The Oregon Ducks (17-8, 9-4 Pac-12) improved their home record to 11-2 on Wednesday, defeating the UCLA Bruins (11-9, 6-6 Pac-12) in a rescheduled matinee.
The bright yellow uniforms for the Ducks were far from the flashiest thing on the court as the high-flying Oregon offense took down UCLA for the first time in 773 days.
Oregon led for all but the first 35 seconds of the game. Once Maddie Scherr’s deep 3 put the Ducks up, they never looked back.
“We knew it was going to be a good day when Maddie comes off with the first three,” Endyia Rogers said. “We didn’t shoot it too hot the other day.”
The Ducks used today’s win to bounce back from an ugly home loss to Oregon State last Sunday.
Oregon used an early 10-0 run, its largest of the game, to take an eleven point first quarter lead and separate bird from bear for the remainder of the contest.
Early offensive firepower from the Ducks combined with a lack of production from the Bruins saw the Ducks score 40 first half points and take a 20-point lead into the half. The UCLA bench outscored its starters through the first two frames of play.
While 12 different Ducks saw playing time and nine Oregon players tallying points, Nyara Sabally led the way picking up her 4th double-double of the season and her second in the last week snatching 10 rebounds and racking up 12 points in the Ducks 14 point victory.
“I wanted to play 12 players tonight,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said. “I felt confident in all of them.”
The third quarter saw UCLA cut the Oregon lead in half but every time it seemed the Bruins had worked their way back into contention, the Ducks piled it back on. Oregon dealt with foul trouble throughout the third quarter as well.
“There were a lot of ticky tacky fouls called,” Rogers said about the 3rd quarter struggles. “But we weathered the storm and got the win.”
Oregon took advantage of UCLA mistakes, shooting 11-of-14 from the free throw line and out rebounding UCLA, while scoring 15 points off Bruin turnovers.
The win boosts Oregon’s overall record to 17-8 but will not impact its conference record despite UCLA being a Pac-12 opponent. A mixture of Covid protocols and injuries forced the Bruins to forfeit the original game on Jan. 28.
“You need to play the games,” Graves said. “You need to find a way.”
Oregon found a way. The forfeit gave the Ducks an uncontested and controversial conference victory. Today they got the real one.
“We beat UCLA twice but only played them once,” Graves said. “Go figure.”
Oregon led, competed and dominated start to finish in a highly physical and emotional game. In a complete team effort, the Ducks got it done.
“We’re always told, when your name is called, be ready to step up,” Rogers said. “A bunch of players stepped up [tonight].”
The win opens a busy week for the Ducks that also features games against Cal (Feb. 18) and No. 2 ranked Stanford (Feb. 20), closing out the final home games for Oregon in the 2021-2022 season.
