Another Comeback From Deep Hole Falls Short

Friday, January 20

Corvallis, OR

8:00 PM

University of Oregon

13-6,4-4Pac-12

Oregon State

11-8,3-5Pac-12

Oregon

Oregon St.

Taya Hanson, first half at OSU - Jan. 20

Photo by: Molly McPherson

01/20/23 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

For the second time in six days the UO women nearly completed a dramatic comeback, but the Ducks fell short Friday at OSU.

By: Rob Moseley

CORVALLIS, Ore. — For the second time in six days, the UO women's basketball team faced a big deficit and nearly completed a miraculous comeback before ultimately falling short, the latest instance a 68-65 loss to Oregon State on Friday at Gill Coliseum.

Chance Gray and Taya Hanson combined for 10 three-pointers Friday, including four in the last three minutes as the Ducks (13-6, 4-4 Pac-12) cut a 12-point deficit to two. But a potential game-tying layup for Endyia Rogers rimmed out with 9 seconds left and OSU tacked on a free throw to avenge its rivalry loss in Eugene a month earlier.

For Oregon, the game was all too similar to Sunday's loss to Washington State, in which the Ducks mounted a furious comeback to force overtime before coming up short.

"We can't keep doing this," UO coach Kelly Graves said. "I mean, we play our butts off and we have these frantic finishes, but you can get behind 10 or 12 and then hope to make those comebacks in the Pac-12. It's the Pac-12 — these teams are too good."

Gray led the Ducks with 18 points on 6-of-12 three-point shooting, and Hanson added 14 points on 4-of-6 from three. The Ducks' leading scorers on the season — Rogers, Grace VanSlooten and Te-Hina Paopao — combined for 10-of-37 shooting, as the Ducks shot 34.3 percent as a team on the night.

How It Happened: After Paopao scored on the opening possession, the Ducks made just one of their next 11 field-goal attempts, falling behind 14-7. The teams then traded three-pointers, and OSU led 17-10 after one period.

Hanson hit two three during an 8-2 run early in the second that got the Ducks within 23-20. It was 27-20 when Oregon scored seven straight to tie the game, with Gray hitting a three during that run. But OSU hit a three-pointer to close the first half and led 30-27 at the break.

At that point the Ducks were shooting 28.1 percent as a team, including 2-of-18 by Rogers, VanSlooten and Paopao.

"We had some good looks, you know," Graves said. "Grace had a lot of good looks inside, we had some open threes — all our different players did. And we just didn't knock them down when we needed to."

The Ducks tied it again early in the third on another 7-0 run that included a Gray three-pointer, with Paopao getting to the hoop to knot the score at 34-34. Oregon was within 43-40 when the Beavers closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to lead 49-40.

VanSlooten finally got a bucket to drop early in the fourth after OSU went up by 12. But the Beavers followed that with a three for their biggest lead of the game, 55-42. A three-pointer by Paopao and a three-point play from Rogers got Oregon's rally started, and four threes in four possessions — three by Gray — got the UO women within 65-63. After Rogers scored to make it 67-65, an offensive foul on OSU gave the Ducks a chance to tie it, but Rogers was unable to finish and the Ducks also couldn't get a game-tying three to fall at the final buzzer.

"You lose by one possession and it's not just the layup at the end," Graves said. "It's not just the open three that was missed. It's the missed assignment defensively (like) the three that we gave them at the end of the first half. … So just, we've got to learn from it. That's all. That's all I can say."

Notable: Gray now has 11 made threes in her last two games, after making five against WSU on Sunday to earn Pac-12 freshman of the week honors. … Phillipina Kyei started and played 22 minutes after being questionable earlier in the week while in concussion protocol. … Rogers' seven assists were her most since eight in the season opener against Northwestern.

Quotable:
UO coach Kelly Graves on the the nature of several recent losses
"You know, in three of the four league losses we've had, we've had a chance to win the game. And we just haven't — so that's on me. I got to find a way for us to finish the games. It would help that we don't dig ourselves a double-digit hole like we did tonight."

UO coach Kelly Graves on the upcoming road trip to the Bay Area
"It doesn't get easier, and nobody's gonna feel sorry for us. You know, we've had our way with this league for a good portion of the last six or seven years, and you know, payback's tough. People are looking to beat us, and right now, people are. … We're now the hunters; we're not the hunted anymore. And so we've just got to find a way to get better — keep grinding and then find a way to win."

Up Next: The Ducks play at California on Friday (7 p.m., Pac-12 Network).