Eugene, Ore. — In Matthew Knight Arena on Sunday, the Oregon Ducks took on the No. 9 Ohio State Buckeyes, going into this game with a drive after a win against Illinois. They were unable to keep their four-game win streak going with a devastating loss to the Buckeyes, 80-64.
It was an explosive first quarter for the Oregon Ducks, who were down by nine halfway through the quarter but made a comeback with a 3-pointer from Ari Long, breaking a stretch of back-to-back scoring for the Buckeyes. Keeping that driving energy for the rest of the quarter with their offense, Oregon makes 10 points, ending the score of the quarter 22-18, Ohio State leading.
Ohio State did not make it easy for the Ducks in the second quarter of the game. The Buckeyes went on a six-point run, as the Ducks struggled to keep up with their defense. It seemed like every time the Ducks got the ball, Ohio took it back and scored. Oregon tried to get some points back when Avary Cain stole the ball from the Buckeyes, but was unable to pull through as the Buckeyes scored back-to-back points, leading by ten at the 2:30 mark.
The Ducks ended the first half of the game down by nine, 34-25, only scoring seven points in the second quarter. Oregon's defense struggled to keep up with the Buckeyes' offense and energy throughout the half.
In a powerful third quarter for both teams, the Buckeyes scored 22 points in the quarter, keeping the Ducks on their toes. Oregon scored 19 points, matching the Buckeyes' pace. A trio of 3-pointers from Long and one from Mia Jacobs made up 12 of the 19 points the Ducks scored. The Ducks continued to struggle throughout the second half of the game, feeling the pressure that the Buckeyes brought.
“Handling pressure for sure, and just staying consistent and through their runs,” Sofia Bell said, addressing some of the issues for Oregon. “We had a bad first half.”
Going into the fourth quarter, the Ducks were fighting till the end, trying to close the gap with some great plays from players like Katie Fiso and Ehis Etute. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Fiso and Jacobs, and a pair of buckets from Etute, brought back some of the fire. But the Ducks were unable to come back, with the final score 80-64. It was an upsetting loss for Oregon, especially after its win on Wednesday against Illinois. There were some big things from the Ducks in this game, with the lead scorers being Sarah Rambus with 13 points, Jacobs with 13 as well, and Long with 16.
“It came down to the turnovers, just killed us,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “We just weren’t as sharp and composed as we needed to be, and it showed. We had a good week of practice, we’ve been playing well, we just didn’t have it tonight.”
The Oregon Ducks lost their winning streak against the Ohio State Buckeyes, but remain hopeful going into the next practice as they prepare for their matchup against the Washington Huskies next Sunday, Feb. 15th.