The concession pained Paul Westhead to no end.
On Thursday, his Oregon women’s basketball team met for practice. The Ducks played Portland the night before, and had a game the next day against Boise State.
And so, with his team near the end of a stretch of eight games in 15 days, Westhead did the unthinkable. The fastbreak guru, who requires a frantic pace from one end of the court to the other, limited the Ducks to halfcourt drills.
“That breaks my heart,” Westhead said. “I don’t like to practice like that. I said to the players, ‘I feel bad, I gave you a bad practice.’ ”
The players, it should be noted, were quite all right with the light workout. The decision paid off, too, when the Ducks handed the Broncos their first loss of the season, albeit with an inconsistent second-half effort.
This afternoon, the UO women (7-1) again take the court after a one-day break between games, wrapping up a seven-game homestand with a 2 p.m. tipoff against Long Beach State (3-4) in McArthur Court. The homestand began on Nov. 24, and Oregon is 5-1 so far.
“I said to them, ‘There are more games in the last 12 days than an NBA team would play,” said Westhead, who knows from his experience in that league. “But in the NBA they would always tell you, at the end of a trip or the end of a homestand, you have to get the last game. So we’re really focused on this last game.”
The 49ers have yet to win on the road this season, and are coming off a near-upset of Southern California on Thursday at home. Long Beach State recovered from a double-digit deficit to get within three in the final minute, but the Women of Troy held on for an 83-77 win.
Long Beach senior Karina Figueroa scored 26 points and tied her career best with 10 assists.
Oregon is 2-6 all-time against Long Beach State, having most recently lost 66-45 decision two years ago.
Westhead would like to see two solid halves today, after the Ducks played so well in the first half Friday but came out flat in the second half. A deeper rotation might help.
“Right now there are seven that I feel very, very comfortable with,” Westhead said. “I would like — and think I’m going to need — to expand that to another player or two, for sure. But coming off the bench, Nicole (Canepa) has done a terrific job this season, and Jasmin (Holliday) has gotten better and better.”
Canepa was named Pac-10 player of the week earlier this season despite playing off the bench, and Holliday on Friday recorded her first double-double, with a career-high 13 rebounds against Boise State.
“Jasmin Holliday gets the rebounds that others can’t get,” Westhead said. “You can get the ones that come to you. And there are some people that get the ones that don’t come to you, and she’s a player like that. She’s very valuable to us.”
UO WOMEN VS. LONG BEACH STATE
Long Beach State (3-4)
Karina Figueroa, 5-8, sr. (19.3 ppg, 7.3 apg)
Lauren Sims, 5-9, sr. (14.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
Ally Wade, 5-11, sr. (11.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg)
Ashley Bookman, 6-0, jr. (3.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg)
Lindsey Beckner, 6-3, sr. (2.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
Oregon (7-1)
Amanda Johnson, 6-2, so. (16.9 ppg, 11.7 rpg)
Victoria Kenyon, 6-2, jr. (6.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg)
Micaela Cocks, 5-8, sr. (12.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg)
Taylor Lilley, 5-6, sr. (14.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg)
Nia Jackson, 5-7, so. (8.1 ppg, 4.6 apg)
Time: 2 p.m.
Radio/TV: KSCR-AM (1320)/None.
Tickets: Reserved seats $13 and $10, general admission $7 for adults, $5 for children and seniors.