TEMPE, Ariz. - A play date with the kids from Oregon is always spirited.
Usually involves a win for the side playing in its own backyard, too.
The Ducks fell to 1-9 on the road this season with their 52-51 loss to Arizona State before 2,648 in Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday. That matches the team's worst start ever on the road, from the 1975-76 season. A year before that Oregon was 0-7 in opposing gyms.
Fourteen points separated the Ducks and their four opponents in losses at UCLA, USC, Arizona and Arizona State over the past two weeks. In all four, Oregon was within two points or had the lead in the final four minutes only to fall short.
"We feel good about how we performed today," said UO junior Tamika Nurse, whose drive for the potential game-winning layup was blocked by ASU's Sybil Dosty with two seconds left Saturday. "We came out after a game that we didn't play very well, and we rebounded well, and our mentality changed. We were competitive today, and that was the biggest thing."
The four-game losing streak is Oregon's longest of the season. The loss at Arizona on Thursday stung the hardest, but Saturday's effort had the Ducks (10-12, 4-7 Pac-10) feeling better about their chances against No. 7 Stanford and No. 10 California in McArthur Court next week.
"The Arizona game, we lacked energy and intensity and enthusiasm," UO coach Bev Smith said. "When we bring that, we can compete with anybody in the Pac-10. It's a valuable lesson, because if we'd had that Thursday night we certainly wouldn't be coming home without a win."
Shuffling the starting lineup paid dividends for the Ducks, who were overwhelmed in the post against the Wildcats. Forwards Victoria Kenyon and Ellyce Ironmonger combined for five points and four rebounds Thursday, and were replaced in the lineup Saturday by Ellie Manou and Nicole Canepa, who combined for 22 points and 13 rebounds.
They were the catalysts in Oregon's rally from a nine-point deficit midway through the second half. Canepa scored to make it 43-36, Manou rebounded a Canepa miss and scored to cut the lead to five, and Canepa assisted on another Manou layin following an ASU three-pointer to make it 46-40.
Canepa and Manou each had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. And two days after Arizona scored 38 points in the paint, the Ducks limited the Sun Devils to 20, including just eight in the second half.
"We definitely tried to focus on getting in to the post player early, letting them know that we're strong and we're not going to back down from anything," Canepa said. "We definitely wanted to focus on rebounding, making sure that it was present and they know that we're boxing out and we're getting the board."
The improved post play wasn't matched on the perimeter. Oregon's leading scorer, Taylor Lilley, was held to five points on 2-of-9 shooting, and the Ducks went 2-of-13 from the three-point arc. The Sun Devils lead the Pac-10 in three-point defense at 22.5 percent.
The Ducks didn't make a three in the second half until Nurse's with 2:40 left in the game.
The Sun Devils (15-7, 9-2) had gone ahead 52-46 with 4:58 to go on free throws by Lauren Lacey, but they didn't score again and Nurse's shot cut the deficit to three. Manou made it a one-point game by spinning in for a layin with 50 seconds left, after a missed three-pointer by Briann January.
With 17 seconds left, January dribbled off her foot and the ball rolled out of bounds, giving the Ducks a chance to win. Having scored a game-high 15 points to that point, Nurse was called on to attempt the winner.
She dribbled near halfcourt until about five seconds remained, then drove into the left side of the lane before running into Dosty.
Nurse passed up the chance to dish to a post, needing to put up a shot after letting so much time run off. Dosty was credited with her fourth blocked shot of the game
"I didn't think she was going to come at the end so quick," Nurse said.
For the second straight game, a cold spell to begin the second half cost the Ducks dearly. Thursday they went the first 5:16 after halftime without scoring, and Saturday they allowed Arizona State to break a 26-26 halftime tie with a 13-4 run.
Oregon committed four of its 21 turnovers during the run. That came after 13 first-half turnovers, which the Ducks overcame thanks to 50 percent shooting on 22 attempts, and to a defensive grit they didn't have two days earlier.
"If we played Thursday how we played today, it would have been a completely different game on Thursday and we definitely would have won that game," Canepa said. "Today, we could have won this game. It was a loss, but it showed we're very competitive.
"We may be losing, but we're definitely growing and learning from each game, and we're getting better every day. We're learning from everything. We only have seven games left, and they're going to be battles."