Ducks Hold Off Bears in Back-and-Forth Battle

Friday, January 27

Berkeley, CA

7:00 PM

University of Oregon

14-6,5-4Pac-12

California

10-10,1-8Pac-12

Oregon

California

Photo by: Brielle Moseley/GoDucks.com

01/27/23 | Women's Basketball

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BERKELEY, Calif. — With all five starters scoring in double figures, Oregon managed to fend off California and snap a two-game losing skid Friday night at Haas Pavilion, 78-73.

In a game that featured 30 lead changes and 12 ties, the Ducks (14-6, 5-4) used a 23-point fourth quarter to overcome a 56-55 deficit through three quarters. Freshman Chance Gray scored eight points in the final stanza, including going 6-for-6 from the free throw line.

Gray finished the night with 12 points while going 10-for-10 from the free throw line. Gray became the first Oregon freshman to go perfect from the line with at least nine made free throws. Dating back to Nov. 14 at Southern, the Cincinnati product has connected on 32 consecutive free throw attempts.

Fellow freshman Grace VanSlooten paced all players with 20 points and nine rebounds while senior Endyia Rogers scored 18. Junior Te-Hina Paopao (13) and sophomore center Phillipina Kyei (11) rounded out the starting five in double digits.

"Number one, we really needed that," said head coach Kelly Graves. "Number two, Cal played a heck of a game, both teams did. I thought both teams played really well tonight, it was close and contested the whole way. But it was really nice to see our Ducks make the plays down the stretch, especially defensively.

"A lot of different players stepped up on the offensive end. Grace played like the Grace of old. How about Chance, a true freshman, going 10-for-10 from the line. She was aggressive, she didn't shoot it that great from the perimeter, but made the plays when it was needed. Just proud of them."

The fourth quarter alone saw seven lead changes, the last coming on a Paopao jumper with 1:28 to play that handed UO a 74-73 lead. The Ducks went on to hit four free throws in the game's final minute, as the five-point margin was the largest of the game for either team.

"I thought that little shot (Paopao) hit in the lane was big, every shot in that fourth quarter was big," Graves added. "It seemed like the whole game was big, it was never more than a one-possession game either way. I was just proud of our overall effort."

Gray connected on all six free throw attempts in the fourth, with the final two coming with 20 seconds remaining.

The Ducks faced a 35-33 deficit at the half after Cal posted a 17-14 second quarter, as neither side led by more than four points in the opening half. The Ducks went just 2-for-12 in from behind the 3-point line in the first half, including 0-for-5 in the second quarter.

VanSlooten tallied a dozen points in the first to go with 11 from Rogers.

Ducks were 2-of-16 from 3-point range through three quarters, and did not make a three in the second and third quarters. UO finished 3-for-19 from long range, its fewest made threes in a game this year.

Paopao knocked down a three with 6:25 to play, giving the Ducks a 64-63 lead and snapping a string of 12 consecutive misses from downtown.
Cal (10-10, 1-8) got 13 points apiece from Jayda Curry and Kemery Martin.

Notable: Gray now has made 32 straight free throws, dating back to Nov. 14 (span of 18 games) … VanSlooten logged her fifth 20-point game of the season and owns half of the Ducks' 10 20-point efforts on the season … The five-point victory marked the smallest margin of victory for Oregon this season, while the Ducks played their third straight game decided by five points or less.

Quotable:
UO coach Kelly Graves on points in the paint
"That was one of our emphasis – control the paint. We did that for most of the first part of the season, and it's kind of left us. We've relying on the 3-point game and that hasn't been all that good to us, and it wasn't tonight either."

UO coach Kelly Graves on how the team was feeling in the locker room after the win
"We've not been in this position and we don't know how to handle it. We've always been the hunted, at least over the last six of seven years, and we are not right now. We are just trying to find ourselves and scratch out any win."

Up Next: The Ducks play at No. 3 Stanford on Sunday (1 p.m., Pac-12 Network).