In the first few minutes of the game, freshman star Grace VanSlooten found herself on the bench after two quick fouls. In an unlikely fashion, she spent most of the time not playing and contributed zero points in the first half. She left the locker room coming out of the half with what seemed like one goal in mind: score points. And that she did.
VanSlooten started an explosive third quarter after scoring right off the bat, leading to Oregon’s 82-62 victory over Arizona State. After a rough first half for both teams, the Ducks led the Arizona Sun Devils by only six points and trailed most of the time but turned that around and earned their first Pac-12 road win of the season.
“Anytime you get a road victory in the Pac-12, that’s good,” head coach Kelly Graves said.
The Ducks outscored the Sun Devils 27-14 in the 10 crucial minutes of the third quarter. The 6-foot-7 center Phillipina Kyei contributed to this effective third quarter by starting a lot of transitions with 18 total rebounds.
“38 rebounds in the last two games, that’s getting it done on the board,” Graves said. “That’s called dominance.”
Kyei collected her fifth double-double of the season after scoring 10 points. She leads the team in double-doubles.
VanSlooten’s quiet first half did not stop her from being one of Oregon’s leading scorers. She scored 12 of her 16 total points in the third quarter and started the 14-2 run that the Ducks desperately needed coming out of the half.
Taya Hanson had 13 points off the bench, with nine of those points coming from three-pointers in front of her hometown team. The senior transfer is using her final year of eligibility at Oregon.
Freshman forward Kennedy Basham is an Arizona native and had a strong homecoming showing, as she played 14 minutes. Her recent return to the team after injury has been welcomed to the short bench.
“We are limited on how we can play her right now and that’s her max,” Graves said.
While not playing much, she managed five points and six rebounds. She has strength with her mid-range shot which coach Graves believes will begin to change the way the Ducks play moving forward.
Oregon will next make the trip to Tucson where it will face the Arizona Wildcats Sunday at 4 p.m.
