No. 10 Oregon (3-1) lost to No. 5 Louisville 74-61 in the Preseason WNIT championship game on the Cardinals’ home court in Kentucky.
The Ducks, who beat No. 19 Texas A&M on Thursday in College Station, Texas, were led by forward Ruthy Hebard’s 14 points and nine rebounds. Oregon shot 44.4 percent from the field from seven different scorers, four of whom recorded double-digit points.
After scoring the opening points of the game and leading 5-2, the Cardinals went on a 9-0 run and kept that gap for much of the game. The Ducks trailed 43-27 at halftime, and they were led by Mallory McGwire’s eight points. She finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Maite Cazorla managed 13 points for the Ducks while freshman Satou Sabally scored 10 and brought down four rebounds.
After recording back-to-back triple-doubles, sophomore guard Sabrina Ionescu scored eight points, had two rebounds and made three assists on 3-of-12 shooting.
Once again, head coach Kelly Graves went deep into his bench, using 11 players in the loss.
Oregon returns to Matthew Knight Arena on Tuesday when they host Eastern Washington at 6 p.m. before they gear up for the PK 80 on Thanksgiving weekend.
Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow