EUGENE, Ore. — On Sunday, December 14th, the Oregon Duck Women’s basketball team (10-1) defeated the Montana State Bobcats (6-2). Oregon’s key players in this game were Katie Fiso, Ari Long, and Sofia Bell, with a combined 35 points. The Ducks won every statistical category against the Bobcats, including the rebound and turnover battle, which led to a 69-44 win for the Ducks to move to 11-1 on the season.
Coming off an 80-59 loss to UCLA, the Ducks look to come back with a win and establish momentum.
Oregon started off slow in the first minute but found a rhythm the rest of the first quarter, shutting down on defense, only allowing Montana to shoot 25 percent from the field and forcing eight turnovers in the first ten minutes.
The Bobcats were aggressive, especially on defense, establishing a full-court press. However, the Ducks were still able to run the offense efficiently. Oregon’s offense was fueled by 3-pointers and drawing fouls. The Ducks went 11-for-13 from the line in the first half, making the most of their charity shots as well as a combined 6-for-9 from outside the arc by starters Mia Jacobs and Sofia Bell.
“They play really hard and scrappy, and we did not handle it all that well,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said about the Bobcats’ intensity.
The Ducks were dominant in the first half with a 37-14 lead.
Oregon came out of the locker room with a quick 3 from Ari Long as well as a trip to the line on their next possession. The Ducks’ defense remained effective in the third quarter, forcing five turnovers and only allowing 37.5 percent shooting from the field.
“They got me when I was open on the first one, I let it fly, and then came at me again,” Long said after hitting two big 3’s to start out the half.
The Ducks went with their bench for most of the fourth quarter, which was their slowest. They shot 4-of-18 from the field with no 3-pointers, but were still able to get second chances with six offensive rebounds.
Oregon was all-around more efficient than Montana State, and hopefully looks to continue this momentum the rest of the season, but could have been better with scoring in the paint.
“Quite frankly, if we had made half of our uncontested layups, it could have been 10 or 15 points more,” Graves said after the win.
The Ducks will face the Portland Pilots in their next matchup, at home on Thursday, December 18th.