Lady Ducks Fumble Away Upset, Lose Civil War 43-40

The Oregon Ducks lost a tightly contested game to the Oregon State Beavers tonight, 43-40. The Lady Ducks held the lead for the first half of this defensive struggle, until the Beavers surged in the 3rd quarter. Oregon then fought there way back into contention, but unfortunately feel short on the final play as Maite Cazorla turned the ball over with 2 seconds remaining. Sabrina Ionescu scored 14 points and grabbed 6 rebounds, Cazorla put up 12 points, and Ruthy Hebard grabbed 11 rebounds.

Oregon walked its way out to a 6-2 lead behind baskets by Hebard, Cazorla and Ionescu. The Lady Ducks would get their largest lead of the quarter (5 points) after a Mallory McGwire layup and an Ionescu jumper with 2:48 remaining, but those would be their last points. OSU would close the margin to 2 behind a layup and a free throw by Kolbie Orum, and Oregon led Oregon State at the end of the first quarter 10-8. Oregon shot 33.3% in the first while Oregon State shot 23.1%.

The game wouldn’t get any prettier in the second quarter. These are all of the scoring plays in the period:

• 7:57 Ionescu jumper
• 7:22 Sydney Wiese 3
• 5:05 Orum jumper
• 2:39 Ionescu jumper
• 2:11 Sierra Campisano jumper
• 1:27 Hebard FT

And that’s it. Oregon would take a 17-13 lead into halftime on 20% shooting in the quarter (26.7% for the half.) The Beavers shot 15.4% in the quarter and 18.5% in the half. Ionescu was the leading scorer in the first half with 8 points and 4 rebounds, and Hebard put up 3 points and 9 rebounds. Oregon State was led by Wiese (6 points) and Orum (5 points.)

One team warmed up in the third quarter, and it was not Oregon. OSU outscored the Lady Ducks 20-8 in the quarter, as the Beavers shot 50% while the Ducks shot 20%. Ugh. Maite Cazorla led the Ducks with 4 points, while Hanson led the Beavers with 7 points. Oregon State held an 8 point lead going into the fourth quarter, leading Oregon 33-25.

The Lady Ducks clawed their way back into the game, cutting the lead to 3 behind scores by Ionescu, Hebard, and Cazorla. Cazorla would score 6 points in the quarter to feul the comeback attempt. Lexi Bando’s lone score, and the Ducks sole made 3 pointer, brought Oregon to within 2 points with 43 seconds remaining. Oregon then forced Breanna Brown to take a wide open jumper from above the free throw line, which she missed, giving the Ducks one last chance to tie or win the game. On the ensuing possession, Cazorla’s pass was tipped and she was unable to corral the ball before losing it out of bounds. Katie McWilliams made 1 of 2 free throws for Oregon State to ice the victory, winning 43-40. Cazorla had 10 second half points for Oregon to finish with 12 points, and Ionescu put up 14 points and 6 rebounds. Hebard gathered up 11 rebounds but was never able to establish herself offensively, scoring 5 points. Wiese led the Beavers with 12 points and 5 rebounds. She was aided by Brown and Gabriella Hanson, who scored 9 points apiece.

The Ducks and Beavers face each other again on Sunday at 11 am at Gill Coliseum.