Oregon women’s basketball knew that they had a tall challenge ahead of them in last night’s game against the #11 Iowa Hawkeyes. This may not be Caitlyn Clark’s team any longer, but the Hawkeyes are still very good. They were 14-2, and an undefeated 8-0 at home.
Iowa is now 15-2 after defeating the Oregon Ducks, 74-66.
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Oregon put themselves in a bind early, missing their first eight attempts from the field. It’s not like Iowa was putting on defensive pressure – the Ducks came out flat and missed great looks. It was amazing that they were only down by six at the end of the first quarter.
Oregon hung with the Hawkeyes, and were down by five at the half; this being the case despite getting only four point total from their two top scorers, Katie Fiso and Mia Jacobs.
The Ducks faltered in the third period, as Iowa firmly established themselves. The Hawkeyes put the hurt on Oregon, shooting over 53% in the field (including 4-7 from distance), and pulling nearly twice the rebounds as the Ducks.
Iowa was up by 16 at the end of the third quarter, and while Oregon closed the gap in the fourth quarter, that lead would prove to be insurmountable.
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In a game where Fiso only scored nine points total, and Jacobs was completely absent (just one point for the game), it was the bench that stepped up and kept Oregon from being completely blown out. The bench scored about half of Oregon’s total points with 32. Amina Muhammad, Astera Tuhina, Sarah Rambus, and Sara Barhoum all deserve credit for stepping up and contributing significantly when the starters were not.
“I was really proud of a couple of our players,” head coach Kelly Graves said after the game. “I thought the bench did a heck of a job.”
Four Iowa players scored in the double digits, while only Ehis Etute did so for Oregon, with 15 points.
The Ducks finish up their midwest road trip this coming Sunday, when they face the Wisconsin Badgers at 1:00 pm PT. That game will be shown on the Big Ten Network.
