All good things must come to an end.
For the No. 21 Ducks (6-1), it was their undefeated season that was squandered in a 74-58 loss to Georgia Tech (6-0) in their first game of the Hawai’i North Shore Showcase.
The Ducks were outscored in three of the contest’s four quarters, twice by seven points. But the main difference between Oregon and the Yellow Jackets on Monday night was rebounds. Oregon tallied 31 boars, a dozen less than Georgia Tech’s 53, 23 of which came offensively.
As has been a theme in the young season, Deja Kelly led the team in points, but even she was limited to just 10 on the night despite playing 30 minutes.
On the other side of the ball, Georgia Tech’s Ariadna Termis led both teams in scoring with 13 points. Four of the Yellow Jackets’ five starters recorded double-digit performances while Kelly was Oregon’s only player with 10 or more points.
Oregon’s bench outscored Georgia Tech’s 27-20, but it was still far from enough. The Ducks shot just 15.4% from 3-point range in a game they trailed in by as much as 21 points.
The two teams were even when it came to turnovers and personal fouls. Both squads recorded 14 turnovers, and the Ducks had just one more foul than the Yellow Jackets (15 to 16).
Free-throw shooting continued to haunt the Ducks in the early part of the season. Oregon shot just 8-14 (57.1%) from the line on Monday. Ehis Etute (eight points in 16 minutes) was a perfect 4-4 from the line in her season debut, but Sarah Rambus (four points in six minutes) and Amina Muhammad (eight points in 26 minutes) were both 0-2 in foul shooting while Kelly was 0-1.
Despite getting dominated, it’s still only Oregon’s first loss of the season. The Ducks are back in action tomorrow against South Dakota State to wrap up the Hawai’i North Shore Showcase.