University of Oregon
20-7, 9-7P12
USC
18-10, 6-10P12
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USC | 16 | 10 | 11 | 23 | 60 |
| Oregon | 9 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 69 |
02/22/16 | Women's Basketball
EUGENE – The Oregon women's basketball team defeated USC, 69-60, on Sunday afternoon at Matthew Knight Arena to pick up its 20th win of the season on senior day.
History Book: This is Oregon's first 20-win season since the 2004-05 campaign, which was the last time the Ducks advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
How It Happened: Trailing 18-11 early in the second quarter, the Ducks rattled off seven unanswered points, capped by a Lexi Petersen three to tie the game. The Ducks would go on to outscore the Trojans 24-10 in the second frame to head into the locker room with a 32-26 lead.
Oregon shot 9-of-12 in the second quarter after a 4-of-13 performance in the first. Freshman Maite Cazorla added 10 points in the second quarter and 14 in the first half to lead the Duck offense. Jillian Alleyne flirted with a double-double in the first half, recording 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Ducks extended their lead in the second half, outscoring the Trojans 20-7 over the last nine minutes of the third quarter. Oregon stifled the Trojan attack, holding USC to a 4-of-19 mark in the third quarter, while building on its advantage thanks to another nine points from Cazorla.
The Ducks led 52-37, their largest lead of the game, heading into the fourth quarter, but the Trojans gave one last push. A 7-0 run pulled USC to within two points with under two minutes to go, but Alleyne laid in what would be the dagger, putting Oregon up 62-58 with 1:24 left to play. From there, Oregon sealed the game with free throws, ensuring the 69-60 win on Senior Day.
Who Stood Out: Maite Cazorla finished with a career-high 26 points on 12-of-19 shooting. Jillian Alleyne recorded her 92nd career double-double in her final game at Matthew Knight Arena with 23 points and 18 rebounds. Lexi Petersen went 2-of-3 from long range to add 10 points.
Senior Day: Sunday's game served as Senior Day for the Oregon women's basketball team. Oregon honored its six seniors - Jillian Alleyne, Kat Cooper, Jordan Loera, Liz Brenner, Lexi Petersen and Katie Gruys.
Quotable – Head Coach Kelly Graves: “What a great night. What a chance to celebrate an awesome group of seniors. I'm really happy for them, I'm happy that it was a hard fought game… In the end we made some key stops down the stretch… I was glad to get (win) number 20. There is something magical about that 20th win, I don't know what it is for coaches….That was a good one, no question.”
Quotable – Senior Jillian Alleyne: “With a win and a 20th win, it's amazing. This is the first time since I've been here that we've gotten 20 wins. It's been amazing. There's not just one word to categorize my experience here.”
Up Next: The Ducks will head to the Bay Area next weekend to wrap up the regular season. Oregon will face California on Friday at 6 p.m., before taking on Stanford on Sunday at 11 a.m.
