EUGENE - Rarely has a week gone by this season that Oregon hasn't threatened -- or set -- some type of team or individual scoring record.
The Ducks have scored at least 80 points in 16 of their 21 games and continue to lead the nation in scoring offense with an average of 85.3 points per game.
No game exemplified Oregon's new up-tempo style of play more than its game at Arizona on Jan. 16 that featured the most combined points (231) in Pacific-10 Conference history. That game also featured reserve junior post Nicole Canepa tying Oregon's single-game scoring record with 38 points.
The latest accomplishment came last Saturday when Ducks senior guard Taylor Lilley made nine three-pointers at USC, tying the Pac-10 record first set by Oregon City native Lindsey Yamasaki of Stanford in 2001.
What separated Lilley's career-high 36-point showing from the Ducks' high-scoring game at Arizona was that it came in an Oregon win. Since winning at Oregon State on Jan. 9, the Ducks had lost five games in a row (including 119-112 in Tucson) before beating USC 85-77.
As enjoyable as it's been for Lilley to play in fast-paced games, she's eager to record more victories in the second half of the Pac-10 season. That starts with Saturday's 5:30 game against Oregon State in the final Civil War basketball game at McArthur Court.
"It's been fun, but it's even better when you win and I think that's something we can change in the second half," Lilley said. "We have a lot of things to learn from the games that we lost. We definitely still have some things to prove and I think we'll do that these next nine games."
Oregon (13-8, 4-5 Pac-10) closed the first half of conference play in a tie for sixth place, but feels it has what it takes to finish in the top half of the Pac-10. The conference season hasn't gone as smoothly for Oregon State (9-11, 1-8), losers of nine games in a row since winning its Pac-10 opener.
The Beavers' losing streak includes a 79-75 double-overtime home defeat to California and a 57-54 loss at Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday. But Oregon State remains third in the Pac-10 in scoring defense at 57.5 points per game, setting up another intriguing showdown between the offensive-minded Ducks and the defensive-minded Beavers.
"The bottom line is they want to play a high-tempo game for 40 minutes," Oregon State coach LaVonda Wagner said earlier this season. "They want to run and transition, obviously. ... There's several teams in the conference that like to run the floor as well, but they're not looking to do it for 40 minutes, whereas Oregon is."
The Beavers are led by junior guard Talisa Rhea (17.6 points), who made 7 of 8 three-pointers en route to a season-high 30 points against Oregon last month. She is one of several players that have gotten Oregon coach Paul Westhead's attention during his first look at the Pac-10 teams.
"More talented than I thought perhaps they were going to be," Westhead said. "There are many good players throughout the league. I thought there might be a handful, but there's more than a handful."
- Jeff Smith
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