California trounces Oregon 90-67

Repeat this number in your head: 61. That’s how many rebounds the California Golden Bears had in an embarrassing defeat for the Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team. Neither team shot well in this 90-67 affair, but the Golden Bears were able to heave up 80 shots thanks to 61 boards. Gennifer Brandon, as expected, led the way with 19 rebounds and 17 points, while Talia Caldwell added 13 boards and 15 points. To make things worse, the only player on the Ducks with at least five rebounds was Jasmin Holliday. The rebounding advantage was always going to be in California’s favor, but nobody could project it being as lopsided as 61-22. This was where the game was won and lost, because there wasn’t much of a difference between these two teams in terms of shooting.

Deanna Weaver is still playing good basketball, as she had her fifth straight game in double figures with ten points. Ariel Thomas had a team-high 16 points, but it was Jordan Loera who was the best player that afternoon for Oregon. Thomas shot just 6-15 from the floor, while Loera had 14 points and hit 5 of her 7 shots. Both players attempted six three-pointers, and Thomas hit just one of them while Loera knocked down four of them. She continues to be the best shooter on the team, and her efficiency was the lone bright spot for this team.

The one player who had to be on her best today was Nia Jackson, but she was far from her usual self at the point. Jackson struggled en route to five points on 1-6 shooting in an abysmal performance that included six turnovers. That just doesn’t cut it, especially when Brittany Boyd dishes out six assists with four rebounds, two steals, and 11 points for the opposition. Both teams committed their fair share of turnovers, but Cali had the advantage with 16 TOs to Oregon’s 18.

To illustrate just how out of hand the game was, California already mounted a 54-35 lead at the half. With 2:20 remaining in the game, California was up by 30 points in a game that had no lead changes. The Golden Bears controlled the paint in this game, and that might be an understatement. They outscored their opponent 44-24 on the inside and had 29 second-chance points. The Ducks, however, had just one second-chance point.

This was just an awful game for the Oregon Ducks and losing by 23 points in conference play just isn’t ideal to say the least. The Ducks are now 1-3 in the Pac-12 and 9-7 overall, and they are slipping ever since losing Amanda Johnson to a thumb injury. It looks like the victory over Washington was the aberration in this slide, an the Ducks will need to get back on track with a victory over Arizona at home on January 12th.

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