Familiar issues cropped up for the Oregon women’s basketball team on the road against a top-10 opponent Sunday afternoon in a 69-60 loss to No. 9 Ohio State in Columbus.
The Ducks (12-5, 3-3 Big Ten) got off to a strong start in the first quarter but were again harshly outplayed in the second, going without a score for nearly seven minutes in the middle of the frame and allowing the Buckeyes (16-0, 5-0 Big Ten) to go on a 27-0 run and take a commanding lead.
It was eerily reminiscent of the last time Oregon played a top-10 program in USC, when the Ducks got outscored by over 20 points in the second quarter of a 66-53 loss to the No. 4 Trojans in December.
“It was that second quarter where we just lost our poise,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves told KUGN. “You lose a quarter by 20 and you’re just running uphill the rest of the game.”
The Ducks shot just 23.1% from the floor in the second quarter to Ohio State’s 58.8% and were outscored 31-11 in the frame when all was said and done, trailing 39-22 at the halftime break.
Oregon made a push in the second half, bringing down what was at most a 22-point deficit to eight with 3:05 to go in the fourth quarter, though the Ducks couldn’t quite make it a one-possession game. The Buckeyes shot just 4 for 21 in the first quarter, but went on to shoot 18 for 28 in the second and third quarters to build a double-digit lead.
UO either outscored or tied OSU in every quarter except the second.
“I’m proud of our players,” Graves said. “We could have just laid over and we didn’t. Our kids continued to fight. It goes to show that if we put our minds to it and put a good game together, a full game, then we can beat teams like this. We can certainly compete with them but we can beat these guys.”
Ohio State was led by Taylor Thierry’s game-high 20 points, while Ajae Petty had a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double and Jaloni Cambridge had 13 points. Former Duck Chance Gray scored six points on 2-for-10 shooting for the Buckeyes.
Oregon had three players in double figures in Nani Falatea (11 points), Amina Muhammad (11 points) and Deja Kelly (10 points). The Ducks shot just 36.5% from the field and 3 for 17 from 3-point range.
The loss caps a stretch of five games with four on the road, including two across multiple time zones.
“I’m tired, I know our players have to be tired,” Graves said. “This was a long road trip. It’s going to end up being a full week on the road and we played like it at times tonight. It’ll be nice to be home.”
What’s next for Oregon women’s basketball?
The Ducks return to Matthew Knight Arena for an extended homestand, beginning with a 6 p.m. Wednesday game against Purdue.
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @AlecDietz.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Second-quarter troubles arise again for UO in loss to No. 9 Ohio State
