Oregon women’s basketball played host to one of the top teams in the nation, No. 11 North Carolina, losing 76-59 Sunday afternoon at Mathew Knight Arena.
The Ducks (1-1) played well for most of the way, leading at halftime, though in the end the Tar Heels (4-0) combination of experience and talent proved too much.
“I was proud of the team tonight, I really was,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said. “I’m not into moral victories and I told them that at the very start. We should all feel bad about the outcome tonight, but at the same time I’m looking for some positives and I saw a bunch.”
Both teams relied heavily on their star players — for Oregon junior Jillian Alleyne and for North Carolina sophomore Alisha Gray.
Gray had a strong all around game, making some big plays in the second half to help her team stay in front. She finished with 18 points, five rebounds and two assists. A scary moment came late in the game as Gray was helped off the court after she appeared to tweak her leg with no contact. She was later able to return to the action.
Alleyne also played well, unsurprisingly pulling in yet another monster double-double. She finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds.
“Jill I thought had an amazing game tonight, and even she would probably say she left too many points out on the floor,” coach Graves said.
The Ducks came out playing with a lot of fire, using the energy of the crowd to fuel their early success. They didn’t seem intimidated going against one of the top programs in the nation, getting in the Tar Heel’s faces on defense and pushing the ball on offense.
Though at times this energy led to some poor possessions, on the whole Oregon was able to use it to its advantage. The stat that jumped out was the turnovers, as UNC was forced into committing five in the first half.
Lexi Petersen was the standout on the defensive end, using her length and smarts to terrorize the passing lanes. She also did well on the offensive end, finishing with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Ducks led at halftime 29-28 despite going cold from the field for the final nine minutes of action. Their defense was able to do just enough to maintain the lead.
“We kind of lost the flow of our offense for a little bit,” Petersen said. “We started to revert back to our old ways and take quick shots instead of the right shots.”
That halftime lead evaporated after just one possession in the second, after the Tar Heels were able to hit an easy two point shot to take the lead. Things began to snowball from there as Hall of Fame head coach Sylvia Hatchell made adjustments at halftime to counter Oregon. Hatchell has the distinction of being the winningest active coach in women’s basketball.
“The main thing I told them was get the ball inside,” coach Hatchell said. “We had like four plays in order, and I said ‘run this, this, this and this; and then run them again.’ So we came out in the second half and that’s what we did.”
Things got worse for Oregon as the half went on. The Ducks didn’t score until three and a half minutes into the second on an Alleyne free throw, which stopped the bleeding at 40-30 UNC.
The Ducks just couldn’t find a way to get the ball in the net, enduring brutal scoring droughts that lasted for long stretches of the game. UNC continued to take advantage, coasting to the victory, as Oregon was never able to fight back into striking distance.
“I think as a team we kind of relaxed because we were doing so well and doing good things in the first half that in the second half we weren’t on that same mindset,” Alleyne said. “We have to keep pounding it.”
It was far from perfect for Oregon. The team relied way too much on deep, rushed threes. The saying is clichéd — you live and die by the three — but in this case it seems like an apt way to view Oregon’s offense. The shots were falling early and gave the Ducks a lead, but the success was unsustainable and the team regressed to the mean. They finished shooting 9-29 from deep.
The other warning sign was that when Oregon did dribble penetrate or work the ball down low, they had trouble finishing plays. The Ducks left a lot of points on the table.
UNC on the other hand began to cut into the lead and take control of the game by forcing the issue down low. Sophomore forward Stephanie Mavunga was a force in the paint, using her size and strength to push the Duck defenders out of her way. She recorded 23 points and 16 rebounds.
“They have a nice team,” coach Hatchell said. “I know their coach well from Gonzaga, I’m sure he just needs a little bit of time and they will be right in the thick of things within the conference.”
Oregon will next take the court on Tuesday as they play host to Portland State.
Follow Christopher Keizur on Twitter @chriskeizur