On a day typically reserved for football and halftime performances, the Oregon Ducks (18-8, 6-7 Big Ten) got the home crowd off their couches and pumped for a massive clash against No. 9 Ohio State (22-3, 11-2 Big Ten). But after coming off four straight wins, the Ducks failed to defend home court in an 80-64 loss.

“We’ve obviously been playing well, having won four in a row,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said postgame. “But, we didn’t have it tonight.”

The Ducks faced a tough task from the opening tip-off with Buckeyes star player Jaloni Cambridge (13 points, 2 steals) averaging 22.7 points a game. Graves made sure Oregon pressured Cambridge heavily to start the game, with Sofia Bell (9 points, 4 rebounds) handling the matchup.

“I thought we did a good job on Jolani,” Graves said. “Sophia’s an elite defender, and she had the primary duties on her.”

Ultimately, Kennedy Cambridge would be the leading scorer for Ohio State, scoring 20 points on 5-7 shooting from the three-point line, as well as racking up eight steals and six rebounds. Her five threes is a new career high.

“(Cambridge) had a couple of [threes] from really deep, which is out of character for her,” Graves said. “She’ll take them when she’s open, and she was feeling it tonight.”

Oregon got off to a poor start and piled up turnovers early with seven in the first quarter, which allowed Ohio State to score easy transition baskets. 

The Ducks also struggled with the height advantage, with the Buckeyes six foot six center Elsa Lemmila (22 points, 9 rebounds, 9-11 FG%) easily dominating on the boards and in the post. Sarah Rambus managed to still hang with her in the paint, going 5-7 from the field with 13 points and five rebounds.

The Ducks managed to stay in the game with their perimeter shooting, knocking down a solid amount of threes, 4-9 from behind the arc in the first quarter. Ari Long (14 points, 2 steals) was lights out against the Buckeyes, going 4-6 from deep.

The second quarter was hectic, with both teams not scoring for three straight minutes in the first four minutes of the quarter, but that quickly ended when the Buckeyes went on a 6-0 run to extend their lead. The Ducks wouldn’t score until halfway through the quarter and managed to keep things close heading into the break, down 34-25.

Katie Fiso (5 points, 8 assists) was instrumental in the Ducks’ first-half successes, picking up five assists and a steal before the break. She, as well as Mia Jacobs (11 points, 3 steals), struggled with turnovers, picking up five and four respectively before halftime due to massive pressure on inbound plays.

The Ducks gave up 18 turnovers before the half, tying their season high in a full game against Indiana. Their 23 total turnovers are tied for the most during Graves’ tenure as head coach of the Ducks since 2021, when Oregon had 23 turnovers against Arizona.

“I think it came down to the turnovers [they] just killed us,” Graves said. “Fastbreak points, a lot of those turnovers lead to those fastbreak points, we just weren’t as sharp and focused as we needed tonight.”

Oregon came out firing in the first half, going 3-5 on threes to open the third quarter. The Ducks still struggled defensively, allowing the Buckeyes to go 5-7 in the first four minutes of the second half. Oregon managed to lower its turnovers in the second half with only five until the final whistle.

While a loss against a top-ranked team was expected, the Ducks lost a lot of momentum as they head into a road matchup against No. 24 Washington on Sunday, Feb. 15 with their tournament hopes on the line.