After two big Pac-12 wins over the weekend against Washington State and Washington, the Ducks are flying high. They’ll continue their flight against the Arizona schools this weekend behind their sophomore leader, Jillian Alleyne.
Alleyne, who leads the nation in rebounds per game (15.5) and double-doubles (17), picked up the USBWA National Player of the Week and Pac-12 Player of the Week following impressive performances against the Cougars and Huskies.
“The vibe is better. Everyone is so happy,” Alleyne said before Wednesday’s practice. “We were so happy at one point that our coach was like, ‘We need to get serious.’ It’s nice to come in with that great feeling of two great wins.”
Alleyne and the rest of the squad knows that they do not want to fall into another losing streak against Arizona (4-15, 0-8 Pac-12) or Arizona State (17-3, 6-2).
“We can prove that we can actually beat teams and we aren’t going to go quietly,” Alleyne said. “We’re coming to make noise, we’re coming to show what we have. I’m excited about (this weekend). The ball is definitely rolling in the right direction.”
With senior point guard Ariel Thomas out for the last three games due to injury, redshirt sophomore guard Lexi Petersen has filled in with ease. Petersen averaged 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists in that stretch.
Head coach Paul Westhead knows how important this weekend was but stressed the importance of focusing on the basics and taking each game at a time.
“I think [the wins] helped,” Westhead said. “They were kind of stuck in the mud a little bit. They were playing what I thought was good basketball and they’d come up short and they’d lose or they’d get real close and lose in the last minute. So now, they’ve kind of turned that corner. They know the other side. But that doesn’t automatically guarantee winning.”
Oregon, who is 1-6 on the road this season, knows that even with two wins under its belt, this weekend’s games will be challenging.
“The road is very difficult. It’s never easy,” Westhead said. “So this weekend —Arizona, Arizona State— will be very difficult games. We’ve always struggled in the Arizonas, so we will be put to the task. I think our working things out and playing better will help us. We’re going to have to go in and play very well.”
Friday’s Arizona game tips off at 6 p.m. and Sunday’s game against Arizona State starts at noon.
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne