by Knight Jarecki
The 11th ranked Oregon Ducks Women's basketball team fell to the Arizona Wildcats by a final score of 79-59 Monday night. The nationally televised game left the Ducks with only their 4th home loss since the 2016-2017 season.
The first half of the game was a back and forth battle. Arizona got out to a fast start going up 8-0 before Kelly Graves called timeout to slow down the run. Oregon was able to get on the board after the timeout which made the score 12-7 in favor of the Wildcats with just over 5 minutes to play in the 1st quarter. The Ducks ended the first quarter on a 8-0 run capped off by a layup at the buzzer by Lydia Giomi making the score 21-19 Arizona.
The momentum stayed with the Ducks in the early second quarter as they were able to tie it on a Te-Hina Paopao layup. Both teams traded 3's before Oregon went 4 minutes without a basket resulting in the Wildcats taking the lead by 2 points. Oregon finished the first half making only 2 of their final 13 shots but forced 4 late 2nd quarter turnovers that kept the game close at 33-32 Arizona at the half.
In the 3rd quarter, Oregon's shooting struggles continued as Arizona got off to a quick 9-2 run in the first 2 and a half minuets stretching the lead to 8. The Ducks cut the lead to 45-39 with just under 5 Minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Arizona went on a 7-0 run in just over a minute span that opened up the game after the 4 minute mark. Arizona ended the quarter on a 13-3 run giving them a 60-46 after 3.
The Arizona domination coninued in the 4th as the Ducks could not buy at bucket at times. Arizona outscored Oregon 19-13 in the 4th and won by a final score of 79-59. Oregon shot 9-37 in the second half including 4-21 in the 4th quarter.
Nyara Sabally lead the Ducks with 17 points and 4 rebounds while Sedona Prince added 10 points and 3 rebounds.
Cate Reese was unstoppable for the Oregon Ducks as she finished with 25 points and 6 rebounds for the Arizona Wildcats. Sam Thomas added 14 points and 4 rebounds to go with pre-season all American Aari McDonald's 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.
The Oregon Ducks Women's basketball team falls to (12-4) on the year as they look ahead to a weekend series against the winless California Golden Bears and the #5 ranked Stanford Cardinal.
Arizona improves to (12-2) and win back to back games against the Ducks for the first time since 2011. It was also their first victory at Matthew Knight Arena.