University of Washington
Oregon
Huskies Handle Ducks In Eugene
February 14, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 14, 2004
EUGENE, Ore. - Senior guard Giuliana Mendiola scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds Saturday as Washington defeated the University of Oregon women's basketball team 67-56 before 4,254 McArthur Court fans.
The Ducks hung around until the very end, but it was Mendiola that answered every Oregon run. Oregon trailed just 44-40 with 11:04 left after a Brandi Davis 3-pointer. Mendiola responded with a 3-pointer of her own as she reeled off Washington's next 13 points and 16 of the next 18 as the Ducks could never regain the lead they had for most of the first half.
Washington swept the season series for the second straight season and improved to 14-10 and 7-8 in the Pac-10. Oregon, which has lost three of its last four, fell to 12-12 and 4-10.
"I thought we did a good job of keeping people in front of us and challenging shots," Oregon coach Bev Smith said. "We didn't rotate as well sometimes, but did a fairly good job of establishing a defensive wall. We ran into a really good player in Giuliana Mendiola, who hit some big shots in the second half."
The Ducks shut down Mendiola and the Huskies' second-leading scorer, Andrea Lalum, in the first half as they each scored just four points on a combined 4-of-16 shooting. Lalum, however, also heated up after halftime, hitting 5-of-10 from the floor and grabbed six of her eight rebounds as she finished with 16 points.
"We just wanted to play really aggressive and physical and make them work real hard for their points," said Oregon guard Chelsea Wagner, who guarded Mendiola much of the game. "And I think they did."
Washington took care of the ball all afternoon with just six turnovers, including one in the second half. Meanwhile, Oregon turned the ball over 16 times.
"The specific instances we turned the ball over were crucial," Smith said. "We had good opportunities in which we turned it over and we really lost our flow."
Davis, a junior guard, put on a show of her own for Oregon, scoring a team-high 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go with four assists. Down 36-27 with 16:06 left, Davis scored 12 points and had two assists during a 20-11 run that saw the Huskies lead dwindle to 49-47 at the 8:29 mark.
"I knew the help-side (defense) would be on me after I hit a few (shots)," Davis said. "So, I looked for other people and tried to get the team going."
Andrea Bills notched her second straight double-double for Oregon, scoring 10 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Freshman forward Eleanor Haring, who had scored in double-figures seven straight games, had an off-night, making 3-of-13 from the field for eight points.
Oregon point guard Corrie Mizusawa, the Pac-10 assists leader, partially tore the lateral meniscus in her left knee in Thursday's win over Washington State. She started Saturday, but played just 15 minutes with a noticeable limp. Senior Kayla Steen filled in with three points, three assists and five rebounds.
Davis, who was 3-of-8 from long distance, moved to fifth place all-time on Oregon's 3-point field goal list with 91.
