Ducks Stumble at Portland

Thursday, November 30

Portland, OR

6:00 PM

University of Oregon

4-2,0-0Pac-12

Portland

4-4,0-0WCC

Oregon

Portland

Photo by: Brielle Moseley/GoDucks.com

11/30/23 | Women's Basketball

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PORTLAND, Ore. — Grace VanSlooten registered her second straight double-double, but Portland used a dominant first half in defeating Oregon 91-60 Thursday night at Chiles Center.

The Pilots forced the Ducks into 14 first-half turnovers in limiting the Ducks to 18 points on 17 percent shooting. Portland scored 46 points and shot at a 42 percent clip, scoring the last 16 points of the half. UP owned a 16-3 advantage in points off turnovers and a 20-6 edge in points in the paint in the opening half.

"We didn't set the tone early," head coach Kelly Graves said after the game. "I thought we had a lot of good looks at the basket early in the game and just nothing fell. They got rolling, very similar to the Santa Clara game.

"We didn't play with composure, we didn't play with much intensity. The fundamentals weren't good and, really, it was just one of those games, and this is now two out of three, where we just haven't played well."

VanSlooten paced three Ducks in double figures with 15 points to go with 16 rebounds, matching her career high set in her last game at Nevada. It marked her third double-double of the season and the fifth of her career.

Freshman Sofia Bell knocked down a team-high four 3-pointers on her way to 12 points and equaled her season high with three steals. Chance Gray added 10 points and five rebounds while Kennedy Basham pitched in seven points and four blocks off the bench, both tying her career highs.

How It Happened: After Oregon scored the game's first basket, Portland scored the next 13 points for its largest lead of the quarter. The Pilots shot 47 percent from the floor, including 4-of-9 from behind the 3-point line, in building a 20-10 lead after the first 10 minutes. Conversely, the Ducks shot just 17 percent from the field and connected on 1-of-3 3-point tries.

UP forced Oregon into 14 first-half turnovers, resulting in 16 Pilot points. Portland finished the half on a 16-0 run, outscoring the Ducks 26-8 in the second quarter, on its way to a 46-18 lead at the half. The 18 points marked a season low for any half for Oregon shooting 17 percent while Portland hit on 42 percent of its field goal attempts.

Bell led the Ducks with six points in the half, connecting on a pair of 3s in the second quarter, and VanSlooten added five. UP owned a 20-6 edge in points in the paint and a 17-1 advantage in bench points in the first half.

"It just kind of snowballed and got out of control," added Graves. "Credit Portland, they did a hell of a job. They played hard, you could tell it was a game they really wanted. They had us on our heels all night long, and it showed."

The Ducks scored more points in the third quarter (20) than they scored in the first half, led by six apiece from Phillipina Kyei and VanSlooten. Kyei recorded all five of her rebounds in the third while VanSlooten also got reached a double-doubles with 11 points and 13 rebounds through three quarters.

Seven of Gray's 10 points came in the final stanza, as she hit on 3-of-5 field goal attempts. Basham, Sarah Rambus and VanSlooten all tallied four points in the fourth. The Ducks connected on two-thirds of their field goals in the fourth and shot 56 percent from the field in the second half.

Notable: VanSlooten picked up her second straight second double-double and third of the season … VanSlooten tied her career high with 16 rebounds, coming in the second straight game … Basham tied her career high in points (7) and blocks (4) and has recorded a block in 13 straight games, dating back to last season … The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak in the series, and was Oregon's first loss to Portland since 2012.

Up Next: The Ducks wrap up their three-game road trip Sunday at No. 13 Baylor (11 a.m. PT, FS1).