By: Jonah Rosenberg

Coming into Matthew Knight Arena on Sunday, the Oregon ducks were undefeated. After taking care of business Friday night against USC, the Ducks saw their 27 game home unbeaten streak slip away Sunday against UCLA as the Bruins(6-2) escaped with a 73-71 victory over the Ducks(8-1). Oregon found themselves trailing at the end of each quarter, but played competitively throughout the entire game. After three consecutive turnovers in the final 25 seconds of the game, Oregon had the ball with 7 seconds left on the clock down 2. A Te-Hina Paopao drive down the middle resulted in a jump ball which all but sealed the UCLA win. 

The UCLA Bruins were led entirely by their two headed attack of Charisma Osborne and Michaela Onyenwere who scored 22 and 33 points respectively. Lauryn Miller was the only bruin to score more than once as she added 5 points of her own. In a career day, Onyenwere was everywhere on the court for the Bruins this afternoon as she recorded her third double-double of the season with 10 boards to go along with her 33 points. The Ducks had no answer for her defensively though the first 3 quarters as she scored 21 of her 33 points on 8-11 shooting. 

For Oregon, Te-Hina Paopao led all Ducks with 19 points. Coach Graves also drew up the final play of the game with the freshman in mind. Paopao’s 3-6 from behind the arc gave Oregon some life in the game despite the rest of the team shooting a combined 4-16. In addition to Paopao, Angela Dugalic had a career day off the bench. The true freshman scored 13 points to go along with her 9 rebounds. Erin Boley led the Ducks with 7 points in the first quarter, but after a 2nd period 3 point basket, the senior forward did not score again. Overall, the Ducks played poorly on offense and because of that, UCLA was able to escape with a narrow victory over Oregon. 

The Ducks (8-1) are back in action this Friday as the team heads to the Bay Area to take on  Cal as well as the #1 team in the country, the Stanford Cardinal(8-0). 

Game Story:

Post Game Audio:

Kelly Graves

Erin Boley