Another game passed and Oregon women’s basketball suffered another deflating 74-55 blowout loss.
This is the theme that has defined the Ducks’ season. Oregon doesn’t have the liberty of having a bad game – let alone 16 – in a Pac-12 conference that currently features six top-25 teams.
While the Ducks (11-16, 2-12) entered the matchup on an eight-game losing streak, the No. 9 Bruins came in just as hungry. UCLA (20-5, 9-5) lost its last game in Corvallis 79-77 against a talented No. 11 Oregon State squad. Two of the Bruins’ five losses this season came in their previous five games.
Right off the bat, the gap in the level of play was apparent. In the first possession of the game, Charisma Osborne swished in a 3 for UCLA. Oregon followed it up with a turnover on the other end of the floor.
The points off turnovers and second chance points were an issue early and continued throughout the game.
“You’re not gonna beat a team when you have 46 points off turnovers and second chance points,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “And then rinse and repeat. It’s been our issue most of the year.”
It took the Bruins over three minutes to have a scoreless possession. During that span, they hit four 3-pointers, with Osborne and Londynn Jones both hitting two.
UCLA converted nine shots in the game from behind the arc compared to Oregon’s one. Jones and Osborne were two of the four Bruins to finish in double digits, alongside Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice.
With UCLA’s offense firing on all cylinders early, the outcome was already decided when Sunday’s game started.
Eventually, the Ducks’ offense also came around. Priscilla Williams and Chance Gray both found their rhythm. However, Oregon couldn’t stop the Bruins on the defensive end. UCLA had a 45-28 lead come halftime.
In the third quarter, the story was the opposite. The Ducks’ defense held the Bruins to 1-for-9 from the field during a stretch toward the end of the period. Oregon couldn’t find the bottom of the net either.
“I thought we did some good things defensively, holding them to 38%, which is pretty good,” Kelly Graves said.
UCLA eventually came alive again in part due to the second-chance opportunities the Ducks allowed. The Bruins’ led by 22 at the end of the third.
Not much changed in the fourth quarter. Oregon finished with only 55 points and another demoralizing loss. The losing streak is the worst in Graves’ tenure as coach.
“We’re the ones that have set the bar and we haven’t reached our own,” Graves said, alluding to the program’s previous success. “But the bar was set in the last 10 years.”
Grace VanSlooten and Gray both scored in double figures for the Ducks with 17 and 15, respectively. They also led the team in turnovers with seven and five.
Center Phillipina Kyei contributed eight points and five rebounds in the contest. Kyei didn’t score until the second half of action. As one of the Ducks’ biggest contributors — along with Gray and VanSlooten — her inability to fill the stat sheet was missed.
The loss is Oregon’s ninth in a row. The Ducks have four more opportunities to get a win in the regular season. Next weekend, the Ducks will head to Washington for a pair of games. The Huskies and the Cougars are both in the bottom quarter of the conference standings.
“Washington and Washington State are going to be very good. I mean, they’re hungry as we are you know, they’re down in the standings where we are,” Graves said. “I go into every game feeling that we can win. Some games, we have a smaller margin for error.”
