Oregon had a depleted roster on Sunday afternoon.
With three regulars unavailable, the Ducks’ supporting cast stepped up en route to a 74-54 win over Arizona. Maite Cazorla led the way with a career-high 23 points and seven assists for the Ducks (15-6, 4-6 Pac-12).
“I was really impressed with our team today,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “I think we came together as a strong unit under trying circumstances and played a really good basketball game. That’s not easy.”
Starters Jacinta Vandenberg and Lexi Petersen were out due to injury, and Liz Brenner was spending time with her family after her father Douglas passed away on Saturday.
Alleyne scored the first bucket of the game for Oregon and in doing so became the 10th player in NCAA history to reach 2,000 points and 1,500 rebounds. Arizona (11-11, 2-8) had its largest lead of the game at 17-11 in the first quarter and Cazorla hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Ducks a 18-17 lead.
“I was surprised,” said Cazorla, who was 8-of-11 from the field. “I knew that I had to shoot it because of the clock. I felt excited.”
Oregon used a 10-2 run to start the second quarter to jump out to a 28-21 lead. All told, the Ducks outscored Arizona 19-9 in the second on three 3-pointers from Cooper.
“It was great to have Kat step up like that, and Jill got us started there with some easy buckets,” Graves said.
The Ducks held the Wildcats scoreless in six of their final eight field goal attempts before halftime and led 37-26. Oregon forced 10 Arizona turnovers in the first half and committed five, which led to a 14-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Ducks, who scored just six points in third against No. 8 Arizona State on Friday, had a 17-12 edge in points against the Wildcats in the third.
“It was nice to see us seal and close it tonight,” Graves said of the third quarter attack. “It’s nothing different. It’s a mindset. They just have to go out and do it.”
Cooper said the Ducks made a conscious effort to strike in the third quarter because they’ve seen a few halftime leads evaporate in conference play.
“It’s all about focusing,” Cooper said. “It’s about not taking a break or taking a breath and pretending like it’s 0-0 when we come back out. … That was our main focus and we did it. Really proud of that.”
Malena Washington had 23 points and LaBrittney Jones had 14 points to pace the Wildcats, who shot 43.1 percent from the field. Oregon shot 56 percent.
Oregon had its largest lead of the afternoon at 28 points — 72-44 — with 3:11 left to play on a layup from Alleyne. The senior forward played 35 of 40 minutes with Vandenberg sidelined; both Vandenberg and Petersen had boots on their right feet. Jordan Loera and Cooper started in place of the injured duo.
“Obviously Jill can’t do it all,” Cooper said. “She’s like superwoman. We definitely need to help her out on the boards. There were some times on the zone when they got a lot of offensive rebounds. It’s a conscious effort.”
Lexi Bando tallied eight points and Mar’Shay Moore chipped in four points off the bench. The Ducks narrowly won the rebounding battle (25-22) and were 11-of-13 from the free throw line.
Up next: Oregon will visit Washington State on Friday night for a 8 p.m. tipoff.
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne