Postseason play is still sweet for Oregon guard Lexi Petersen.
It may not be the NCAA Tournament, but Oregon’s selection to the WNIT on Monday is just the second time in Petersen’s five years in Eugene to play after the Pac-12 tournament.
Oregon (20-10) will host Long Beach State (24-7) in the first round of the WNIT on Thursday night at 6 p.m. at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks will try to snap a three-game losing streak since losing Jillian Alleyne, the Pac-12’s co-player of the year, to an ACL injury on Feb. 23.
“We’re playing and we have a chance to make something positive out of what was a really tough last few weeks,” head coach Kelly Graves said before Tuesday’s practice.
The Beach finished in a tie for second in the Big West Conference and made the WNIT bracket for the third time in four years. They are winners of six of their last seven games entering WNIT play.
“We’re certainly bigger inside,” Graves said. “They put a lot of pressure on you and in conference play force over 22 turnovers a game. They’ll pick us up full court. … If we space the floor, I think we’ll be fine offensively.”
Graves gave the team a week off following Oregon’s 74-68 loss to Arizona in the Pac-12 tournament. That extra rest — a chance to rehab and recover — has the Ducks refreshed for postseason play.
“We’ve all just had a chance to breathe,” Petersen, the team’s active leader in scoring with 13.1 points a game, said. “And also come to the realization of what’s happened and work through it. It’s like a new team. We have to figure each other out.”
Graves said he thought the week off helped the team mentally adjust, as well. The Ducks lost their final three games to end the season without Alleyne and senior guard Jordan Loera.
Against LBSU, the Ducks will undoubtedly use their size inside. Forward Jacinta Vandenberg is coming off one of her best games in recent weeks against Arizona, where she had 14 points and eight rebounds.
“We need her,” Graves said of Vandenberg. “We need an inside presence, otherwise our 3-point shooters are much easier to guard. It was nice to see her do well up there (in Seattle). … Hopefully she’ll build on latter success.”
Graves said there wasn’t much consideration whether to accept a WNIT bid. He points to UCLA from last season. The Bruins finished 13-18 overall, but rattled off six straight wins for the WNIT championship.
“They used that to springboard into a great year this year,” Graves said. “This is only a positive.”
Oregon’s WNIT berth is the first postseason experience for Graves’ staff in Eugene. With starters Maite Cazorla, Lexi Bando and Jacinta Vanbernberg returning, the program hopes this postseason will lead to future success.
“We are really proud of making postseason,” forward Liz Brenner said. “We’re going to give it all we have and hopefully go for that title.”
If Oregon wins Thursday, it’ll play the winner of Fresno State-Santa Clara.
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne