Oregon women dominate the second half as the Ducks rout Portland at home
The second half began Saturday afternoon with Oregon coach Kelly Graves sitting in his chair on the bench with his head buried in his hands in frustration.
An hour later, Graves couldn't stop raving about the Ducks’ performance in the third quarter against Portland.
Needless to say, No. 19 Oregon flipped the switch in the second half and turned a single-digit lead into a 90-51 women’s basketball victory in front of an announced crowd of 5,892 in Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks’ 40-29 advantage at halftime had been cut to 40-33 just 27 seconds into the third quarter — leading to Grave’s show of frustration on the bench — before Oregon went on a 24-8 run to take a commanding lead.
The Ducks (6-1) went 11-for-11 from the field during that stretch and scored on 11 straight possessions.
Overall in the third quarter, they outscored the Pilots 33-12, had eight steals on defense, turned 10 Portland turnovers into 15 points and had 11 assists on 15 made field goals.
“Listen, I’ve coached some pretty good quarters in this arena over the years and I think that’s one of the best we’ve ever had,” Graves said. “I thought we performed so well at both ends of the floor.”
Six players scored in double figures for the Ducks as nearly every player contributed in a meaningful way to Oregon’s 53rd win its last 54 nonconference home games.
Freshman guard Chance Gray led with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range.
It was a career-high in points for Gray, whose previous best was 14 in the season-opener against Northwestern.
“A confidence boost,” Gray called her performance. “Hopefully I keep shooting it like that in the next couple of games.”
Center Phillipina Kyei had her second straight double-double and third of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds. She outplayed former Duck Lucy Cochrane, Portland's starting center who had two points, five rebounds and five blocks.
“I thought Philly was terrific tonight,” Graves said. “… Lucy’s a really good player and I miss her. She’s a really good kid but I’m glad that Philly got the better of her tonight and now I wish her the best for the rest of the season.”
Te-Hina Paopao had 10 points, tied her career-high with eight assists and played her fourth turnover-free game of the season. Fellow starters Endyia Rogers and Grace VanSlooten had 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Off the bench, Taya Hanson had season-highs of 11 points and seven rebounds, and Taylor Hosendove had season-highs of nine points and 10 rebounds.
The Ducks shot 50% from the floor (38-for-76), won the rebounding battle 47-27 and had 14 steals.
“This might be the best we’ve played so far this year,” Graves said. “I truly believe that. We’ve had moments in other games, but from start to finish I thought this was our most consistent best effort.”
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.
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Up Next
No. 19 Oregon vs. Oregon State
4 p.m., Dec. 11 at Matthew Knight Arena. TV: Pac-12 Networks. Radio: KUGN-FM (98.1).
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: No. 19 Oregon Ducks women's basketball routs Portland Pilots
