BERKELEY, Calif. - Here comes the toughest road trip in school history.
For only the fourth time, the Oregon women's basketball team enters a week of conference play against two ranked teams. For the second time, it's coming on the road.
And for the first time in school history, the Ducks will play two top-10 conference teams in the same week, beginning tonight against No. 9 California in Haas Pavilion at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday afternoon, Oregon (8-6, 2-1 Pac-10) will face No. 7 Stanford.
"It's become a very. very, very difficult road trip," UO coach Bev Smith said.
Credit that to Cal's ascension over the three-year tenure of coach Joanne Boyle. The Bears (13-2, 4-0) are 54-23 in that time. Having ignored overtures during the offseason from Duke, where she played and later served as an assistant, Boyle has led the Bears into the top 10 for the first time.
A trip to the Bay Area always meant facing down the conference's giant, mighty Stanford. But now the Cardinal have a twin: The Bears are not only a national power, but along with Stanford have the most imposing front line in the Pac-10.
"They're really strong, really good," UO forward Ellie Manou said. "It's a competition we're looking forward to."
Before facing Stanford's 6-foot-4 tandem of sophomore Jayne Appel and freshman Kayla Pedersen, the Ducks will deal with Cal's more athletic duo of Ashley Walker and Devanei Hampton. Walker leads the Pac-10 in rebounding and is third in scoring, having carried the Bears while Hampton, the reigning conference player of the year, missed time with a knee injury.
Hampton isn't yet back to full strength, but she was named conference player of the week Monday for helping the Bears sweep USC and UCLA, a road trip that ended with two losses for the Cardinal.
Stanford and Cal are the Pac-10's two top rebounding teams, with average margins per game approaching plus-10. The Ducks are third this season at plus-4.1, but they were in the red last week both in a near upset of ASU and a win over Arizona.
"We're smart enough as a team to know we did some things very well, but we're also aware that we need to keep improving," Smith said.
Winning the battle in the post either game this week is a longshot for Oregon. The Ducks would be better off fighting for a draw down low, and finding other matchups to exploit. Against the Bears, that might be a short bench on a team with four starters averaging more than 30 minutes per game.
"Hopefully, if you do the right things, that could maybe work to your advantage by maybe running them a bit or getting them in some foul trouble," Smith said.
The Ducks have faced top-10 teams in consecutive games three times in their history, during the preseason in 1980 (three straight), 1982 and 1983. The first time they took on two ranked teams in the same week of conference play was a visit to Eugene by No. 24 Cal and No. 3 Stanford in 1992, and the same two teams were ranked when they played in McArthur Court the next season.
It wasn't until last season, Oregon's 21st in the Pac-10, that the Ducks played two ranked teams on the same conference road trip, at No. 9 Stanford and No. 21 Cal. Those were losses, as were those games from 1992 and 1993.
So in their fourth crack at two ranked Bay Area squads, the Ducks still are looking for the first victory. They'll try for one this week against two teams ranked among the nation's very best.
uo women vs. california
Oregon (8-6, 2-1) Starters
Micaela Cocks, 5-8, So. (7.2 ppg, 1.5 apg)
Taylor Lilley, 5-6, So. (13.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
Kaela Chapdelaine, 5-10, Sr. (7.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg)
Victoria Kenyon, 6-1, Fr. (4.1 ppg, 1.7 rpg)
Ellyce Ironmonger, 6-4, Fr. (8.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
California (13-2, 4-0) Starters
Alexis Gray-Lawson, 5-8, Jr. (12.5 ppg, 3.0 apg)
Natasha Vital, 5-8, So. (7.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
Lauren Grief, 5-10, So. (8.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
Ashley Walker, 6-1, Jr. (16.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg)
Devanei Hampton, 6-3, Jr. (12.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg)
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Radio/TV: KSCR 1320-AM/None
around the pac-10
Oregon State (8-6, 1-2) at Stanford (12-3, 2-2): Think the Cardinal won't be motivated for this one after getting swept in L.A. last weekend? This will be a tough assignment for the Beavers, who gave Arizona State all it could handle before falling on Saturday but have generally played tough against good teams.
UCLA (7-8, 2-2) at Washington (6-9, 1-2): UCLA knocked off Stanford and came within seconds of doing the same to Cal before the Golden Bears won in overtime on Sunday, but might be without guard Darxia Morris, who had 20 points against Stanford. The Huskies are tough at home and have the advantage of plenty of rest since their victory at Washington State on Friday.
USC (9-6, 2-2) at Washington State (3-11, 0-3): It's looking like it'll be another long season on the Palouse, and a hot USC team coming to Pullman isn't likely to make things easier for the Cougars. WSU led by as many as nine points in the first half but lost 61-46 to Washington last Friday.