WBB recap: Ducks pressure Rice into turnovers and advance in WNIT
When the Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team decides to turn up the defensive pressure, not many teams can handle it. Rice proved it was incapable of handling the Duck press in the third quarter and what was a close game turned into a rout.
Oregon advanced to the WNIT third round with the 78-53 win over the Owls. A 23-9 third quarter turned a good game into the blowout. The Ducks had three players in double figures and center Phillipina Kyei just missed a triple-double in points, rebounds and blocks. She was dominating inside the paint and Rice never found an answer for the 6-foot-8 Kyei.
Now the Ducks will host San Diego Thursday night as the Toreros defeated UC-Irvine.
Final Score: Oregon 78, Rice 53
Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK
Keys to the game
Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK
Oregon started on fire from the three-point line as the Ducks hit three of their first four from long distance, but Oregon perhaps fell in love with the outside side a little too much by going cold.
As the Ducks went cold, Rice heated up some and even took the lead for a brief period of time. But the Ducks eventually took a 34-31 halftime lead.
Although the inside offense wasn’t quite there, the inside defense was on point for Oregon. Phillipina Kyei was blocking shots left and right, ending up with eight rejections.
The third quarter was a completely different story. Oregon turned up the defensive pressure to an 11. The Ducks forced six turnovers in that quarter and outscored the Owls 23-9 to blow the game wide open.
It was academic in the fourth quarter and the only question was how much would the Ducks win by.
It's on the stat sheet
© Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK
Endyia Rogers: 19 points, 3-4 3-pt FG, 7 rebounds
Te-Hina Paopao: 17 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists
Phillipina Kyei: 9 points, 15 rebounds, 8 blocks
Oregon: 9-23 3-pt FG
Rice: 20-73 FG (27.4 percent)
What's next?
Oregon will host San Diego in the third round of the WNIT on Thursday. The Toreros defeated UC-Irvine 58-48.
