CORVALLIS — Duck head coach Kelly Graves makes no qualms about it.
He doesn’t like seeing Oregon’s in-state rival Oregon State in back-t0-back games. Perhaps he would feel different if the rival wasn’t nationally ranked, but in the wake of the No. 11 Beavers’ 60-33 win on Friday night, the Ducks have to “get back on the horse,” Graves said.
The Beavers held the Ducks to 23.5 percent shooting from the field. Coming into the game, they were shooting 51.1 percent.
“We had some kids hanging heads,” Graves said. “I didn’t coach a good game, obviously. I didn’t find the right answers. It was everybody — equal opportunity.”
He says not all was lost.
The Ducks had a few bright spots: Jacinta Vandenberg tallied nine points and seven rebounds and collectively grabbed 13 offensive rebounds. Oregon also held OSU’s Jamie Wesiner to 10 points, seven of those on free-throws, but the conference’s winner from a year ago handed it to the Ducks.
“Not going to beat anybody shooting like that, let alone one of the best teams in the country,” Graves said. “It was just disappointing.”
Graves said it was just one of those nights, but with a rematch looming for the Ducks on Sunday at Matthew Knight Arena, Oregon has to hope the poor shooting moments were simply an aberration.
There’s good reason to think so.
Oregon came into the game shooting 51.1 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from 3-point range.
Freshman Maite Cazorla said she’s never played in an atmosphere similar to the Civil War. She hopes the Ducks can bring confidence on Sunday.
“We didn’t make shots that we should have made,” Cazorla said. “I think the key is working and competing.”
In the third quarter, the Ducks saw their standout Jillian Alleyne hit the floor hard after a rebound. She had to be helped off by Graves and the team’s trainer. She left for the locker room, but returned to play the fourth quarter. Alleyne said after the game she’s fine, though.
On an otherwise rough night for the Ducks, Alleyne’s return to the court was one of the brighter moments.
Without Alleyne, who saw her double-double streak of 29 end Friday, the Ducks’ season would most certainly look bleak. When she returned to the game, it was a victory in of itself. With her mother in the stands, the moment showed just how much she means to the program.
Alleyne and the Ducks play their next three Pac-12 games against ranked opponents. The Ducks have confidence. After all, they won 11 straight games to start the season. Even if those wins were against conference Alleyne and the seniors have likely one final shot to beat Oregon State. Perhaps the familiar environment will yield a more favorable result for Duck fans.
At least they have Alleyne there to give the Beavers another shot.
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne