With all the attention on senior night, Oregon women’s basketball was able bolster its NCAA Tournament resume by defeating USC 69-60 Sunday afternoon in Matthew Knight Arena.
“We need to win games down the stretch, it had the feel of a postseason game,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said.
After controlling the proceedings for most of the night, the Ducks (20-7, 9-7 Pac-12) found themselves with their backs up against the wall in the closing minutes. The Trojans (18-10, 6-10) cut the lead to just a single possession with under two minutes left to play, making it 60-58 Oregon.
The home team rallied with a Jillian Alleyne layup and a missed three on the other end to close the game with a win.
“This is the first time since I’ve been here that we got 20 wins,” Allyene said. “Its amazing, I’m at a loss for words.”
It was a slow start for Oregon out of the pregame festivities as the team looked flustered, struggling to move the ball in a stagnant offense. They over-dribbled and were sluggish closing out shooters. As a result the Trojans were able to close the first with a 16-9 lead.
The second quarter is when Oregon finally found its footing. Alleyne scored an easy basket at the rim to open things up and a Lexi Petersen three tied the game 18-18 at the 7:49 mark. The defense tightened up and the Ducks outscored USC 23-10 in the second.
“Our defense just kind of spurred us,” Graves said.
At halftime Oregon led 32-26.
The star of the game for the Ducks was freshman Maite Cazorla. The Spaniard controlled things running the point, finding open teammates and slowing the pace to allow plays to develop. Most impressively was her ability to dial her own number and penetrate through the Trojan defense for easy layups at the rim.
“Coach told me to be aggressive and they couldn’t stop me,” Cazorla said.
She finished with a game-high 26 points, which is a new career high.
“Maite is great, she has become one of my best friends,” Alleyne said. “I wish her the best and I’m sad I wont get to play with her the next three years.”
For her part Alleyne also dominated. She posted a double-double with 23 points and 18 rebounds, including several crucial plays down the stretch.
“She had another Jillian Alleyne night,” Graves said. “I hope the fans appreciate the last four years what they’ve seen with her, its incredible what she does night in and night out.”
In the second half the game became more physical as the Duck and Trojan posts battled. Bodies crashed to the floor as both teams attacked the paint and fought over rebounds. USC’s Kristen Simon did a good job using her size to fill the void down low and force Alleyne to fight for her looks.
On the other side Liz Brenner was strong off the bench. She scored five points and pulled down two rebounds. Brenner did well boxing out and setting screens for her teammates.
“We needed her, she played a great game,” Graves said. “I thought defensively she was terrific tonight and just gave us a lift.”
At the end of the third Oregon looked to be in control of the game with a 52-37 lead, and was able to survive the late Trojan push to win the game.
The Ducks finished shooting 53.2 percent from the field and scored 42 points in the paint. They also were able to hold USC to just 37.7 percent from the field.
Oregon will finish the regular season with two games next weekend. The first is against California on Friday, February 26 and the second is against Stanford that Sunday.
Follow Christopher Keizur on Twitter @chriskeizur