The No. 11 UCLA Bruins ended the No. 8 Oregon Ducks eight game win-streak with a 73-71 victory in Matthew Knight Arena on Sunday afternoon. The loss is the first home defeat for both women’s and men’s basketball as well as the Oregon football team at home since Feb. 22, 2019.
The Ducks Junior forward, Taylor Mikesell, continued her 33rd straight game with a triple early in the first, giving the Ducks a narrow 5-4 lead over the Bruins. The Ducks lead didn’t last long as UCLA responded with five straight points, leading the Ducks 12-8.
The Bruins carried their lead through the rest of the quarter, leading the Ducks 20-15 at the end of the first.
The Ducks freshman guards answered the Bruins with back to back threes from Te-Hina Paopao and Maddie Scherr.
Despite an adequate first half performance, the Ducks headed into the locker room trailing the Bruins 38-34.
The Ducks shot 13-30 from the field, ending the half with a 43% field goal percentage. The Bruins, on the other hand, shot 14-28 and ended the half with a 50% field goal percentage.
Heading into the third quarter with 15 points, the Bruins senior forward, Michaela Onyenwere scored the Bruins six consecutive points and raised their lead over the Ducks.
Onyenwere, who scored 33 points against the Ducks, continued her streak of scoring double-digits in all the Bruins games.Onyenwere leads the Pac-12 in both scoring (16.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.1 rpg).
A turnover by freshman Sydney Parrish resulted in a layup by the Bruins redshirt senior guard Natalie Chou. Paopao was quick to back up her teammate with a three, getting her into double digits. Shortly after, she followed with another three, closing the gap to 52-48 late in the third.
The Bruins headed into the fourth quarter with a 57-54 lead over the Ducks.
An anxious fourth quarter had both teams fighting until the end. A foul by Ducks freshman forward Kylee Watson, gave Onyenwere two free throw opportunities. She hit both, raising her to over 30 points on the game, including a perfect 8-8 on free throws.
With one minute remaining in the fourth quarter, Bruins sophomore guard Camryn Brown fouled, giving Nyara Sabally two free throw opportunities as she tied the game 71-71. Shortly thereafter, Osborne turned the ball over to the Ducks, leading to a Graves timeout, with seven seconds left in the game.
Paopao’s final touch on the ball was called a jump ball, although there appeared to be a lot of contact. Paopao finished her night with a total of 19 points and four assists. Despite their efforts, the Ducks fell short to the Bruins, moving the team to 8-1 on the season.
The Ducks finished the game shooting 46% from the field, going 12-15 on free throws and tallying 33 total rebounds.
“It was a really well-played game by both teams,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “It just came down to a couple key plays, every possession matters and unfortunately we just left too much out there.”
The Ducks will use their five-day game break to physically and mentally prepare for their next opponent. They’ll head to Stanford, Calif. to take on the No.1 Stanford Cardinals at Maples Pavilion on Jan. 8.
