It need not be pretty, but a win is a win, always
Style points, let alone a semblance of a modern offense, are not always required.
“Tough, gritty wins are hard to come by,” head coach Kelly Graves said.
No. 23 Oregon women’s basketball (6-0) beat the Auburn University Tigers (3-1) 70-68 on Wednesday night at Matthew Knight Arena, despite tying its second-lowest point total of the season, turning the ball over 19 times and having just 13 assists. For more than 14 minutes, Amina Muhammad was the only Duck to record an assist.
Elisa Mevius hit an and-one layup with 26 seconds remaining which extended the Ducks’ lead to six, and for the sixth straight time to begin this season, the Ducks won. This time against a perennially-solid SEC team that made the NCAA Tournament last season.
“It was a big game, two heavyweights, I don’t think either team played their best tonight.” Graves said.
The Ducks have now tallied more than half of their win count (11) from a year ago.
Phillipinna Kyei added 14 points and 11 rebounds, Peyton Scott added 13 of her own.
“Different team when [Kyei]’s on the court,” Graves said.
“We know she’s gonna show up when we need her.” Scott said of Kyei who played a season-high in minutes after being hindered by an ankle injury.
Both teams limped out of the gate with a first quarter that featured 16 turnovers, three offensive fouls and 16 total missed shots. Oregon, however, stuttered ever-so-slightly into form.
The early problems were severe enough to force the Tigers into an uphill climb for nearly the entirety of the game, a climb they were unable to make.
Mevius hit a spinning layup to help the Oregon lead balloon to 13 halfway through the third quarter, giving a restless crowd — that sat through a string of fouls, errant passes and a nearly ten-minute stretch without a made 3-pointer — something significant to cheer about.
Those few offensive highlights sufficed against a struggling Auburn team that had just four players (one of which had just two points) score in the first half of action.
Auburn’s comeback at the start of the fourth quarter was halted by an 8-0 Duck run which was spurred by a pair of Sofia Bell 3-pointers. Auburn however, wouldn’t go away, and cut the lead to just three with 51 seconds left.
A long Oregon possession resulted in Mevius getting the ball in the key, hitting the layup and punching the win. Auburn’s Talia Scott hit a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds on the clock but Bell inbounded the following pass successfully, which left fans happy.
“They were huge,” Graves said. “A lot of people hit 3’s when they are way up or way down, it’s easy, but we really needed both of those at that point.
Taliah Scott — who Graves called a “pro” led all scorers with 28 for the Tigers.
Oregon forced 20 turnovers, had eight players record a steal or block and most importantly, maintained pressure down the stretch with a pair of stops (before the last-second 3-pointer) and ended the chances of an improbable late finish.
If the Ducks are to build on Wednesday’s win, an offense that hit just a pair of shots from range and shot 57% from the free-throw line must be more productive.
But for a day at least, the Ducks can enjoy a victory.
And with another quality win, perhaps the start of something more.
