Takeaways from Oregon women’s basketball’s win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Recording its second straight win in dominant fashion, the Oregon women’s basketball team defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 86-60, Wednesday night at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks (2-0) were led by Chance Gray’s 20 points, with Grace VanSlooten adding a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double and Phillipina Kyei adding a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double of her own. Freshman Sofia Bell scored 14 points to round out double-figure scorers.
Oregon led from start to finish and didn’t allow a Golden Lion to score until 3:15 left in the first quarter. Through three quarters the Ducks held APB to 29 points before the Lions caught fire and scored 31 in the final frame on six made 3-pointers.
Here are three takeaways from the Ducks' second straight win.
Chance Gray dazzles in first half
The sophomore guard continued her hot start from the second half of the Ducks’ season-opening win against Northern Arizona, scoring 20 points, with 17 coming in the first half from five made 3-pointers. Gray tied her career-high for 3s made in a game with six.
Tasked with more minutes due to Peyton Scott’s season-ending knee injury suffered Monday, Gray also took on more responsibilities on the ball as the lead guard.
“Chance is super tough,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said. “She’s going to bring toughness to her … I was really proud of Chance. She played a lot. We asked her to run the point a lot and guard their best player a lot and play a ton of minutes. That’s not easy, but she handled it well.”
Gray also dished out five assists, one short of her career-high set last season as a freshman.
With Scott out for the rest of the season, Gray’s development as a point guard — and her continued development shooting off the dribble — will be key for the Ducks.
“I have a lot,” Gray said of her confidence. “I trust the work I put in and it's showing. I just have to keep working on it, stay consistent, and stay in the gym and it’s going to keep showing hopefully.”
Duck defense off to a hot start
Though it had a rough fourth quarter in a blowout situation, the Ducks defense has been mostly steady and consistent through eight quarters in the early season.
Oregon held the Golden Lions to just 29 points through the first three quarters, forcing 17 straight misses from deep before APB caught fire in the fourth. The Lions shot just 31.3% from the field — even after shooting 64.7% from the field in the fourth.
After holding NAU to just 48 points Monday, the tests will only continue to get harder from here on out as conference play approaches.
Oregon signs 2 on first day of Early National Signing Period
The Ducks locked in two touted recruits for their 2024 recruiting class Wednesday on the opening day of the early signing period: Luxembourg forward Faith Ehi Etute and Seattle-native point guard Katie Fiso.
“I’m really excited about the two we did sign,” Graves said. “We’re still waiting, there’s a weeklong period and not everybody has made their commitments yet. The two we got are really good. Faith is going to remind people of a shorter version of Nyara (Sabally), really bouncy, strong, aggressive. Katie — I think she’s the best point guard in the country, just a true, pure point guard.”
Fiso is one of the top ranked guards in the country and in the midst of her senior season at Garfield High School.
The Ducks take on Grand Canyon next Thursday in Phoenix at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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: Oregon Ducks women’s basketball defeats Arkansas-Pine Bluff
