As Oregon women’s basketball winds down the early part of the season, the Ducks took care of business on Sunday afternoon, and defeated the Montana State Bobcats 69-44.
After the opening minutes of the first quarter, Oregon’s defense stepped up and took the Bobcats out of their game. The defensive effort helped the Ducks ride a 30+ point lead for most of the match, until they slacked a bit in the final five minutes and MSU closed the gap at game’s end.
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“We weren’t at our best all the time,” said coach Kelly Graves. “But I thought defensively, that first half, we played really, really well and took them out of pretty much everything they were trying to run.”
Montana State came out strong early and had an 8-5 edge to start the game, but Oregon’s defense threw off the Bobcat with a 16-2 run to take a commanding lead that they would not relinquish.
Said Graves after the game, “They’re a good team. They’re going to win the Big Sky; get to the NCAA Tournament.”
That effort continued into the second quarter, as the Ducks only allowed MSU to score four points. In between their two buckets, Oregon scored 14 unanswered points.
The Ducks continued the defensive pressure into the 3rd quarter and built a 30-point lead. Oregon led by 36 halfway into the fourth quarter before winning by 25 points.
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On a day where Katie Fiso’s shot wasn’t always there – but didn’t have to be – Sofia Bell led all scorers with 15 points.
Mia Jacobs picked up a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Katie Fiso and Ari Long rounded out Oregon’s other top scorers with 10 points each.
In spite of the offensive drubbing, the Ducks didn’t shoot particularly well, and gave up easy shots and looks while shooting 32.8% on the day. Still, they did the job defensively, limiting the Bobcats to 28.6% shooting.
Oregon shot very well at the line, going 22-26 for 84.6%. While being relatively equal in the turnover battle, 21-23, the Ducks made theirs count. Oregon had 25 points off turnovers to 8 for MSU.
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The game wasn’t pretty at times, but overall it was a good win that did not sent up any warning flares.
Here is what head coach Kelly Graves had this to say after the game:
Ari Long and Sophia Bell had these comments after their performance:
The Oregon women (11-1, 0-1 Big-10) are down to their last couple of games before the conference gauntlet begins. Their next match is in Eugene; an early 11:00 am tip against Portland on Thursday.
