Oregon 105, Corban 66: A Systematic Demolition

All in all it was what you would expect out of an exhibition game against a NAIA opponent for the Ducks. Oregon looked physically superior to the visiting Corban Warriors running away with the game by a final score of 105-66. In a season that may end in a coaching change, many have been asking if Coach Paul Westhead’s "System" can work at Oregon. The way the team played tonight against an inferior opponent seemed to answer that it could. While "pleased" with 60 of Oregon’s 105 points coming on the fast break, Coach stated that he’s a "greedy guy" when it comes to fast break points and would like to see as many as 80 on the break. "There are some good signs out there." Coach Paul Westhead stated post game talking about his team.

Saying that he is greedy about the fast break points could be a bit of an indictment of the offense, in that the Ducks missed several open looks from outside the arc as well as under the basket even while maintaining a 45% shooting night from outside. Lexi Petersen lead all scorers getting 14 of her total 23 in the first half on 6-9 shooting including two from long range. Also contributing large, was Senior Laura Stanulis who garnered her first career triple double with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists. Early in the game Paul Westhead told his senior point guard, Stanulis; that he "Was not pleased with the way she was pushing that ball and [then] she immediately went in and responded…she played very well." When asked about the same moment, Stanulis stated "Sometimes it doesn’t feel like you’re going that slow until someone reminds you…It was a good learning experience. I’m gonna focus on that every game."

Jillian Alleyne also came off the bench to contribute a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Paul Westhead went as far as to say that "It almost looks like it’s easy for her. I think better games and better performances are ahead."It’s high praise after such an efficient night. Her statistics came in just 21 minutes on the floor and added 6 steals and an assist to her already impressive numbers.

In a half that coach Westhead deemed "Just okay" the Ducks forced turnovers with their press and in the half court. They did contribute however, to Corban’s offense as well by handing the ball over 11 times which became 15 first half points for the visitors. Oregon launched 20 shots from deep connected on 8 of them. Normally that is a pretty solid number but when you consider that of those 12 misses, many of them were looks when the Oregon shooters were the only ones on that side of the court. Little things like this are what could either make or break the Ducks this season.

For Corban, they were paced by Tara Van Weerdhuizen who scored 12 of her 20 in the first half and the Warriors were only down 13 at the half. As a team, the Warriors were held under 30% shooting from the floor and were forced into "The System’s" frenetic pace. While shooting the ball likely more often than they were used to, Corban was aided by 23 offensive rebounds which they converted into 18 second chance points. Corban stayed just out of reach of the Ducks until Oregon used a pair of runs (11-2, 24-4) to ice the game and turn this one into a laugher. Corban was outscored 53-27 in the second half.

"There’s always room for improvement. We can always go faster. We’re just gonna keep trying to get more and more fast breaks every game." Stanilus commented after the game. Now that the exhibition season is over, fans hope this improvement is rapid. "[Exhibition games] are a good opportunity just to see what we need to work on. We need to be more aggressive on defense."