The Oregon Ducks (9-6, 0-2 Pac-12) entered the game against the No. 2 UCLA Bruins (13-0, 2-0 Pac-12) facing an uphill battle in the second game of Pac-12 conference play. Despite being heavy underdogs, Oregon found themselves able to find success on the defensive end against UCLA early. A pair of baskets for Kennedy Basham and Grace VanSlooten brought the score to 6-4 in favor of the Bruins. However, the fortunes of Oregon would shift massively as UCLA went on a 16-0 run immediately after, cementing the overpowering win early in the game.

The Bruins wasted no time getting on the scoreboard with a jump shot from Kiki Rice on the opening possession of the game. UCLA did not stop there as it was a 6-0 game before Oregon had time to put any points on the board. The Ducks finally managed to score a basket on a  Basham jump shot over five minutes into the game.

Luckily for Oregon, the lack of offense did not hurt too bad. The Ducks’ defense was able to absolutely shut down the Bruins, holding them scoreless for a stretch that spanned over five minutes. However, all good things must come to an end. That rang true as Oregon allowed a 7-0 run that was capped off by a buzzer-beating floater from Rice. The run sent UCLA into the second quarter with a 13-4 lead.

Despite holding the Bruins to just 27.3% shooting from the field in the opening quarter, the Ducks were unable to stop UCLA from crashing the offensive glass. The Bruins had 10 offensive rebounds in the first quarter alone.

That run from UCLA extended well into the second quarter, reaching 16-0, and a score of 22-4, before the Ducks were finally able to get back in the scoring column. Oregon found itself in a seemingly insurmountable hole very early in the game after that stretch where no Duck was able to score for over seven minutes.

The first 3-pointer of the game came from the hands of Ula Chamberlain. Shortly after, the Bruins responded with a trio of makes from deep of their own to push the lead to 35-13 with just over two minutes remaining in the first half. Oregon was not able to make any progress cutting the lead in the last few minutes and the game went into halftime with UCLA holding a 37-17 advantage.

The story of the first half was the dominance of the Bruins on the glass. A 28-9 rebound advantage for UCLA was a major factor in a game where neither team was shooting efficiently from the field.

The second half began in the same way that the first half ended, with the Bruins being too much to handle for the Ducks. Oregon was able to put some points on the board, including VanSlooten’s second 3-pointer of the season, but it was not enough to keep up with UCLA’s ever increasing lead.

Phillipina Kyei began to get going in the third quarter. She was the main catalyst of a 7-0 run for the Ducks that brought the lead below 20 points with about three minutes left in the quarter. Unfortunately, the Bruins were able to show that their lead was never in doubt with an 8-0 run to end the quarter. Oregon trailed 61-34 at the end of three.

The fourth quarter saw both teams trade baskets, but neither team changed the margin too much. For the Ducks, that meant that they were able to limp over the finish line in a 75-49 loss.

Kyei was the only Oregon player in double-digits for the game, as she scored 14 points and had seven rebounds in the loss.

The Ducks will complete their road trip in southern California when they take on the USC Trojans on Sunday, January 7.