Ducks Fend Off Illinois 77-74
Rick Morgan

Amanda Johnson scored 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Oregon Ducks (2-0) past Illinois (2-2) 77-74 Friday night at Matthew Knight Arena.

The Ducks opened a 16 point lead by the half, but had to fend off the Illini down the stretch to notch their second win off the season.

Oregon's defense and fast break seemingly took control of the game in the first 20 minutes - holding Illinois to 31% shooting and forcing 11 turnovers on their way to 49-33 halftime advantage.

But the tables turned in the second stanza.

"We came out, I hate to say it, but a little flat," said head coach Paul Westhead of Oregon's second half.. "Their shooter (Amber Moore) got going and they started cutting us up on the offensive glass."

That they did. With Moore (22 points) hitting 6 of her 13 three point attempts and Kersten Magrum pitched in 24 to rally Illinois to a 72-70 lead with 2:00 minutes left in the game.

Down the stretch, Westhead turned to his seniors to get the win. Point guard Nia Jackson was fouled on penetration and hit one of her two free throws, but forward Jasmin Holliday pulled down the offensive rebound, then made both her free throws when she was fouled on her put back attempt, giving the Ducks a 73-72 lead.

After an Illinois miss, and with the shot clock running down, it was again Holliday that Oregon turned to. Off an inbounds play with only five seconds on the shot clock, Danielle Love's three point attempt was blocked, but Holliday snared the loose ball, turned and threw up a jump shot that fell through, pushing Oregon's lead to 75-72.

"I knew the shot clock was running down, so I just kind of threw it up and it happened to go in," she said.

With 28 seconds remaining, Illinois cut the lead to a point, but Amanda Johnson sank two free throws to seal the victory for Oregon.

"That's the type of game you win if you have experience and a little bit of toughness," said Westhead.

Oregon next will host Portland State for a 7:00 pm tip Sunday night.