Oregon women’s basketball rode double-digit efforts from Maite Cazorla, Ruthy Hebard and Sabrina Ionescu to survive a tough road clash with No. 14 UCLA, beating the Bruins 70-61 in Los Angeles on Sunday.
The Ducks move to 4-0 in conference play with the victory — the program’s best start since 2001. The win also marks Oregon’s first completed sweep of the LA schools after the team defeated USC Jan. 5.
The Ducks jumped out to an 11-2 lead to start the game before allowing the Bruins to make four unanswered baskets to close their advantage to three to end the first quarter.
Things stayed close through the second quarter. Initially, Oregon began to open up a wider lead again, but UCLA refused to go away easily. Neither team had a strong performance from the field — the Ducks shot 33 percent while the Bruins managed just 25 percent shooting at the half, as the Ducks held a 27-23 lead.
Out of the break, Oregon maintained its narrow advantage until a shade under four minutes into the third quarter. A 3-pointer from UCLA put the Ducks down briefly, though they took back the lead by the end of the quarter.
With just 1 minute, 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Ducks held a scant 60-59 lead. Bando provided the dagger in UCLA’s heart, hitting a 3-pointer to allow Oregon to hold on to escape Pauley Pavilion with the win.
Despite the victory, the Ducks struggled with turnovers, giving up the ball 18 times. They also were uncharacteristically cold from deep, going just 25 percent from beyond the arc.
The Ducks will look to extend their winning streak against the Arizona Wildcats on Friday in Eugene.
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