Oregon’s goal going into Monday was to play a consistent game. The Ducks were successful in that task in the first and third quarter but fell short in their goals in the second and fourth. The Southern Utah Thunderbirds were Oregon’s strongest competitors yet this season. The Ducks ended on top 66-54, their smallest margin of victory so far.
The Ducks’ lack of consistency and intensity throughout periods of the game caused them to be outscored 21-7 in the fourth quarter. This included an 11 point run by the Thunderbirds making the score closer than it should have been.
“We started out really strong in the third and I think we can work harder in the fourth and finish out games stronger,” Te-Hina Paopao said.
With a large majority of the team composed of freshmen and the whole team coming off and on the bench, some of that lack of intensity throughout the entirety of the game comes from the younger players figuring out the game during the early season.
“Through three quarters we played relatively well and we were close to being on pace to what we normally score,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “We just let it get away from us.”
Paopao was the strongest player in the Oregon lineup. As one of the few veteran older players on the team, she is starting to grow into that role as the season gets into full swing. Paopao led in scoring with 17 total points and added on four assists.
“Te-Hina played a really great game tonight and it was under control the whole time. She’s been doing that for us all year,” Graves said.
Southern Utah came in strong and gave Oregon a level of intensity that it had not yet seen in the four games previously. SUU totaled 41 rebounds while Oregon had 33.
“For the first time this year we got out worked and out rebounded,” Graves said. “That was a little disappointing.”
Moving forward, Oregon will need to take some of the lessons learned from this game and apply them to the games moving forward. This weekend the Ducks begin the start of a tough month-long schedule.
“Sometimes we go through lapses where we’re high and then we’re low so the biggest thing is just trying to keep the energy high,” Chance Gray said.
Gray and Grace VanSlooten both each had 12 total points and three assists.
The Ducks will have their first big test against a ranked team this Thursday when they take on the No. 8 ranked North Carolina team.
