Ducks Drop Decision To Devils
TEMPE, Ariz. — There was no oasis in the desert for the Oregon women's basketball team this weekend, as the No. 19 Ducks were swept on the road thanks to a 55-49 loss Sunday at Arizona State.
Riding an eight-game win streak into the weekend, the Ducks lost Friday at No. 8 Arizona and then never found their rhythm in Sunday's loss to the Sun Devils. Endyia Rogers again led the Ducks in scoring, with 18 points, but she outscored Oregon's other four starters, who combined for 16 points.
"We got some kids that are hurting, so, tried to pick them up," UO coach Kelly Graves said after an extended talk with his team following the defeat. "Tough game; this was a tough trip for us."
How It Happened: A three-pointer by Sydney Parrish and a bucket by Nyara Sabally got the Ducks on the board first, and a three-pointer from Rogers made it 10-3 midway through the first quarter. Sedona Prince scored late in the period, and Oregon had a 12-6 lead after one quarter.
Rogers hit another three-pointer to open scoring in the second, and Oregon had its largest lead at 15-6. Prince hit her third basket of the game for a 19-13 lead midway through the quarter, before the Ducks went cold and ASU closed within one. Sabally and Rogers got the lead back to five, but the Sun Devils scored last to get within 23-20 at halftime.
Arizona State took the lead to open the second half, and though Sabally and Te-Hina Paopao regained the advantage for Oregon, it was short-lived. Rogers scored to tie it 29-29, and Prince tied it again at 31-31, but just like Arizona broke Friday's game open with three third-quarter three-pointers, ASU hit three in the third Sunday to lead 41-38 entering the fourth.
A layup by Rogers got Oregon within 44-43 in the fourth, but ASU quickly answered. The Ducks had two empty possessions while within 49-46, before Rogers finally scored again to make it 49-48. Oregon's best chance down the stretch came out of a timeout with ASU up 51-49, but a three-pointer by Ahlise Hurst was off the mark and the Sun Devils iced it at the free-throw line.
Who Stood Out: Rogers scored her 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, though she had five turnovers with no assists. Oregon's other four starters combined to shoot 7-of-30 from the floor, with Paopao finishing 2-of-13 overall including 0-of-6 from three-point range. Sabally had six points on 3-of-12 shooting, but did grab 10 rebounds. Prince provided a boost off the bench with 13 points and six rebounds, though Phillipina Kyei had the Ducks' only other points of the bench, with two.
What It Means: The Ducks lost back-to-back games for the first time since defeats on Nov. 22 and Dec. 1, and must quickly regain their momentum with only three weeks left in the regular season.
"I think this is maybe our lowest point," Graves said. "Sometimes you can't get better until they have that low point, so hopefully we'll use this to get better. That's the bottom line."
Up Next: The Ducks will play a makeup game at Washington State on Wednesday (noon, Pac-12 Network) before playing a home-and-home with Oregon State on Friday and Sunday.