In the first regular season game, Oregon women’s basketball came out on top, beating Utah State 100-77 today at Matthew Knight Arena.
Fans first got a look at Graves’ new squad on Sunday, when the team beat Westmont 81-44 in an exhibition match.
“When we executed tonight and doing things we really wanted to do, I thought we looked really good and played good basketball.” said head coach Kelly Graves. “I thought we could of defended a lot better, that was the part that kind of frustrated me.”
Standing out for the Ducks was Katelyn Loper, who scored a career-high in points with 33, beating her previous record of 29 when she played in last season’s home-opener against Cal State Bakersfield.
“I think the coaches expect a lot from me and I like that,” Loper said. “There is not a play I don’t hear from coach Graves and so I like it, sometimes I get a little frustrated sometimes. I feel different because I am accountable.”
The Ducks got off to a hot start, going on an 11-0 run at the beginning of the game. Oregon was 6-for-6 at the three-point line about half way through the first half. The team finished the game shooting 54.8 percent from field goal range and went 15-21 from the foul line.
Graves said he was pleased with the team’s performance tonight and that he thought Utah’s trap defense made it pretty easy for the Ducks to put points up due to their shooting and Allyene’s inside presence.
Oregon was able to keep the momentum throughout the first and lead the Aggies at half 59-41.
Coach Graves expressed the importance of focus on defense at halftime. After the game, the first-year coach noted that was something he is still looking for his team to improve on. He noted that when the team is hot shooting it is  easy for defense to become an after thought, which is something that Graves said can’t happen.
Forward Jillian Allyene said defensively the learning curve has increased with coach Graves’ new focus on defense fundamentals.
“Our defense is what will win us games,” Allyene said. “I think today we should what type of team we can be.”
Specifically, Allyene added that one key to improving is knowing where to be on defense a second sooner.
The second leading scorer for Oregon was Alleyne, who tallied her 42nd career double-double as she finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Oregon struggled on offense at the start of the second half. After a three-point basket from Loper with just under a minute into the half, the Ducks went scoreless till 14:23.
“We started off really well in the first half and then in the second the first five minutes were not going so well and I think that is something we have to learn as a team,” said Alleyne.
The junior added that the team needs to be able to bounce back better.
The offensive momentum picked up again later in the half and Oregon finished the day breaking 100 points, with a team total of 33 rebounds and 25 assists. Also scoring for the Ducks was Lexi Peterson and Lexi Bando, who both finished with 13. The leading scorer for Utah State was Makenlee Williams who finished with 22 points.
Oregon faces North Carolina on Nov. 23 at home. North Carolina is No. 13 on AP’s Top-25 poll and will play No. 23 UCLA on Sunday.