Bigs Off The Bench Lead Victory

EUGENE, Ore. — On a night the Ducks didn't make a single three-pointer, the Oregon women's basketball team took advantage of its size off the bench Friday to beat visiting California in Matthew Knight Arena, 52-47.

Sedona Prince had 15 points, eight rebounds and three blocks off the bench, and Phillipina Kyei added eight points as the UO reserves finished with more made field goals than the starters, 11 to nine. The Ducks (18-8, 10-4 Pac-12) have won four of five entering their regular-season home finale Sunday against Stanford, even if Friday's win left a bitter taste in their collective mouths after a 35.1 percent shooting performance.

"Obviously it's not the game we wanted; we wanted to have a really good win we felt good about," Prince said. "But it happened the way it happened, so we're going to refresh, get our minds right for (practice) tomorrow and then get ready for Stanford."

How It Happened: It was apparent from the outset this wasn't Oregon's night offensively. The Ducks were 1-of-9 shooting to open the game, and trailed 6-2 before getting a basket by Prince and two from Endyia Rogers to break the cold spell. The second basket by Rogers sparked a 7-0 run to close out the quarter, and Oregon led 13-12.

Buckets from Te-Hina Paopao and Ahlise Hurst early in the second made it an 11-0 run overall. After Chanaya Pinto scored for a 19-14 lead, Oregon went 4:54 without a field goal. But the Ducks were stout on defense in the period, with Hurst recording five steals in the second quarter. Rogers scored to end the streak without a basket and Kyei added another just before halftime as the Ducks led 25-19 at the break — despite being 0-of-11 from three-point range.

The third quarter featured another extended span without a basket for Oregon; after Prince scored for a 29-27 lead, the Ducks went 4:47 without a field goal and Cal took a 31-30 lead. Kyei got Oregon back in front, and later she rebounded a missed free throw and put it back for a 37-32 lead entering the fourth.

Oregon finally looked to be on track starting the final quarter, getting two baskets from Prince and one each from Kyei and Paopao for a 45-39 lead. Yet again the Ducks went cold, a scoreless stretch of 3:04 during which Cal closed within 45-43. Paopao scored to get the Ducks back on the board and Rogers made it a 49-43 lead, and the Ducks got enough stops down the stretch to hang on.

Who Stood Out: Prince and Kyei each finished 4-of-6 from the field and Hurst and Pinto provided three more field goals off the bench. Rogers was 5-of-10 shooting for 11 points, but the other four starters combined to go 4-of-28 from the field.

One bright spot for the Ducks was their defense on Cal's Jayda Curry. She came into the game as the Pac-12 leader with 19.2 points per game, but she scored just eight Friday on 2-of-12 shooting.

What It Means: There's not much time to regroup for Sunday's matchup with Stanford. That will be Oregon's ninth game in 20 days, thanks to three midweek make-up games due to earlier postponements, a pace that could be wearing on the Ducks.

"We need some time to work on us," UO coach Kelly Graves said. "And we don't have that luxury."

Up Next: The Ducks host No. 2 Stanford on Sunday (1 p.m., ESPN2).