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		Cal women beat Oregon, continue improbable run to NCAAs By Morris Phillips February 20, 2010

	In a battle of the new players versus the new system, ragged play and fatigue were the big winners. Cal’s women survived the challenge of the Oregon Ducks and Paul Westhead’s run-and-gun system, pulling out a narrow 79-73 win, their 11th in their last 13 conference games. With the win, the Bears maintain their hold on third place in the Pac-10 conference at 10-5, and remain in the hunt for an NCAA bid that seemed improbable just a couple of weeks ago. The Bears (16-10, 10-5) needed a big finish after leading for the first 31 minutes of the ballgame, when the relentless pace of the Ducks started to wear on the injury-plagued Bears. They dressed only nine players, most significantly missing center Brenna Heater, who was unavailable due to the lingering effects of a concussion. Oregon’s 12-1 run over a five minute stretch gave the Ducks their biggest lead of the night, 61-58, with 8:55 remaining. But while their jump shots came up short, and their passes lost their steam, the Bears continued to hammer the Ducks on the backboards, forging a 51-28 advantage on the glass. The rebounding advantage took the steam out of Oregon’s fast break, and limited their voracious appetite for possessions and points. Westhead, the former Lakers coach, and architect of the Loyola Marymount phenomenon in the late 80’s, and the WNBA championship-winning coach of the Phoenix Mercury, is in his first year in the Pac-10, and the results have been mixed. His Oregon team isn’t big, fast or skilled enough to make serious inroads yet, not without an influx of talent, especially in a league that features numerous talented defensive teams that can rebound. But against Cal, they attempted to wear down the Bears with the pace, only to find themselves too tired in the end to finish them off. Oregon, without the needed depth, played three starters 35 minutes, and hit only one of their last seven shots, as Cal pulled away. "We've been in so many close games. We knew we had to grind it out the last five or six minutes," Cal coach Joanne Boyle said. The young Bears, who got 57 of their 79 points from their heralded freshman, were steadied by senior Alexis Gray-Lawson with 19 points and five rebounds, including a big three with 2:38 remaining. But from the start, freshman Eliza Pierre and Laysia Clarendon broke the Oregon pressure, resulting in point-blank shots and quick hitters from the perimeter allowing the Bears to establish a double-digit lead, 28-17, in the first nine minutes of the game. But against Westhead and his system, leads don’t always mean a whole lot. At the close of the half, a 9-1 run kept the Ducks within striking distance, closing the Cal lead to three, 40-37 with 1:30 remaining. But the Bears responded, getting a jump shot and pair of free throws from DeNesha Stallworth to lead by seven at the break. The Bears, after starting 0-3 in conference, have played themselves into a critical weekend trip against the Arizona schools that could allow them to sew up third place heading into the conference tournament at the Galen Center next month. Even without a win over the RPI top 50, the Bears could put themselves in position for strong NCAA consideration, if they finish third and avoid a loss in the tourney opener. NCAA projections have the Pac-10 garnering three bids, although that notion will be tested with Arizona State and USC struggling as of late, and Cal trying to overcome their rocky non-conference record. UCLA and second-ranked Stanford would appear to be tourney locks.