throws after being fouled by Brianne Meharry.

With 7:09 left to play Dietel's jumper cut Oregon's lead to 12 points, 60-48. Lamb then chipped in with a bucket and Dietel cut the deficit to seven with a three-point bomb. Harrod then completed the run with another three-point play, this time making the free throw after a layin while being fouled by O'Brien.

During WSU's run Oregon threw the ball away 10 times, more than half of their 19 turnovers for the game. WSU had just 17 turnovers.

Williams and Strange each hit two free throws in the final minute and O'Brien capped off the game by hitting one of two free throws with eight seconds to play, giving the Ducks their win.

Oregon appeared to put the game away early with a 13-2 run out of the gate, thanks to scoring from five players. During the opening half the Ducks had a 6-0 run that opened up a 13 point lead and then put together a 10-2 run for a 19-point advantage, 37-18, just over three minutes before halftime. WSU's only answer was a brief 6-2 run early in the half. That was the only time in the first half the Cougars could manage back-to-back baskets.

After a Jennifer Kerns three-pointer cut Oregon's lead to 11 points 27-16, Mowe made two inside shots and added a pair of free throws as the Ducks took a 37-18 lead that WSU was never able to overcome.

WSU's shooting woes in the Willamette Valley continued against the Ducks. After shooting just 33.3 percent and going 7-for-24 in three-point land at Oregon State Thursday, the Cougars shot 39.7 percent against the Ducks and made just 4-of-20 trey attempts.

The Cougars also struggled on the boards against a much taller and more physical Oregon team. The Ducks had their way on the boards, out rebounding WSU 40-31. At OSU the Beavers had 19 more rebounds than WSU.

Next action for the Cougars will be at home Thursday when WSU hosts Stanford.

WSU (7-7) - Dietel 6-22 2-2 15, Volkman 4-9 4-4 12, Quinton 3-5 0-0 6,
Nyseth 0-1 0-0 0, Lamb 4-11 0-0 10, Harrod 5-8 8-10 18, Kerns 1-2 0-0 3,
DeAnda 0-0 0-0 0, Stinson 0-0 0-0 0, team 23-58 14-16 64.

Oregon (14-3) - 4-10 2-4 12, Wolvert 3-7 2-2 8, Mowe 7-9 2-3 16, Williams
4-9 4-4 14, Strange 2-5 2-3 6, Piers 1-2 0-0 2, Craighead 1-3 0-0 2, Dion
1-4 0-0 2, Curtis 2-5 0-0 4, Unaka 0-0 0-0 0, Meharry 3-7 0-1 6, team 28-61
12-17 72.

Halftime - Oregon 44, WSU 27 . 3-Point goals - WSU 4-20 (Dietel 1-8,
Volkman 0-4, Lamb 2-6, Kerns 1-2), Oregon 4-13 (O'Brien 2-5, Williams 2-5,
Piers 0-1, Dion 0-1, Curtis 0-1).  Fouled Out - None.  Rebounds - WSU 31
(Dietel, Nyseth 7), Oregon 40 (Wolvert 8).  Assists - WSU 15 (Nyseth 5),
Oregon 21 (Williams 6).  Turnovers - WSU 17 (Kerns 4), Oregon 19 (Williams,
Strange, Meharry 4).  Steals - WSU 11 (Dietel, Nyseth 3), Oregon 5 (Dion
2).  Blocks - WSU 3 (Dietel, Volkman, Quinton 1), Oregon 9 (Mowe 7). Total
Fouls - WSU 16, Oregon 15. Tech - Strange A - 3,805.

Cougar Women's Basketball

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