Ducks Fall to No. 8 Louisville in Paradise Jam Finale

Saturday, November 30

St. Thomas, VI

12:15 PM

University of Oregon

6-1

Louisville

8-0

Louisville

Oregon

Ducks Fall to No. 8 Louisville in Paradise Jam Finale

11/30/19 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Louisville 72, Oregon 62 Updated Season Stats

By: Nate Krueger

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands – The Oregon women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the 2019-20 season on Saturday, falling to No. 8 Louisville, 72-62, at the University of the Virgin Islands.

The No. 1 Ducks (6-1) got off to a great start and built a 24-13 lead through the first 10 minutes, but Oregon struggled to get shots to fall the rest of the way against a stifling Louisville defense in the championship game of the Paradise Jam Island Tournament.

How it Happened: Minyon Moore hit a pair of three-pointers to fuel the Ducks to a 13-4 lead through the first three-and-a-half minutes of the game, and a three by Satou Sabally made it 19-11 at the 2:40 mark. After a Louisville bucket, Sabrina Ionescu made a pair of baskets in the paint as Oregon finished the quarter on a 5-0 run to take an 11-point advantage.

But an Oregon offense that shot 56.3 percent in the opening quarter went cold in the second, going just 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from the floor and 0-of-7 from deep as Louisville turned up its defensive intensity. The Cardinals outscored the Ducks 24-8 in the period to take a 37-32 lead into halftime, finishing the frame on a 16-4 run.

Louisville (8-0) kept its foot on the gas out of the break, opening the third quarter with seven unanswered points to push its lead to 12. The Ducks were unable to get closer than eight points the rest of the period as the Cardinals took a 52-41 advantage into the fourth.

After a Louisville bucket to start the fourth, Ionescu and Sabally answered with back-to-back lay-ins to cut the deficit to seven at 53-46. That's as close as Oregon would get until a pair of Sabally free throws made it a six-point game with 2:36 remaining, but a deep three by Dana Evans pushed Louisville's lead back to nine with 1:42 left to play. Ionescu responded quickly with a three of her own, but the Cardinals made free throws down the stretch to ice the game and complete the upset. Oregon finished the game shooting 34.2 percent from the field and 17.1 percent from beyond the arc.

Who Stood Out: Sabally led the way with 21 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season and the fifth of her career, and Hebard notched her sixth double-double through the first seven games with 10 points and 10 boards as both Ducks landed on the all-tournament team. Ionescu finished with 13 points, six assists and five rebounds, and Moore scored a season-high 15 points.

Ionescu Milestone Tracker: The reigning national player of the year continued her assault on the Oregon record books, tying a pair of all-time records in Saturday's contest. Ionescu scored in double figures for the 108th time in her career to match Allison Lang (1980-94) for the most in program history, one night after her streak of 76 straight double-digit scoring games came to an end. The Walnut Creek, Calif., native also tied Lexi Bando (2014-18) for the UO all-time record for three-pointers with the 283rd of her storied career.

Notable: Sabally scored 20-plus points for the second time in her first four games of the season and finished in double figures for the 57th time in her career … Hebard recorded the 101st double-figure scoring game and 50th double-figure rebounding game of her career with her 45th double-double … Hebard added three blocks, marking the 18th time she has rejected at least that many shots in a game … Louisville took a 3-2 lead in the all-time series against the Ducks.

Up Next: With their longest road trip (10 days) of the season in the books, the Ducks will return to Eugene to host South Dakota State next Sunday, Dec. 8, in Matthew Knight Arena. Oregon defeated the Jackrabbits twice in 2018-19, including a 63-53 win in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.