Oregon WBB recap: Ducks’ upset bid vs UNC comes up short at PK85
Oregon Ducks women’s basketball coach Kelly Graves was concerned after his team’s close victory over Southern Utah a few days ago. He didn’t know how they would respond against stiffer competition.
Although the No. 18 Ducks came up short 85-79 to No. 8 North Carolina, the effort was definitely there and it’s a game the young Oregon team wins later in the season.
The Ducks held a double-digit lead in the second half, but a 17-4 run to end the third quarter brought the Tar Heels back and UNC actually had a 56-56 lead with 10 minutes to go.
Coming out for the fourth quarter, the Ducks went on a 10-2 run and had a 66-58 lead, but then North Carolina’s experience took over and the shots for the Ducks stopped dropping. Those 18 turnovers didn’t help matters as Oregon lost for the first time this season.
Final Score: No. 8 North Carolina 85, No. 18 Oregon 79
Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Keys to the game
Oregon came out on fire in the first quarter and let North Carolina that they would in for a battle for the entire 40 minutes. Graves was concerned about his team after a lackluster performance against Southern Utah. The Ducks showed that they can play with higher competition.
But playing with good teams and beating good teams are two different things and the Ducks will look at the stat sheet and see 18 turnovers, which is about 10 too many if they expect to win these types of games. Guard Endyia Rogers was marked down for seven turnovers.
Oregon did use its advantage in the paint, scoring 44 points down low to the Tar Heels’ 34 points.
UNC managed to outscore the Ducks 27-13 in the last 7:30 of the game.
It's on the stat sheet
Ethan Landa | USA Today’s Ducks Wire
Te-Hina Paopao: 18 points, 7-19 FG, 4 rebounds
Grace VanSlooten: 17 points, 11 rebounds
Phillipina Kyei: 8 points, 11 rebounds
Jennah Isai: 15 points, 6-8 FG, 3 assists
Eva Hodgson (UNC): 21 points, 5-7 3-pt FG
What's next?
The Ducks will face the loser of the game between No. 5 Iowa State and Michigan State in the PK 85 Invitational on Sunday, Nov. 27.
