Boise State came to McArthur Court on Friday with an unblemished record that commanded Oregon’s attention.
The Ducks responded in impressive fashion, playing their best half of the season to break open the game by halftime and send the Broncos away with an 88-61 defeat. Oregon improved to 7-1, its best start in three years, while Boise State fell to 7-1.
The UO women led 53-24 after the first half, their largest halftime lead of the season, thanks to 50 percent shooting and 27 points off 18 Bronco turnovers.
“We thought our run had to be sharp tonight, and in the first half it was,” UO coach Paul Westhead said. “We were pushing the ball as good as we have perhaps this season. Now our goal is to sustain that for 40 minutes.”
The Ducks didn’t do so Friday, playing the Broncos even over the course of the second half. Oregon’s shots weren’t falling as frequently, and Boise State was taking better care of the ball. Still, the UO lead was never fewer than 24 points.
The big first half was fueled by defense. Boise State often struggled just to inbound the ball and get it across midcourt.
“We haven’t seen this yet, but ultimately if we get really good at that, you’ll see frustration from the other team, or even the officials,” Westhead said. “Like, ‘Come on, let them play, let them get it in.’ That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Foul trouble for Boise State’s two starting forwards and top reserve opened up the lane for Oregon to score 18 points in the paint in the first half. Jasmin Holliday contributed to that effort, finishing with her first double-double, 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
Holliday also had three of Oregon’s season-high 14 steals, 11 of which came during the dominant first half. The impressive full-court defense, Holliday said, was to atone for what Westhead considered a subpar effort two nights earlier against Portland.
“We had to make up for that,” Holliday said. “We just decided we were going to get after it really hard today.”
Amanda Johnson and Taylor Lilley each hit four three-pointers, Johnson finishing with a team-high 20 points and Lilley adding 15.
Lilley conducted her postgame interview in one of the “I Love My Ducks” T-shirts that went on sale this week, in reference to the popular student-produced rap song about the UO football team.
Before his own postgame press conference, Westhead also took a moment to pay tribute to the Pac-10 champion football team, which beat Oregon State on Thursday to clinch a trip to the Rose Bowl.
“What a game,” Westhead said.
“It spills over, permeates everything you do, when you see a team play like that last night. It’s good for the university, it’s good for women’s basketball and it’s good for Eugene, Oregon. … I’m really happy for Chip Kelly and that team. It’s a pleasure to be around them.”
Kelly returned the favor Friday night, watching the basketball game from courtside. The pace of play must have been familiar: The Oregon women have executed with breath-taking efficiency — for one half, at least.
No. 15 Arizona St. 65, Idaho St. 56: Danielle Orsillo scored 18 points and the Sun Devils pulled away in the second half for a victory over the Bengals in the ASU Classic.
The Sun Devils (5-1) overcame a cold-shooting start to win their third straight and reach today’s championship game against Pepperdine.
Oana Iacovita had 15 points, five rebounds and three assists to lead Idaho State (1-7).
The teams combined to shoot 34.7 percent (17 of 49) from the field in the first half, which ended with the Sun Devils leading 22-20.