Oregon was down by five with 11 seconds left in the game when Sabrina Ionescu fouled out.
A trainer handed her a water bottle as she walked toward the team’s tunnel. Ionescu grabbed it and chucked it into the tunnel, spraying water on the ground as she stormed off the court.
Ionescu had reason to be upset as the No. 2 Ducks had dropped a 22-point lead in the team’s first home loss of the season to an unranked UCLA, 74-69, Friday night.
The loss marked Oregon’s second straight in conference play as the Ducks (24-3, 13-2 Pac-12) now hold but a one-game lead atop the Pac-12 standings. UCLA (17-10, 10-5) moves up to fourth with its win.
“Needless to say, I’m quite disappointed,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said. “I didn’t think we were very good tonight. … I give them credit, UCLA played hard and they played well. They exploited us where we were weak.”
Friday’s game marked the first for the Ducks without Ruthy Hebard. Despite a clean MRI, Oregon decided to sit out the junior power forward, who injured her knee Monday night in Oregon’s 67-62 loss to No. 12 Oregon State. In her place, senior Oti Gildon started in the position — her second career start as a Duck.
Redshirt sophomore Erin Boley led the team with 20 points, followed by Ionescu’s 18. Gildon led the team with eight rebounds, while Ionescu led with eight assists. As a team, the Ducks shot 44 percent and went 6-of-26 from the 3-point line. 
Oregon led the first half of the game, ending the first quarter on a 6-2 run and leading at the break, 42-27. However; all that changed with the beginning of the second half.
The Ducks came out of intermission missing easy shots and causing turnovers. UCLA ended the quarter on a 9-1 run, scoring a total of 21 points to the Ducks’ 11. Oregon made just four of its 16 attempted field goals, allowing UCLA to close the gap to just five points, 53-48, going into the fourth quarter.
“We didn’t come out good at all in the beginning of the third quarter,” Boley said. “I think we let our guard down a little bit and it just sort of went down-hill.”
Despite brief surges of energy from the Ducks, UCLA dominated the fourth. UCLA’s Michaela Onyenwere made a pair of free throws to allow the Bruins to take over the lead 57-56 with seven minutes remaining. Oregon attempted a comeback, twice getting within one point, but ultimately could not seal the deal.
“We didn’t play with a lot of intensity in that second half and certainly down the stretch [we] didn’t play with a whole lot of poise,” Graves said. “We struggled to shoot the ball the last couple games and it’s hurting us.”
Oregon will play its final regular-season home stand on Sunday, Feb. 24, at 11 a.m. The Ducks will celebrate senior day for Maite Cazorla and Gildon as they take on the USC Trojans.
Follow Maggie Vanoni on Twitter: @maggie_vanoni