Regardless of how it came about, Oregon’s women basketball stayed perfect with a home win over Seattle on Monday night.
“Defensively, we didn’t have a whole lot of energy in the first quarter but I was happy with how we turned it around,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said. “Overall, I was really pleased with the effort.”
Jillian Alleyne had her 80th career double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds as the Ducks used a 27-point third quarter to pull away from pesky Seattle for the 82-62 win. With the win, Oregon remains undefeated on the season at 11-0 while Seattle drops to 5-8.
“I think we’re a ‘B’, ‘B-‘ so far,” Alleyne said when grading her team’s perfect start. “With the non conference schedule we’ve had, we’ve played to the best of our abilities against the opponents that have matched up against — we have so much more to go.”
Alleyne, who now ranks fifth all-time in the NCAA in double-doubles, grabbed her 10th rebound halfway through the third quarter for the double-double. Alleyne is 10 double-doubles away from becoming second all-time and needs six more to become the Pac-12’s career leader.
“I think it’s something I’m going to look back on… it’s great but I still have so much more to do,” Alleyne said of her NCAA record in double-doubles. “Because I’m in the moment, I’m still focused on the team and what we have to do but it’s an amazing accomplishment and I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.”
Up just four at the half, the combination of Alleyne and Liz Brenner down low with Lexi Petersen up top allowed the Ducks to outscore Seattle 27-13 in the quarter and take a commanding 69-52 lead.
Alleyne and Brenner combined for 11 points in the quarter while Alleyne grabbed eight rebounds. Petersen did most of her damage from beyond the arc as she hit three shots from deep and assisted on Jordan Loera’s buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the quarter.
“I feel like I’ve progressed but I feel like it’s also my teammates and having more confidence in me and me having more confidence in me,” Petersen said. “Trying to be a leader out there and doing what I can to help us win.”
With the game all but over entering the fourth quarter, Graves saw no letdown in his team when he went to his bench. The Ducks ended up extending the lead en route to the 20-point victory.
The Ducks highlighted the third quarter with eight offensive rebounds in the quarter, thus extending possessions and taking time off the clock.
Oregon didn’t come out of the gates firing to start the game as Seattle’s Taelor Ross scored eight of the team’s first 16 points and built a seven-point lead over a cold-shooting Oregon team. Fortunately for the Ducks, Ross picked up her second foul and the Ducks were able to fight back into the game.
Petersen went 1-of-2 from the free throw line before Kat Cooper knocked down a three-pointer with four seconds left to get the Ducks within three, 26-23, at the end of the first quarter.
Oregon began to assert its size and will in the post in the second. Alleyne started the quarter with seven consecutive points to give the Ducks a 30-26 lead before Cazorla got the offense firing on all cylinders. Cazorla finished the half with eight assists as the Ducks led 42-38 at the break.
“She was great,” Graves said of Cazorla. “A great job of controlling the tempo… she’s got just elite vision.”
For the game, Petersen finished with 23 points — 4-of-8 from beyond the arc — and six assists while Cazorla added 12 assists and three rebounds. Jacinta Vandenberg added nine points and eight rebounds for the Ducks.
The Ducks will now have four days off before returning to action down in Southern California for the start of Pac-12 play. Oregon begins its conference portion of its schedule with a 2 p.m. game at UCLA before facing USC on Monday at 5 p.m.
“The Pac-12 is going to be a test of who we really are as a team,” Alleyne said.
Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter @Ryan_Kostecka