SEATTLE — Never has a current Oregon women’s basketball player won a game at the Pac-12 Tournament.
The Ducks (20-10, 9-10 Pac-12) rallied from a 15-point deficit to close within three points, but couldn’t complete the comeback, falling 74-68 to Arizona at Seattle’s KeyArena and sending Oregon back to Eugene empty handed.
The Wildcats (13-18, 4-15) shot 53.8 percent in the first half, which led to a 36-24 Arizona lead at halftime.
Oregon’s Lexi Petersen finished with 23 points, Maite Cazorla added 19 points on 3-of-7 shooting from three-point range and Jacinta Vanderberg finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t defend with enough passion to earn a victory,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “That’s what it came down to.”
Oregon – still coping with life without co-Pac-12 player of the year Jillian Alleyne – was outscored 22-7 in the second quarter and lost the rebounding battle, 34-24.
“They started to get really hot and shooting really well,” Petersen said. “We didn’t make an adjustment. We need to play defense a little harder and make them feel uncomfortable. I don’t think we did that.”
The Wildcats were inspired by the program announcing this week that coach Niya Butts and her staff will not return to coach the team next year.
“We just talked about playing hard and giving it our all,” said LaBrittney Jones, who had a season-high 26 points. “We know it’s our coaching staff’s last time with us, and we just wanted to give it our all for them.”
In the first quarter, the Ducks started 7-of-12 from the field and held a 17-14 lead after the first quarter. Vandenberg scored six of Oregon’s first eight points. The Ducks had their largest lead of the game at 17-9 with 2:57 left in the first.
From there, the Wildcats began to catch fire. They had a 27-7 run that spanned the rest of the half.
“My goodness, they shot lights out,” Graves said. “It was an incredible performance that they had certainly in that first half.”
Oregon entered the game ranked No. 3 in the NCAA in three-point shooting, but finished 6-of-22 from beyond the arc while Arizona was 7-of-10.
Arizona had a 15-point lead in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Oregon trimmed the lead to 59-51 on a three-point field goal from Cazorla with 6:28 remaining in the game. The Ducks, using a smaller lineup to counter the Arizona attack, closed to with three points with 2:16 left.
“We had to change the tempo somehow, so we just opted to go small – put a lot more pressure on them,” Graves said. “It’s not really our game, but [I] thought the kids did a nice job.”
A pair of free throws from Jones and a layup from Keyahndra Cannon made it a 71-64 Wildcat lead.
Free throws from Oti Gildon made it a five-point deficit for the Ducks who began to foul shortly afterwards. Arizona made the final free throws to advance to the second round of Pac-12 Tournament play.
With the loss, the Ducks figure to play in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, which invites the top teams excluded from the NCAA Tournament field.
“Somebody has got to invite us somewhere, I guess, at some point,” Graves said. “It’s a great opportunity for young kids to get some action and be better. I’m of the opinion that you play as long as you can.”
The seeds for the WNIT are announced on March 14. For Petersen, the chance to play in an Oregon uniform again is enticing.
“Speaking for myself, I would love to continue to play [in the WNIT],” Petersen said. “I’ve had such a good time and long run at Oregon. I just want to finish on a good note.”
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne
