Early Monday, the Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team was listed in the AP top 25 for the first time since 2003. Monday night, the team marched into the home of the Clemson Tigers and handed them their first loss of the season by a score of 87-59.
The Ducks (8-1)  raced out to a 15-0 lead to begin the game and never trailed. Freshman Sabrina Ionescu recorded her second triple-double of the season, finishing with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. With one more triple-double, Ionescu will tie Bev Smith for the most in program history.
Despite giving up an early lead, Clemson (8-1)  battled back on their home court to pull within five points midway through the first half. During the Clemson comeback, the Ducks did not make a field goal for the first 7:37 of the second quarter. The Ducks pushed the lead to eight at halftime, and Ionescu was two rebounds short of a double-double at the half.
Oregon took advantage of a big third quarter to take control of the game, outscoring the Tigers 26-13 and pushing its lead to 24 points. Sophomore forward Oti Gildon tied her career-high with 16 points in the game, including eight in the fourth quarter. Freshman forward Ruthy Hebard narrowly missed a double-double with 15 points and 9 rebounds.
Junior guard Justine Hall made her debut for the Ducks after sitting out Oregon’s first eight games. Because she transferred to the Ducks from Purdue in the middle of last season, NCAA rules stated she had to sit out until the completion of fall term this year. Hall finished the game with four points.
Clemson came into the game holding opposing teams to 33.3 percent shooting, which was 17^th best in the country, but the Ducks shot 52 percent against the Tigers.
The Ducks will head to Oxford, Mississippi to take on Ole Miss Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Follow Zak Laster on Twitter @zlast3445