The new-look No. 25 Oregon Women’s Basketball (4-0) squad proved a lot through its first four games.
A new-and-improved offense and increased depth heightened this team’s ceiling, but it’s what shined in the Ducks’ 66-35 win over the University of North Texas Mean Green (2-1) that could drive this team far this season.
A concerted effort on defense allowed Oregon to hold the Mean Green to just nine points in the first half, but the Ducks totaled just 27, their lowest in a first half in this young season. Those nine points included just two field goals, which inevitably resulted in a horrid 24.5% from the field by the time the game ended.
“They scored a field goal on their first possession and they got just one more the rest of the half. When you’re only allowing two field goals in a half, that’s getting it done,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “We defended really well in that first half, so to me that means that our experience won out, they were ready. We just didn’t execute it the way we wanted to.”
It’s worth noting that Oregon shot just 45% from the field on Tuesday, which did not help matters especially considering what the scoreline could have been if the Ducks got their shots falling in the opening frame.
This was very specifically a first quarter issue, as Oregon shot 35.7% to begin the contest, but the team’s ability to blank the Mean Green from the field in the second quarter allowed for a lot more experimentation and shuffling of the offense.
“Defense is always a huge thing when the shots aren’t always gonna fall, like in the first half we couldn’t get anything going, and the only thing that matters at that point is to keep locking down on defense and do what you’re supposed to do,” Nani Falatea said.
Falatea co-led the game in scoring with Elisa Mevius — each adding 11 in a subpar Oregon offensive effort. The defense supplied enough energy to account for the rest of the blunders, especially from Falatea and Mevius.
Falatea tallied a block, while Mevius collected two steals, which represents the team effort behind the Ducks’ doubling of North Texas’ STOCKs (Steals and blocks combined).
“I think it’s easier to be in the gap and get steals if there’s pressure on the ball. So, I think I take a lot of pride in defending, but also the team backs me up. Sometimes when I get beat, they have to help and step in,” Mevius said.
The offensive woes disappeared at the onset of the second half, as the Ducks went on to shoot 47.1% in the latter 20 minutes of the contest.
“Second half we let up a little bit, but at least offensively, we got our pace going, so the game itself was a little faster paced. We just got to put our second half offense into the first half and the first half defense in the second half,” Graves said.
Combining the two phases of the game will be crucial going forward the rest of the season, as the Ducks move into a gauntlet during the rest of their out-of-conference schedule.
