University of Oregon
10-8, 2-4
Arizona State
11-5, 2-3
Sun Devils Fight Their Way to 53-49 Win Over Ducks
01/15/12 | Women's Basketball
The game came down to the wire as the Ducks (10-8, 2-4) fell behind in the second half and spent much of the final 20 minutes battling to get ahead.
Ariel Thomas knocked down a pair of free throws to close the deficit to one at the 8:32 minute mark, and Deanna Weaver got the front end of a one-and-one situation to tie the game up at 32-32 after she was fouled by Kimberly Brandon.
The Sun Devils (11-5, 2-3) went right back ahead, but freshman Liz Brenner hit a huge fadeaway jumper with a little over four minutes to go, and was fouled on the play by Kali Bennett, but she was unable to convert the free throw, leaving the Ducks trailing, 41-38.
Oregon fought back again to within one after sophomore Danielle Love got a layup off an inbound play from Holliday, bringing the score to 43-42 with 1:27 left, bringing the crowd to its feet, but Olivia Major tallied a huge three that silenced the crowd and moved the score to 46-42.
Brandon picked up her third foul of the game after she fouled senior Nia Jackson with 35 seconds left to play and Jackson knocked down both free throws.
Jackson was fouled again with 20 seconds to play and made the layup and the free throw to notch the three-point play, bringing the score to 50-49.
Bennett was immediately fouled on the other end of the court and missed the first, but made the second. With one chance left for Oregon, Weaver made a move to the basket for the Ducks and had her shot blocked by Bennett ending UO's chance for the win.
The first three times that Oregon brought the game back within one, it was the freshman class that closed the gap. Freshman Jordan Loera knocked down two huge three-pointers at the 15:38 and 10:34 minute marks, and Lexi Petersen made an excellent move to the basket for a layup at 13:15.
Senior Jasmin Holliday led the Ducks with her sixth double-double of the year, leading Oregon in points (12) and rebounds (11). Jackson and Loera added nine points apiece, while Brenner led the Ducks with four blocks.
The Sun Devils had two record double-doubles. Brandon led all scorers with14points and 13 rebounds and Bennett had 11 points and 12 boards. Jada Blackwell also chipped in 12 points.
Oregon shot 30.4 percent (17-of-56) from the floor, and held Arizona State to .277 clip (18-of-65).
The first half was a low scoring affair as Oregon led for the entire first half, and took a slim 17-16 lead into halftime.
The clubs combined to turn the ball over 19 times and shoot 13-of-60 from the floor.
Holliday scored the first eight points of the game for Oregon, including the first field goal of the contest with a jumper at the 14:28 mark. Holliday led all scorers with 10 first-half points.
UO's 17 first-half points were a new season low and the second lowest scoring total in a half during the Paul Westhead era. The Ducks shot 23.3 percent (7-of-30) from the floor and got to seven offensive rebounds, but were unable to convert those boards into second-chance points.
ASU shot 20.0 percent (6-of-30) from the floor, and turned the ball over 10 times in the first half.
The Ducks hit the road next week and play USC on Thursday with a 7 p.m. tip-off at the Galen Center, before playing UCLA at 1 p.m., Saturday at the John Wooden Center.
Notes: Neither team scored until Jasmin Holliday knocked down two free throws at the 15:50 mark of the first half...the first field goal of the game wasn't scored until Jasmin Holliday's jumper at the 14:28 mark of the first half...Jada Blackwell's three-pointer at the 13:13 mark of the first half was Arizona State's first basket of the game...Jasmin Holliday scored the first eight points of the game for Oregon...Jordan Loera's 3-pointer at the 9:00 mark of the first half was UO's first score that was not Holliday....Oregon's 17 first-half points were a season low, and the second lowest point total scored in a half during the Westhead era...Jasmin Holliday recorded the sixth double-double of her career with 12 points and 11 rebounds...Liz Brenner recorded four blocks - a season high for any Oregon player this year...the Ducks lost for the first time this season when leading at the half, and recording a higher shooting percentage than their opponent...Oregon set opponent season lows against ASU, holding the Sun Devils to 53 points - previous low was 71 points vs. Portland State...other opponent season lows included 18 ASU field goals made, a .277 shooting percentage and 16 first-half points.
