Oregon women fall to North Carolina Tar Heels at Phil Knight Invitational

PORTLAND — Eva Hodgson scored 18 points, including a crucial 3 and two clutch free throws, and No. 8 North Carolina used a 17-6 run over the last 5:12 to hold on and beat No. 18 Oregon 85-79 at the Chiles Center at the University of Portland in the semifinal round of the PK85, a tournament celebrating Nike co-founder Phil Knight’s 85th birthday.

It was the Ducks’ first loss of the season. Oregon (4-1) will play Michigan State on Sunday at 10 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Trailing 78-75 with 1:02 to go, Oregon bungled a crucial possession when Te-Hina PaoPao got tied up close to midcourt, turning it over. North Carolina followed with two made free throws from Hodgson to give UNC a 80-75 lead. On the next possession the Ducks turned it over again when Endyia Rogers was called for an offensive foul. Rogers, usually an ace playmaker for the Ducks, finished with eight turnovers.

“We usually play with a lot of composure, and we didn’t late,” said Oregon coach Kelly Graves. “But I credit the defense — they didn’t really allow us to get into our sets, they hounded us.”

The Tar Heels hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final 28 seconds to seal the win. All five Carolina starters scored in double figures, including 19 and 17 from Alyssa Ustby and Deja Kelly, respectively.

In a back-and-forth game, Hodgson got fouled on a made 3 with 5:12 to go, hitting the free throw to give Carolina a 72-69 lead. The Tar Heels would not trail again.

“I knew we needed something that would change the stride, the pace and the energy, so I didn’t even think twice,” said Hodgson, who also handed out three assists. “The fact that it was an and-1 was even sweeter and in front of the bench to celebrate with my teammates.”

PaoPao led the Ducks with 18 points, while freshman Grace VanSlooten chipped in 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jennah Isai (15 points) and Rogers (10) both scored in double figures, too, but it wasn’t enough. Oregon threw the ball away 18 times — which Carolina turned into 17 points.

But Graves, in his ninth year in Eugene, sees lots of positives.

“At times tonight, we played as good as I’ve ever had a team play,” he said. “We just didn’t sustain it … it does make you excited. I am having a lot more fun than I’ve ever had coaching this team. And we just went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the country.”

The Ducks had problems, to be clear: They shot just 43% from the line (6-of-14) and got out rebounded 42-35.

But there were flashes of the future, particularly when VanSlooten was using her wiry 6-foot-3 frame to finish inside through contact. Graves pointed out that North Carolina, a Sweet 16 team last season, returned all of its starters and “knows the pecking order.”

“We haven’t really figured that out yet,” Graves said. “The ones we do want to have the ball in their hands, they’re young.”

And it was an elite, back-and-forth game (there were five lead changes and five ties) on a national platform.

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This is the third iteration of the Phil Knight Invitational — the first took place five years ago, to honor Knight’s 80th birthday — and the first time the basketball showcase, which features 24 total teams, has included women’s games.

The Nike co-founder was courtside Thursday, next to former Oregon star Sabrina Ionescu, who Graves joked his players are “more intimidated by” than Knight, because of the standard she set while playing in Eugene, whereas Knight, UO's major donor, is considered part of the Duck family.

North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart was plenty intimidated by Knight though, joking that when she first walked on the floor and realized she was walking close to Knight, she ran back to the locker room to wait a few minutes.

“What a great college basketball game,” Banghart said. “It must have been a treat for (Knight) to watch that. This is someone who has championed equality in women and it’s so Phil Knight to decide to showcase women, too. We feel very valued here and really supported, and that’s not always the case.

“What (the women’s game) needs is opportunity and he’s provided that. To have two really good basketball teams playing at a high level, no human who watched that game didn’t enjoy it.”

This article originally appeared on USATNetwork: Oregon women fall to North Carolina at Phil Knight Invitational