Ducks’ Skid Hits Six in Pullman

Friday, February 17

Pullman, WA

7:00 PM

University of Oregon

14-12,5-10Pac-12

Washington State

17-9,7-8Pac-12

Oregon

Washington St.

02/17/23 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

PULLMAN, Wash. — Oregon's losing skid hit six games Friday night, as Washington State handed the Ducks a 64-57 loss at Beasley Coliseum.

The Ducks (14-12, 5-10) had just six assists on 23 made field goals while committing 17 turnovers. WSU (17-9, 7-8) converted those 17 turnovers into 18 points, holding an 18-8 edge in points off turnovers.

"Obviously in the first half the turnovers [hurt], we did a little bit better in that area in the second half, but they outscored us by 10 in the turnovers and that's the final score," said head coach Kelly Graves. "We had been taking care of the ball a little bit better but it bit us tonight.

"I thought defensively we played well enough to have won the game. Our offense is just really struggling. The thing that first jumped out at me when I looked at the stats were the six assists. That's just not the way we play. We got bumped off our screens all night long, they were really physical. We didn't make a lot of shots around the rim and it was a tough night offensively, for sure."

Freshman Chance Gray led UO with 18 points to go along with five rebounds. Endyia Rogers added 17 and Grace VanSlooten finished with 11 while both hauled in six rebounds. VanSlooten carded her seventh straight game with at least 10 points and five rebounds.

Rogers went over 100 rebounds for the season and became just the fourth Duck since at least the 1999-2000 season to record 400 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists in a season.

Oregon's offense shot 37.1 percent and was held below 60 points for the fifth time in its six-game slide. UO has shot below 40 percent for the fourth time in that stretch.

WSU saw three players score in double figures, led by 17 from Bella Murekatete. Johanna Teder added 13 and Charlisse Leger-Walker finished with 11. Leger-Walker, who came into the night third in the Pac-12 at 18.8 points per game, was held to six points on 2-of-9 shooting in the first half.

The Cougars began each quarter on at least a five-point scoring run, scoring the game's first five points before opening the second and third quarters on 7-0 spurts to go with an eight-point run to start the fourth.

After falling into a 7-2 hole in the first, the Ducks scored the next seven points to take a 9-7 lead at the first media timeout. VanSlooten scored consecutive baskets to hand UO its first lead and finished the frame with a 13-9 lead. Gray and VanSlooten each scored four points in the quarter.

WSU scored seven points within the first minute of the second quarter to reclaim the lead at 16-13, forcing an Oregon timeout. The Cougars finished the quarter by outscoring UO 21-13, getting seven points from both Teder and Astera Tuhina. The Ducks turned the ball over six times in the second and 11 times in the first half.

Kennedy Basham finished with six points, a career high, in the first half to go with five rebounds. Gray had a team-high seven points and VanSlooten added six. Oregon shot 40 percent from the field and was 2-for-4 from behind the 3-point line. WSU hit just 3-of-12 3-point attempts in the first half.

Like the second quarter, the Cougars opened the third with a 7-0 run while connecting on their first three field goals, capped by a 3 from Teder that handed her squad an 11-point advantage at 37-26. The Ducks closed the quarter on a 10-4 run to climb within five, 41-36.

Washington State's five-point lead swell into a 13-point edge after scoring eight points over the first 2:14 of the fourth. The Ducks responded with a 5-0 run to trim the deficit to single digits, but never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

UO attempted a season-low 12 3-pointers, connecting on just three. Gray led the Ducks with a pair, finishing 2-for-4.

Notable: Rogers became just the fourth Duck since at least the 1999-2000 season to log a 400-point, 100-rebound, 100-assist season … Oregon's six-game losing streak is its longest since Graves' first season (2014-15) … VanSlooten left the game in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury … Basham set career highs in points (6) and minutes (20).

Quotable:
UO coach Kelly Graves on Chance Gray's development
"She is really trying to lead. The locker room is always a tough place when you've lost a few, and after a loss, she's the one that gives the team a voice. She's really trying to step up and that's not easy for a freshman."

UO coach Kelly Graves on the losing streak
"We can't feel sorry for ourselves. We've kind of had our way with the conference for a while and people are paying us back, not showing us any mercy and we have not responded as well as we need to. I believe in the kids and we're going to keep trying to find a way to make it happen. That's all we can do, just got to pick up the pieces and move on."

Up Next: The Ducks travel to Seattle to face Washington Sunday at Alaska Airlines Arena (1 p.m., Pac-12 Networks).