Trailblazers’ Hot 3-Point Shooting Too Much For Ducks

Tuesday, December 19

St. George, UT

1:00 PM

University of Oregon

8-4,0-0Pac-12

Utah Tech

7-4,1-1WAC

Oregon

Utah Tech

Trailblazers’ Hot 3-Point Shooting Too Much For Ducks

12/19/23 | Women's Basketball

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ST. GEORGE, Utah — Oregon trimmed a 17-point halftime deficit down to a single point in the fourth quarter Tuesday, but Utah Tech held off the Ducks' comeback bid to earn a 92-86 win on the first day of the Trailblazer Classic at Burns Arena.

Grace VanSlooten scored a game-high 25 and Chance Gray added 20 while Phillipina Kyei finished with 17 to lead the Ducks. Ula Chamberlin recorded a season-high 11 points off the bench, going 3-for-4 from behind the 3-point line. Chamberlin's last three of the game cut UTU's lead to just three with 47 second to play, 89-86.

Oregon saw Utah Tech hit a Division I program-record 21 3-pointers, with eight coming from Maggie McCord to tie her own school record on her way to 24 points. The Trailblazers went 12-for-15 from deep in the first half, hitting on six of their first seven attempts, in building a 55-38 halftime lead.

"The 3-point line," said head coach Kelly Graves on the difference in the ballgame. "Twenty-one threes, that's 63 points from the 3-point line. The way we play, we just can't make that up. We score a lot from the free throw line and a lot of twos. I thought offensively we played a pretty good ballgame.

"Just defensively, they went 21-of-31 (from the 3-point line). Hats off to them. We fell apart defensively and they hit 'em early, and when you hit 'em early, you feel that confidence."

VanSlooten sunk a driving layup midway through the fourth quarter to make it a one-point game at 78-77, and hit a jumper less than a minute later to bring the Ducks within two (81-79). Nicole Willardson scored eight straight points for UTU, including a pair of threes, to push her team's lead to 89-81 with just over two minutes to play.

The Ducks outscored the Blazers 48-37 in the second half, including a 26-14 margin in the third, but Utah Tech connected on 6-of-7 3-pointers in the final quarter.

How It Happened: Utah Tech hit its first four 3-point tries of the game, and six of its first seven, helping open up a lead as large as eight points in the first quarter. The Trailblazers finished 7-for-9 from deep in the opening quarter, with Calyn Dallas hitting a buzzer-beating trey to hand her team a 29-24 lead.

Seven Ducks found the scoring column in the quarter, led by six from Gray to go with four apiece from Kyei and VanSlooten. UO went 4-of-7 from 3-point range, with Gray knocking down a pair.

UTU forced the Ducks into a timeout midway through the second quarter after Maddie Warren knocked down her third 3-pointer of the half to give the Blazers a 44-34 lead. Utah Tech made 10 of its first 12 3-point attempts and shot 65.4 percent from the floor over the game's first 15 minutes.

A 12-0 run created a 16-point Utah Tech lead at 50-38 and an and-1 converted by Breaunna Gillen with a second left in the half handed UTU a 55-38 halftime lead. The Trailblazers finished the half 12-of-15 from 3 the 3-point line, with Maggie McCord and Maddie Warren each going 4-for-4.

Oregon scored the first four points of the third quarter and cut the deficit to single digits on a Gray 3-pointer with 1:24 remaining in the quarter. Gray hit another trey, her third of the quarter, with just four second on the clock to make it a five-point game headed into the final frame.

The entire fourth quarter remained a single-digit contest, with the Ducks making it a one-point game on a VanSlooten driving layup with 4:50 remaining. Chamberlin hit her third 3-pointer of the day to put the score at 89-86 with 47 left. Priscilla Williams tossed up a potential game-tying three with 30 second left, but UTU hauled in the rebound.

Up Next: The Ducks finish the two-game Trailblazer Classic on Thursday against Oklahoma State (1 p.m. PT, ESPN+).