EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon senior guards Micaela Cocks and Taylor Lilley had never beaten Arizona State in their collegiate careers, but all that changed on Saturday afternoon as the combo was unshakeable down the stretch in the Ducks’ 82-81 victory at Mac Court.

For Oregon (16-8, 7-5), the win catapulted the Ducks – currently on a four-game winning streak - into a three-way tie for third place in the Pac-10 standings with California and USC.

Arizona State falls to 15-9 overall and 7-6 in the Pac-10.

For the first time this season, Oregon was able to overcome a halftime deficit to find its way to a win.

Lilley led the Ducks with 26 points, knocking down five 3-pointers, but down the stretch it was Micaela Cocks who knocked down clutch shots on her way to 20 points as Oregon held on for the victory.

An early second-half surge had Arizona State take its largest lead of the game, 58-47, with 15:00 to play, but a trio of defensive plays helped the Ducks keep the Sun Devils scoreless to retake the lead.

First a steal by Lilley resulted in a Nia Jackson layup to close the game to 54-58, before a reverse play of Jackson with the steal and Lilley with layup brought the Ducks within two, 56-58.

One more steal from Jackson and an offensive rebound from Jasmin Holliday to keep the possession alive allowed Lilley to fire up a 3-pointer from four-feet behind the arc as the shot clock wound down. Lilley nailed the bucket and the Ducks took a 59-58 lead.

Trailing by one with 6:53 to play, Lilley drove from the top of the key and flew by her defender to give the Ducks a 65-64 advantage that would last for the remainder of the second half with 6:53 remaining. Lilley then found her way to a steal and fired up her fifth and final three-pointer of the game to give the Ducks a four-point lead.

Another steal, this time from sophomore Amanda Johnson led to a Cocks three-pointer as Oregon led 71-64 with 5:12 remaining, but ASU would not go away.

The game’s leading scorer, ASU senior Danielle Orsillo quickly answered with a 3-pointer of her own to keep the Sun Devils within striking distance. Orsillo ended the game with a career-best 29 points, shooting 9-of-13 from the floor and 9-of-9 from the free-throw line.

Arizona State climbed all the way back to trail 71-70 with just 4:18 to play after a second 3-pointer from Orsillo, but the second year duo of Holliday and Johnson made a crucial play. After Lilley missed the second of her 1-and-1 free-throw effort, Holliday found her way to the offensive rebound which eventually resulted in a Johnson 3-pointer and a 75-70 lead for the Ducks.

An inside bucket from Becca Tobin again had ASU within three, but Cocks calmly drained her second her trey of the game as the Ducks went ahead 76-72.

Two baskets from ASU had the Sun Devils within two, 78-76, with 20 seconds left to play, but the Sun Devils sent Oregon’s most reliable free-throw shooter, Cocks to the line, and the senior sank all four of her attempts in the final 15 seconds.

Deja Mann’s 3-pointer with .3 seconds on the clock made things interesting, but the Ducks safely inbounded the ball as the final buzzer sounded.

Johnson also had double figures for Oregon with 13 points and a game-high tying seven rebounds. Nicole Canepa added nine points off the bench for Oregon, while Holliday added seven boards.

The biggest difference in the game was UO’s defense, which created 21 turnovers as the Ducks scored 39 points off the Sun Devils miscues.

For the second straight game, Oregon also outrebounded its opponent, 35-27, picking up 22 critical boards on the offensive end that led to 31 second-chance points.

The Ducks also shot 82.1 percent (23-of-28) from the free-throw line.

Tobin added 20 points for ASU as the Sun Devils shot 64.6 percent (31-of-48) from the floor – the highest percentage a team has shot against Oregon this season.

The first half saw six lead changes and five tie scores as Arizona State went into the locker room at the break with a slight 44-43 lead.

All seven players who saw action in the first half scored for the Ducks, led by Lilley’s 11 points and three 3-pointers.
Arizona State scored on its five first possessions, and had an 8-0 advantage before Lilley’s first trey of the game at the 17:56 mark put points on the board for the Ducks.

Oregon eventually took its first lead, 13-12, at the 16:41 mark after a 3-pointer from Kenyon, buckets from Johnson and a 3-point play conversion from Cocks.

The Ducks lead would climb to as high as 6 points, 23-17, after another Lilley 3-pointer, but the Sun Devils responded with a 14-0 run, holding the Ducks scoreless for nearly five minutes as ASU went ahead 31-23.

Oregon again staged another run, 16-7, to retake the lead at 39-38 after a Johnson offensive rebound and putback with 2:29 remaining in the half.

Tobin was 5-of-7 from the field to lead the Sun Devils at the break with 14 points, while Orsillo added 13 points shooting a flawless 7-of-7 from the charity stripe.

NOTES
Oregon’s win ended a 10-game losing streak to Arizona State…the Ducks swept an Arizona-school home series for the first time since the 2004-05 season…Oregon’s 11 –point deficit was the largest margin it has come back from the season…Taylor Lilley’s 21 double-figure scoring games this season are the most she has had while at Oregon. During her sophomore season she posted 20 double-figure scoring games…Oregon scored its most points against the Sun Devils since an 100-61 win on Jan. 24, 1998…with six regular season games remaining, Oregon’s 16 wins are its most since the 2006-07 season (17)…the Ducks seven Pac-10 wins are the most since the 2007-08 season (7-11).

UP NEXT
Oregon hits the road and heads to the Bay Area schools. Oregon will play at Stanford on Thursday, Feb. 18 with a 7 p.m. start. The Ducks will then head to California for a late 8 p.m. start time against the Golden Bears on Saturday, Feb. 20.

TICKETS
Tickets are still available for the final Pac-10 women’s basketball games to ever be played at Mac Court. The Ducks will host USC at 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 25, before hosting UCLA at 2 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 27. The game against the Bruins will also serve as Senior Day for Micaela Cocks, Taylor Lilley and Lindsey Saffold. Tickets can be purchased by clicking HERE, calling 1-800-WEB-FOOT, or in person at the Casanova Center ticket office. Tickets can also be purchased at the McArthur Court ticket window 90 minutes prior to game time. The doors to Mac Court open 60 minutes prior to tip.

PROMOTIONS
When the Ducks host USC on Thursday, Feb. 25, it will be Dads & Daughters Day at Mac Court. Fans can purchase an adult general admission ticket and receive a child’s general admission ticket for free.

FORMER DUCK GREATS RETURN TO MAC COURT
USC – Feb. 25, 2010
One of only two players to receive the Pac-10 Player of the Year Award, Shaquala Williams, will return to McArthur Court to serve as the honorary captain for the Oregon-USC game. Williams played for Oregon from 1999-2003, and was both a two-time Kodak and Associated Press All-American. She was also Oregon’s only Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in the history of the program after averaging 10.2 points per game and leading Oregon to its first ever Pac-10 championship in 1999. As a sophomore in 2000, Williams was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year after averaging 17.7 points and 4.3 assists per game, and leading the Ducks to a second straight Pac-10 championship in 2000. Her 1,478 points and 369 assists each rank sixth all-time in the UO record books, respectively, while her .839 free-throw percentage remains the top mark in program history.

UCLA – Feb. 27, 2010
A two-time Kodak All-American and three-time Northwest Basketball League Player of the Year, a former player and head coach, Bev Smith will be the honorary captain for the Oregon-UCLA game – the final Pac-10 women’s basketball game to be played at Mac Court. Smith was a pioneer for women’s athletics at the UO, playing from 1979-82. During her career, the Ducks made three postseason appearances and accumulated an astonishing record of 93-19. Smith remains the program’s all-time leader in rebounds, steals and double-doubles and is second all-time in scoring.