After beginning the season with a perfect record, the Oregon women’s basketball team faced setbacks, suffering its second consecutive loss during the Hawaii North Shore Showcase in Laie on Tuesday afternoon.
The Ducks (6-2) were defeated by Georgia Tech on Monday and fell again, this time losing 75-70 to South Dakota State.
“We need to discover something that works for us right now,” stated Oregon coach Kelly Graves. “To be honest, we came out here and kind of dropped the ball.”
Oregon opted for a fresh starting lineup for this game, playing just 24 hours after their last match. Although the Ducks initially showed promise, they struggled during key moments. Falling behind in the second quarter, they didn’t tie the game again until midway through the fourth.
With the score tied at 64 and only 2:45 remaining after an impressive reverse layup by Elisa Mevius, the Jackrabbits (4-2) surged ahead with an 8-2 run, establishing a six-point lead with just 44 seconds left on the clock.
Despite a valiant effort from the Ducks, which included a jumper from Deja Kelly and a steal by Mevius that led to a score from Amina Muhammad, a few critical three-point shots missed their mark in the closing moments.
Oregon struggled from beyond the arc, making only 1 of 11 three-point attempts. They had nearly 50% shooting overall but committed 17 turnovers while managing just six assists.
“Our shooting definitely needs improvement,” added Graves. “We had some decent opportunities late in the game, but we fell short on our three-point attempts. You can’t expect to defeat a strong team going 1 for 11 from long range. Our turnovers were too high, and our assists too low. A lot of this came down to one-on-one plays this evening.”
In contrast, the Jackrabbits executed well, hitting 6 of 12 from three-point territory and converting 19 of their 22 free throws, while shooting 48.1% from the field.
The Ducks’ scoring was led by Kelly, who contributed 19 points, while Muhammad added 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Freshman Ehis Etute made her starting debut, scoring eight points and grabbing four rebounds in 20 minutes, having missed the previous week due to injury.
Phillipina Kyei, who played for 23 minutes in the prior game, was uncertain to start and only managed 10 minutes on the court, recording seven points and four rebounds before picking up four fouls. The Ducks utilized 12 players during the game, with 10 participating for over five minutes.
“This trip was disappointing in many ways, but hopefully, we’ll learn from it,” reflected Graves.
Next Steps for Oregon Women’s Basketball
Looking ahead, the Ducks will face a challenging week of competition against several familiar teams. They will kick off with a home game at Matthew Knight Arena against Washington State on Wednesday, followed by a matchup against JuJu Watkins and No. 6 USC in Eugene next Saturday.
