Oregon women’s basketball suffered a 74-59 beatdown from California in the penultimate home game of the regular season Thursday night.
Oregon (12-16, 5-12 Pac-12) kept things close early, but eventually the relentless grind of Cal (21-7, 13-4 Pac-12) proved to be too much.
“They are a good basketball team, they really are,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said. “They are athletic, long, super talented and they have two of the top-seven draft picks in next year’s WNBA draft.”
Those two picks are forward Reshanda Gray and Brittany Boyd, who combined for 30 points. Gray finished with 13 points and five rebounds, while Boyd had 17 points, three rebounds and six assists.
The evening’s title fight involved Gray and Oregon star junior forward Jillian Alleyne. Alleyne carried her team, really the only consistent performer in an otherwise subpar night.
“Boy, Jill was phenomenal,” Graves said. “She is getting so much better in competing and skill wise she is developing. I am really proud of her tonight.”
Unsurprisingly, Alleyne finished with a double-double, scoring 33 and hauling in 16 rebounds.
“I think she has a bright future if she continues to improve,” Graves said of Alleyne.
The Golden Bears played physically on the defensive end, using their long arms and imposing size to fluster Oregon in its half-court sets. They would flock to the ball anytime the Ducks got stuck in a corner, forcing many errors. Oregon ended the game with a crippling 19 turnovers.
The Ducks also struggled to shoot the ball. As a group they finished the game shooting 22-57 (.386) from the field.
The defense from Cal also helped it go on a 10-0 run midway through the first half to take the lead.
Perhaps most impressive was Cal’s vicious full-court press that at times left the Ducks’ guards dazed and confused. With the fight to get the ball across the midway point, Oregon had less time to get into its offense.
The Ducks went into the break trailing 38-24. They had held a lead early, until Cal ripped off a 10-0 run to take control of the contest.
At the start of the second the Ducks seemed to have figured out an answer to the Golden Bears’ defense. Sophomore point guard Drea Toler used her blistering speed to break the trap and keep the offense flowing.
“I think second half we came out more composed,” redshirt junior Jordan Loera said. “That is one of the things we talked about this game, keeping our composure and staying patient — I think we did a better job of that in the second half.”
For the first time all season, the Ducks took the court without freshman guard Lexi Bando, who according to the team suffered a shoulder injury during practice. Loera was inserted into the starting lineup in her place; marking the second time she’s got the start this season.
Loera finished with 10 points and three rebounds.
The second half is when Alleyne really began to capitalize on the offensive end, working early in possessions to shake free for several easy layups. She was able to score the first nine points of the second half for the Ducks.
Oregon’s offense finally started to click. However, Cal had an answer each time. The Ducks cut the lead to 10 points with 13 minutes left, but three Cal three-pointers began a 16-0 run that pushed the lead to 26 points.
From that point on the rest of the contest was simply a formality.
“We are who we are,” Graves said. “We are just trying to do the best we can with what we have. For the most part I am really proud of our team.”
Oregon will next take the court Sunday afternoon to take on No. 19 Stanford in the final home game of the regular season. The contest will be a chance to honor the seniors one last time in Eugene. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 P.M.
Follow Christopher Keizur on Twitter @chriskeizur