Oregon State downs Oregon women’s basketball in Pac-12 conference-opening loss
CORVALLIS – Things could not have gone much better for the Oregon women’s basketball team in the first half of its conference-opening game against in-state rival Oregon State, and not much worse than it did in the second half of a 62-41 loss.
The Ducks (9-5, 0-1 Pac-12) grinded the game down to a standstill at Gill Coliseum and held the Beavers to an abysmal 21.9% from the field to take a double-digit lead in the second quarter, but after a tough finish to the half, the Ducks were outscored 47-18 in the second half in their Pac-12 opener.
“Everything changed,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said. “They got more aggressive, and we didn’t. I thought we played a great first half, controlled the tempo, made great plays, extended possessions, and then the second half we let down and then it started to snowball.”
The Beavers shot 60% from the field in the second half and held the Ducks to 23.1% in the final two frames.
Oregon led its rival, 23-10, in the late stages of the first half and were outscored 27-8 in the game’s next 13 minutes leading into the fourth quarter.
The deluge didn’t stop there, with the Beavers outscoring Oregon 23-10 over the game’s final frame.
“We had a breakdown defensively that gave them that 3 and that was their first 3 they made,” Graves said of the end of half sequence that saw a double-digit lead reduced to just eight at halftime. “And that just gives you some momentum, some confidence going into halftime. I thought that was a big possession.”
Oregon defense falls apart in second half
What was working in the first half was completely nonexistent in the second, as Oregon fell apart defensively and couldn’t string together enough offense to keep up with a rejuvenated Oregon State squad.
The Ducks went almost seven minutes without a basket in the third quarter and allowed the Beavers to score 14 unanswered.
“We just have to find some mental toughness, and we’ve got to coach better and push the right buttons so we can eliminate those long-extended runs they had,” Graves said.
Grace VanSlooten leads Ducks in loss to Oregon State
The Ducks were led by Grace VanSlooten’s 15 points. The sophomore was the only Duck to score in double figures. Phillipina Kyei scored six points and had 16 rebounds. The Beavers were led by Raegan Beers who had 24 points and 17 rebounds.
The road doesn’t get any easier next weekend as the Ducks head to play two top-10 foes on the road in No. 2 UCLA on Friday and No. 6 USC on Sunday.
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on Twitter @AlecDietz.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Pac-12 women's basketball: Oregon State defeats Oregon in Corvallis
