STANFORD, Calif. - Nearing 10 p.m. on Thursday, three Oregon women drained by a knock-down, drag-out loss to California contemplated their readiness for another game less than 40 hours later.
"We could go another 40 minutes right now," post Ellyce Ironmonger joked.
The laughs from guards Taylor Lilley and Micaela Cocks were not nearly so confident.
That next game looms this afternoon, a 2 p.m. visit to Maples Pavilion for a showdown with No. 7 Stanford. After putting No. 9 Cal on the ropes Thursday night and then running out of steam, the Ducks (8-7, 2-2 Pac-10) have little time to regroup.
"Whenever you play against a top-ranked opponent, you're going to have energy, you're going to have that adrenaline rush," Lilley said. "We're going to be sore, but hey."
Despite the loss Thursday, both Lilley and Cocks were positive in their assessment of the game. The Ducks nearly won the rebounding battle with the Pac-10's best team on the boards, and had one of their lowest turnover totals of the season. They shot well enough in the first half to hold a lead just after halftime.
But they also couldn't contain Cal forward Ashley Walker in losing that lead, and couldn't sustain their scoring output.
"Each game you can see them put a little more together and a little more together," UO coach Bev Smith said. "We're ready to get one. I'm not sure if that's going to happen (today) but I think we're close."
No, breaking through today would be a major surprise. Despite being swept by mercurial UCLA and USC on the road last week, the Cardinal (13-3, 3-2) are one of the nation's best teams, as usual.
Smith said preparations for Cal and Stanford were somewhat similar, in that both have two imposing forwards. In the case of the Cardinal, that's post Jayne Appel and freshman forward Kayla Pedersen, who each average close to a double-double.
But while Cal got very little production from its perimeter Thursday, the Cardinal have an all-American in guard Candice Wiggins. In Stanford's 81-45 win over Oregon State on Thursday, Wiggins played only 14 minutes, and Appel needed just 20 to score 25 points.
"They're going to be pretty fresh," Smith said.
The Ducks have a knack for getting the opposition out of sorts with their tenacious defense and all-around toughness. Finding the energy for that style after Thursday's effort will be a challenge, particularly against an opponent that was barely tested in its own game two days ago.
A deeper bench would be helpful, but Smith said Nicole Canepa still doesn't have her timing down after recovering from an ankle injury to contribute at full strength. And Ellie Manou is also improving after a lower-leg injury, though her rhythm is also off, particularly on the offensive end.
Scoring in the post could fall again to Ironmonger. She had 10 points Thursday to lead the team most of the way, until Cocks and Lilley each surpassed that total in the final two minutes. Included were three long jumpers by Ironmonger, one of them the first three-pointer of her career.
"It felt good to finally make a three," Ironmonger said. "But I still need to work on my inside game, which is maybe where a few of those baskets would have come from late in the game that I missed."
That's how it is for the Ducks as they come of age: usually with good, there is bad, and vice versa.