University of Oregon
15-6, 4-6P12
Arizona
11-11, 2-7P12
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 17 | 9 | 12 | 16 | 54 |
| Oregon | 18 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 76 |
01/31/16 | Women's Basketball
HOW IT HAPPENED: Cazorla led the Ducks (15-6, 4-6 Pac-12) early as the freshman drove the basket and forced the Wildcat defense to foul her. She was a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe in the opening quarter and capped it off by banking in a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give UO the 18-17 lead at the quarter break.
“We've been talking to her about being more aggressive for weeks now,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “There wasn't anything we told her to do differently today, but when she's aggressive like that and especially after the ball screen, she's so smart and really came through.”
Jillian Alleyne also gave Arizona (11-11, 2-8 Pac-12) everything it could handle inside as the senior scored the first six points of the game for the Ducks. Her opening bucket at the 8:49 mark gave her 2,000 points for her career and she became just the 10th player in NCAA women's basketball history to score 2,000 points and grab 1,500 rebounds.
Oregon was able to outscore Arizona 19-9 in the second quarter thanks to four three-pointers from Kat Cooper. As part of an 8-0 run in the mid-way through, Cooper knocked down back-to-back triples forcing a Wildcat timeout. That did little to stifle her momentum as she sunk two more before halftime and gave the Ducks a double-figure lead at the intermission.
While Oregon was already shooting the ball well in the first half at 44 percent, it was even more efficient in the second half, going 17-of-25 from the floor for 68 percent. Lexi Bando, who had just one point at halftime, came out and drained two three-pointers in the third quarter and Cooper added two more to her resume in the fourth quarter. Cazorla, who had 11 points in the first half, continued to drive to the basket and scored on six of her seven shots in the second half for 12 more points.
For the game, Cazorla led the Ducks with 23 points, seven assists and four steals. Alleyne and Cooper each added 18 points apiece while Alleyne collected 10 boards for her 87th career double-double.
THE STAT SHEET: The Ducks forced 17 Wildcat turnovers, converting them in 24 points … Oregon outscored Arizona 36-20 in the paint and also knocked down nine three-pointers compared to Arizona's six … UO was 11-of-13 from the free-throw line for the game while holding Arizona to just four attempts … Cazorla's previous career high was 18 points, which she scored against Portland on Dec. 5, 2015 … Cooper's 18 points are a new career high, breaking her previous high of 16, which she scored against Hampton on Nov. 19, 2015 … Alleyne's 87th career double-double today brings her within one of tying the all-time school record set by Bev Smith, who had 88 in her career.
UP NEXT: The Ducks will travel north to face the Washington schools next weekend. Up first is Washington State on Friday at 8 p.m. in a Pac-12 Network televised contest. UO will then close out the weekend at Washington on Sunday at 12 p.m.
