EUGENE, Ore. – University of Utah (13-6, 2-6) women’s basketball fell to Oregon Sunday afternoon 84-66 on the road in Matthew Night Arena.
The first quarter saw two lead changes and three ties, but the Ducks outscore the Utes 16-6 in the second quarter to control the lead.
Freshman wing Megan Jacobs scored a career-high 11 points on 4-of-6 from the floor, one 3-pointer and 2-of-2 from the foul line. Fellow freshman Kiana Moore also finished in double figures, for the second time this season, with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor with two assists.
Junior forward Emily Potter Emily Potter finished with a team-high 12 points and nine rebounds while also swatting five shots. Junior wing Malia Nawahine was the fourth Ute in double figures with 10 points. Sophomore point guard Erika Bean tallied seven assists with six of her own points and five rebounds.
Oregon (14-6, 4-4) was paced by freshman Sabrina Ionescu who found herself with a triple-double scoring 14 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out 13 assists and Ruthey Hebard who scored a game-high 25 points for the Ducks.
Utah won the tip, but went 0-for-5 on the team’s first attempts until senior wing Paige Crozon connected on a 3-pointer to cut into Oregon’s lead, 6-3. UO knocked down a pair of free-throws before Utah scored a quick seven points with five from junior wing Tanaeya Boclair and a layup from Nawahine off a Bean steal and assist to take a 10-8 lead. The Ducks came back with five of their own, 13-10, before the first media timeout.
Oregon scored out of the timeout, but Bean hit a jump shot and Nawahine connected on a three to tie the game, 15-15. Utah ended the first quarter on a 2:48scoring drought, but Nawahine was fouled with 0.7 on the clock, scoring one free throw as the Utes trailed 20-16.
Both teams were slow to open the second quarter with three scoreless minutes at both ends of the floor. Bean drove under the basket and turned to dish the ball back to Potter for the first points of the quarter, but Oregon went on a 5-0 run for a nine-point lead, and Roberts called a timeout for Utah.
Potter scored out of the timeout as Oregon went two minutes without a basket before scoring the next six points, for a 13-point lead, 33-20. Junior wing Wendy Anae passed the ball to Crozon under the basket to make in a single digit ball game with under a minute to play in the first half. Oregon’s Lexi Bando scored her second 3-pointer of the game, this one in front of the Utah bench, for a 35-22 lead over the Utes entering the half.
Tanaeya Boclair took a hard fall at the end of the half and did not return to the game for the second half as sophomore wing Daneesha Provo started the third quarter.
Bean scored in the opening minute of the third quarter and Potter scored under the basket to make it a 10-point ball game, 36-26. The Ducks, again, pulled ahead by 13 points before Bean got to the basket again for a layup, 41-30.
Oregon was able to claim it’s largest lead of the game thus far with a 46-30 advantage over the Utes out of a media timeout before Jacobs hit a 3-pointer for Utah. Jacobs scored the next four points for the Utes, also picking up a steal which turned into a trip to the foul line for fellow freshman Moore and two points. The Utes hit seven of their 14 field goal attempts in the third quarter outscoring the Ducks by one, but still trailed at the whistle, 54-41.
Moore opened the final quarter with a drive to the basket, but Utah could not catch a break as Oregon’s Justine Hall scored a three despite pressure. Jacobs became the first Ute in double figures for her fourth field goal of the game as the Utes trailed 59-47.
The freshmen continued to step up for Utah as Moore scored her first 3-pointer of the game before Potter scored her first points of the fourth quarter, 63-52. Utah scored its last 3-of-3 field goals, but Oregon was able to connect on its last 7-of-7 midway through the fourth quarter for a 72-56 lead.
Both teams shot 71 percent from the floor in the fourth quarter, but the Ducks held a 5-point fourth quarter advantage for an 84-66 win over Utah.
Utah takes on Colorado Wednesday at 7 p.m. MT in Boulder, Colo. before returning to Salt Lake City to host the Buffs Saturday at 12:30 p.m. MT inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
