University of Oregon
7-4
Seattle U
2-10
Ducks' Defense Shines vs. Seattle U
12/30/14 | Women's Basketball
EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon women's basketball team used a big first half run and suffocating defense to knock off Seattle U, 70-44, on Monday evening at Matthew Knight Arena.
Oregon finishes its non-conference slate with a 7-4 record. The Ducks open up Pac-12 play this weekend at USC on Saturday and UCLA on Monday.
How It Happened: Oregon led Seattle U by just one, 11-10, with 13:19 left before halftime but the Ducks pulled away with a big run. Oregon outscored Seattle U, 22-5, to take a 33-15 lead into the break. The Ducks held the Redhawks to just 14.3 percent shooting (5-of-35) in the first half while shooting 37.5 percent on the other end.
Seattle U scored the first five points of the second half but could never get Oregon's lead into single digits. Oregon answered the Redhawks' 5-0 spurt with a 14-2 run to take a 47-22 lead with 14:48 left in the game.
The Ducks continued to build their lead before a Drea Toler steal and score gave them a 60-30 lead with 6:50 remaining. Oregon led by as much as 38 in the game before winning by 26.
Tough Defense: Seattle U shot just 22.4 percent in the game, a season-low by an Oregon opponent this year. The single-game school record for field goal percentage defense is 18.3 percent (11-of-60), set against Portland State on Dec. 18, 1999.
Oregon also allowed just 15 points in the first half, its fewest points allowed in a half since giving up the same amount in the first half to Washington State on Feb. 17, 2013. The school record for fewest points allowed in a half is 10 points, coming in the first half against St. Francis (PA) on Nov. 11, 2006.
Pac-12 Record Double-Double Streak: Jillian Alleyne extended her Pac-12 record double-double streak to 20 games. The junior posted her 52nd career double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds on Monday against Seattle U. The previous record was 18, which Alleyne shared with USC star Cheryl Miller.
The streak is now the third longest in NCAA women's basketball history. Former Oklahoma great Courtney Paris (2005-09) holds the record with 112 straight double-doubles, followed by Artemis Spanou's 33 straight for Robert Morris (2012-13). With 20, Alleyne eclipsed Old Dominion's Anne Donovan's (1982) mark of 19 for third.
Block Party: The Ducks reached double figures (10) in blocked shots for the first time this season and first time since posting 10 blocks against Bakersfield in the 2013-14 season opener. Alleyne posted a career-high six blocked shots while Megan Carpenter added four.
Notable: Carpenter made her first start of the season and first since Jan. 4, 2013 against UCLA … Carpenter had a season-high eight rebounds … Lexi Bando entered the game ranked No. 6 in the nation, shooting 52.1 percent from three-point range … Bando went 2-for-4 from long range against the Redhawks ... Katelyn Loper led the Ducks with 16 points off the bench on 6-of-12 shooting.
Quotable: “I think it was good for us to play a complete game, work hard defensively and to maintain our lead and build on it," Loper said. "This is the biggest test for us now coming into Pac-12 play, because now everything really matters.”
Up Next: The Ducks begin Pac-12 play under first year head coach Kelly Graves on Saturday at USC. Tip time is set for 3 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks. Oregon's game at UCLA on Monday will also be on Pac-12 Networks.
“I've been coaching in the Northwest so long, I have played basically everybody in the league, I know the conference," Graves said. "Every night we are going to have to bring it and play really well to have a chance, and I am looking forward to that challenge as a coach.”
