After taking, and losing, a double-digit lead earlier in the game, the Oregon Ducks (8-3) found themselves in a hard-fought defensive battle early in the fourth quarter. Oregon had relied on its defense to hold a lead throughout the game, but the offense for both teams had not shown up. Sofia Bell, who had been the leader for the Ducks on the defensive end all day, gave the offense a push with a well-timed 3-pointer to push the lead up to nine points, a lead that would not be relinquished.

The scoring in the game was opened by Chance Gray with a 3-pointer that came over two minutes into the first quarter. Both teams struggled to score early in the game, and those struggles continued over halfway into the opening quarter. For Oregon, the turnovers became an issue once again as the Ducks surrendered four in the first five minutes. On the other end, the Oregon defense proved too much for the Roadrunners (5-5) as the Ducks forced three turnovers and recorded two blocks during the same time period.

Oregon was able to utilize its 3-point shooting to expand on the lead. Priscilla Williams made an immediate impact in her first appearance of the season, draining a 3-pointer on her first shot attempt. The shot was part of a larger 8-2 run for the Ducks that saw them take a lead of 13-4. 

“It was awesome to see [Williams] out on the floor first of all, and then to have an impact like she did,” Kelly Graves, head coach of the team, said. “I thought she played great, and was in the game at the end because she’s a good player and primarily for her defense.”

The two squads traded a couple baskets as Oregon went into the second quarter with a 15-8 advantage.

The Ducks came out strong in the second quarter, opening with an immediate 6-0 run to take a double-digit lead. After the run, it was the defense of the Ducks that shined while the offense fell cold. Sofia Bell continued a very impressive freshman campaign on the defensive end. In the second quarter alone, she recorded two blocks and two steals and was a key part of an Oregon defense that allowed just 20 points in the first half.

“In the halfcourt, I thought our defense was pretty good,” Graves said about the defense despite the gaudy offensive rebound numbers. “Especially if we had limited them to one shot, so definitely something we have to work on.”

Unfortunately for the Ducks, despite holding UTSA to just 20 points, Oregon was able to score just one basket in the final five minutes of the first half. After holding a 13-point lead at one point, the Ducks went into halftime up just 26-20.

The Roadrunners came out of the halftime break taking advantage of a door that the Ducks left wide open. An 8-0 run from UTSA brought the Oregon lead down to just two points less than four minutes into the third quarter. 

The Ducks were able to survive the onslaught by shutting down the Roadrunners with defensive play. However, despite Oregon holding UTSA scoreless for over two minutes, the Ducks failed to score during that same span which left the lead constant at 34-30 for a large portion of the third quarter. Oregon was finally able to put together a couple of strong offensive possessions late in the third quarter. A Gray jump shot and a Phillipina Kyei and-1 layup in the final minute helped rebuild a slight 45-37 lead heading into the fourth quarter. 

Despite the lead, Oregon was getting dominated on the boards. The Roadrunners outrebounded the Ducks 57-36 in the game, which included 27 UTSA offensive rebounds.

“I don’t think there’s an explanation other than we have to boxout and rebound,” Grace VanSlooten said about the rebounding differential in the game. “We’ve seen it happen over a couple games so at some point we gotta lock in and just figure out that everybody has to boxout our man and go get the ball after.”

The fourth quarter began with more defense, and more ugly offense from both sides. With neither team shooting efficiently, the game seemed like it might come down to whoever could string together a couple good offensive possessions first. Another 3-pointer from Bell helped the Ducks prove that they would be that team, giving them a nine-point lead about three minutes into the final quarter.

The Roadrunners made a push late in the game, bringing the lead as low as five points with four minutes remaining in the contest. In a fitting end to a game where neither team could figure out a winning recipe on offense, the end of the game was once again characterized by missed shots and strong defense on both sides. UTSA did not score in the final four minutes of the game, but Oregon was able to use that advantage to get eight points of offense on the other end. The game crawled to a 61-48 final score.

Oregon was led in scoring by the 14 points of Gray, who was followed closely by Priscilla Williams who finished her debut with 13 points. With the win, Graves earned his 600th career NCAA D1 win.

The Ducks are in action again on Tuesday against Utah Tech (6-4) as a part of the Trailblazer Classic.