Tears stained the padding under the hoop at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks’ problems against No. 16 Maryland (18-5, 8-4 Big Ten) got worse as the injuries piled up. Fifth-year guard Peyton Scott limped to the baseline, grabbing her leg with 3:29 left in the first half. The trainers, followed by head coach Kelly Graves, walked over to Scott as she pounded the padding with her fists.
Oregon women’s basketball (16-7, 7-5 Big Ten) lost its second game in a row in a 79-61 defeat to the Terrapins on Thursday — and injuries to Scott and Katie Fiso appear to have depleted the squad moving forward.
“I know we’ve got at least one MCL and we’ve got some other issues there,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “I’ll figure that out. I haven’t talked to the trainer yet.”
The current stretch poses a handful of opportunities for the Ducks to earn victories against top teams. It could matter when the selection committee determines the field for the NCAA Tournament in March. Oregon has already defeated a top-25 Baylor team earlier this season and recently earned the win against top-25 Michigan State on the road, but couldn’t add another win against the Terrapins.
On the first trip up the floor, the Ducks took 20 seconds off the shot clock. Scott took a couple of steps inside the arc and went up for the jumper. The Maryland defender hacked her and she went to the line for the first point of the night.
Oregon went up 4-0 after a Scott triple, but the offense stalled. Maryland went on a 17-5 run to close the quarter.
The Ducks hit a few shots to start the second but couldn’t take care of the ball. They gifted the Terrapins possession five times in three minutes.
Scott’s injury occurred amidst some of the sloppiest basketball Oregon has played all season at home.
“[Scott’s injury] is the one that it didn’t look good,” Graves said. “She’s had two ACLs in her past. So it’s something that’s been there before.”
Sarah Te-Biasu torched the Ducks, scoring 17 of her 26 points in the first half. Maryland shot over 50% in the half while holding the Ducks under 30% from the field.
The Terrapins continued to outduel Oregon in the third quarter as Ehis Etute and the Ducks’ bench led their improved third-quarter efforts. Maryland added 29 points to its tally compared to just 23 from Oregon.
The injury woes continued when backup point guard Fiso hit the hardwood in pain off hustle play. She exited to the locker room, leaving Oregon without two key guards.
Both Scott and Fiso later returned to the bench in the second half but never re-entered the game.
The crowd energy never wavered. The Ducks began the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 16 points. Etute scored 14 second-half points to lead all Oregon scorers.
“I thought that last 15 minutes of the game we actually played really hard, played well, got after it,” Graves said. “If we would have started it like that with that same kind of energy, enthusiasm and toughness, it might have been a different game.”
The team simply couldn’t carry the momentum and followed the run with a scoreless for three minutes.
“I think with that starting unit — Elisa [Mevius] was hampered tonight, too, as you can see with her hand,” Graves said. “We just didn’t have enough firepower early in the game.”
The Ducks’ next task is against the undefeated No. 1 team in the nation. UCLA (22-0, 10-0 Big Ten) is riding high off a 65-52 victory over No. 8 Ohio State (20-2, 9-2 Big Ten) on Wednesday. Oregon will attempt to hand the Bruins their first loss of the season in what could be a resume-boosting win for the Ducks.
“I’m not worried about UCLA,” Graves said. “I mean, my goodness. I got to worry about the Ducks and get our heads right.”
