University of Washington
Oregon
Huskies End Season as Oregon Wins Fourth Meeting, 77-73, in WNIT Third Round
March 20, 2002 | Women's Basketball
March 20, 2002
By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Sports Writer
SEATTLE (AP) _ Jamie Craighead is certain Washington's Loree Payne
helped her 3-pointer swish through the net.
A little tip from Payne's hands.
Maybe so, but she didn't get any assistance on the next two.
Craighead made three 3-pointers in the final 2:15 and finished with 17 points and seven assists as Oregon defeated Washington 77-73 Wednesday night in the quarterfinals of the women's NIT.
Craighead swished one from the baseline over Payne's outstretched arms with 2:15 left for a 70-69 Ducks lead.
"I thought it was going to be an airball," she said.
Payne turned the ball over on Washington's next possession, throwing a high pass that went out of bounds off Andrea Lalum's hands and Craighead scored another 3 at 1:47.
Lalum answered with a 3 for the Huskies at 1:31 before Craighead came up big from long range again with 41.6 left.
"We weren't going to go home with a loss," Craighead said. "We wanted to play at home again and against a team we haven't seen."
The Ducks (20-13) got their wish.
They will play at home at 7 p.m. Saturday against Michigan State, a 79-61 winner over Alabama on Tuesday. The championship is scheduled for next Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday at the site of one of the final two teams, to be determined by results.
The other semifinal this weekend matches Houston at Virginia Tech.
"We needed to get this win, a road win in the postseason, to know how hard it is and so we know how to do it," Oregon coach Bev Smith said.
Cathrine Kraayeveld led the Ducks with 26 points and 12 rebounds. She scored 16 in the first half on 7-of-9 shooting.
Oregon also eliminated Washington from the Pac-10 tournament with a 14-point win March 2, and won three of four meetings between the teams this season.
Lalum scored 21 points, including her team's first nine, to lead three Washington players in double figures. Lalum also had a team-high nine rebounds.
Giuliana Mendiola had 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Huskies, who ended their season at 19-12 and missed reaching the final four of a national tournament for the second consecutive year. They were eliminated in the final eight of the NCAA tournament last season.
They considered their NIT run a positive step toward getting back in the NCAA tournament next year.
But it was tough to end the season against Oregon.
"I know our team gets pumped up to play them and I'm pretty sure they get just as excited to play us," Mendiola said.
Payne added 15 points and six rebounds for the Huskies.
Washington coach June Daugherty was called for a technical foul with 5:18 left for arguing and Craighead made both free throws to pull the Ducks to within 66-62. Craighead then made a 3-pointer at 4:36 and Kraayeveld converted a one-and-one free-throw opportunity at 3:51 to pull Oregon within one, 68-67. Craighead finished 5 of 15 from the field, including 5 of 13 from 3-point range.
"We came in with good confidence," she said. "It is always a good game here."
The Ducks shot 51.5 percent in the first half for a 45-39 halftime lead. But they started the second half 0 for 8 with six turnovers and Washington went on a 12-0 scoring spurt that featured 3-pointers by Payne and Mendiola.
Kraayeveld made a 3-pointer at 13:16 for Oregon's first field goal of the half.
"I felt like things were going our way," Daugherty said, noting Washington was backed by one of its loudest crowds of the season. "You have to give them credit, they had one run left in them."
Alyssa Fredrick added 11 points and four rebounds off the bench for Oregon.
