Oregon saw another one of its halftime leads against a ranked opponent evaporate on Friday night.
No. 8 Arizona State erased a seven-point halftime lead against Oregon in the third quarter and won 63-58 in front of a crowd of 1,988 at Matthew Knight Arena. The Sun Devils (18-3, 9-0) outscored the Ducks (14-6, 3-6) 26-6 in the third quarter and won their 15th straight game.
“You can’t have letdowns against teams like ASU,” Oregon guard Lexi Bando said. “They’ll punch you in the throat and they’re going to get after it. That’s what they did. That’s all on us; that’s not on the coaches at all. We just didn’t come out ready.”
Jillian Alleyne had 19 points and 21 rebounds. Maite Cazorla came within one point of her career-high with 17 points and finished with six assists and one turnover. Bando was 4-of-6 from 3-point range and scored 12 points. The Ducks shot a combined 41.5 percent from the field compared to ASU’s 36.5 percent.
Alleyne had 21 of Oregon’s 29 total rebounds. ASU had 20 points off the bench, and Oregon had none.
“I would say they’re one of the best teams we’ve played—besides Oregon State—and we kept up with them. That shows a lot,” Alleyne said.
The Ducks took a quick 14-5 lead on a 7-0 run capped by a pair of free throws from Alleyne. After the first quarter, the Duck lead was 16-10. ASU opened the second quarter with a 6-2 run and later cut the Oregon lead to 21-20. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Cazorla and Bando extended the Oregon lead to 27-20 and poured on the last six points before intermission.
Alleyne individually equaled ASU’s rebounding effort in the first half; Oregon had 19 and ASU had 13. Oregon shot 39.3 percent compared to ASU’s 33.3, and Bando led the Ducks in scoring in the first half with nine points, all 3-pointers. Petersen’s six points in the first half all came in the first quarter.
ASU scored 15 straight points out of halftime before Alleyne rattled in a bucket with 3:36 left in the third.
“The third quarter honestly came down to mental lapses,” Alleyne said. “Anything they got in the third quarter was because we didn’t show up like we should have, like we did in the second quarter.”
The Sun Devils outscored Oregon 26-6 to open up a 46-33 lead after three quarters. Head coach Kelly Graves said the team lost its composure and intensity in the third.
“We had a strong halftime talk, but I don’t think it carried over to us,” Bando said.
Oregon cut the Sun Devil lead to 46-40 with 6:01 on a 3-pointer from Cazorla. ASU then tacked on six straight points to lead at 52-40, and a 3-pointer from Bando pulled the Ducks to within 52-43 with 3:24 left. Oregon closed to within 59-54 with 33 seconds left after a bucket from Alleyne and a 3-pointer from Cazorla, but ASU made its final four free throws to win.
“It’s getting a little frustrating, quite frankly,” Graves said. “To go in with a halftime lead and then to lose it in the second half.”
“They’re a great defensive team,” Bando said. “We knew coming in they’d bring pressure. We just cracked at moments where we shouldn’t have. We have a lot to look forward to; we just need to keep our heads up.”
Alleyne is the new Pac-12 all-time double-double leader. She passed former Stanford standout Chiney Ogwumike in the third quarter and now has 86 in her career.
“It would’ve been way sweeter if we would’ve won, but we’ve got to look forward to Sunday,” Alleyne said. “The team is first.”
Up next on tap for the Ducks is a 12 p.m. tipoff against Arizona on Sunday at Matthew Knight Arena.
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne