Oregon women’s basketball (5-3) ended its two-game skid with a 59-51 win against Idaho (4-4). Friday’s victory was the Ducks’ first home game in nearly three weeks.

The Ducks were coming off a 20-point loss at No. 13 Baylor last Sunday. After starting the season 3-0, they’ve struggled, winning only three of their four matchups heading into the game against the Vandals.

It took a big showing by the trio of Phillipina Kyei, Grace VanSlooten and Chance Gray to get back on the right track. They scored all but six of the team’s 59 points.

“We relied tonight on our big three,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said. “But we’ve got to have more contributors.”

The Vandals got on the board first. Oregon responded with buckets from Kyei and VanSlooten. The frontcourt duo combined for 16 of the Ducks’ points in the first half.

“You have to answer for us in the paint,” Kyei said. “So we try and get into the paint and that’s how we got most of our points.”

Oregon led for the majority of the first half. Idaho stayed in the game, however, due to second-chance opportunities and six turnovers by the Ducks.

Oregon started to gain a little bit of separation midway through the second quarter. An emphatic block by Kyei and an and-1 by Gray temporarily brought the scarce crowd into the game.

Despite a scoring drought at the end of the half, the Ducks went into the break with an eight-point advantage.

Oregon shot 7-for-10 to begin the game but then went cold from the field. The rest of the way the Ducks only made 13 of their 42 attempts.

The Vandals began the second half with a 7-0 run. Oregon continued its struggle to find the bottom of the net. 

Kyei scored seven points in the third quarter — half of the Ducks’ points in the period. She ended the game with 16 points and a season-high 17 rebounds.

“Philli can be a dominant player and she was tonight,” Graves said.

It wasn’t until 1:09 left in the third quarter that Gray scored Oregon’s first — and only — 3-pointer of the game. The Ducks only attempted only 11 against Idaho and are now 2-for-19 in their last two contests.

“We just got to keep working on it,” Gray said. “It’s going to come; we just got to stay confident in our shots. Once we get that going, I think it’d be game over for a lot of teams.”

Graves expressed that it will be difficult for the team to win games without getting its rhythm behind the arc. He said that it’s important for them to utilize Kyei as an inside-out player, especially when the 3-point shots aren’t falling.

Kyei scored a layup with 5:04 left in the fourth. Oregon didn’t convert another basket from the field the rest of the game. 

Eight free throws in the closing minutes, all from Gray, sealed the victory for the Ducks. They outshot Idaho 26-1 from the stripe, making 18 of their attempts.

In what was far from its best game of the season, Oregon was able to limit Idaho’s free throws by committing just one shooting foul all night. 

The Ducks continue their four-game homestand on Saturday afternoon. They’ll face Portland State with tipoff expected at 2 p.m. 

“Portland State’s going to be really good,” Graves said. “We need to rise to that challenge tomorrow and I’m confident that we will.”