Thursday, January 30
East Lansing, MI
3 p.m.
University of Oregon
16-5,7-3Big Ten
63
at
59
Michigan State
17-4,7-3Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Oregon
21
14
20
8
63
Michigan St.
8
15
17
19
59
Photo by: GoDucks.com
Gritty Ducks Win at No. 16 Michigan State
01/30/25 | Women's Basketball
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State hadn't lost at Breslin Center all season, and averaged over 89 points a game at home. But defense travels, even three time zones away.
Oregon held its fourth consecutive Big Ten opponent below the 60-point mark, as the Ducks held the 16th-ranked Spartans to a season-low point total in their 63-59 win at Breslin Center Thursday.
"I'm just so proud of the team," UO head coach Kelly Graves said. "When we really needed a stop the last three, four minutes, the defense stepped up. … This is a huge win. This is a quad one win, a highly ranked team. They were undefeated at home, and they've made some teams look bad."
The win was the fourth straight for the Ducks (16-5, 7-3), and seventh over their last eight games, to move into a fourth-place tie in the Big Ten standings. It also marked their second win over a top-20 team this season, and its first on the road since the 2020-21 season.
It was the Ducks' offense that got things started in the first half Thursday, jumping out to a 21-8 lead after the first quarter and leading by as many as 18 midway through the third. Even with UO leading by 15 going into the final quarter, the Spartans refused to go quietly.
Oregon saw its double-digit lead shrink to three with under four minutes to play, but the defense rose to the occasion and allowed MSU to make just one of its last nine field goal attempts. Nani Falatea and Phillipina Kyei combined to knock down five clutch free throws over the game's final 3:36 to fend off the rally.
"That's what gamers do," Graves said of Kyei's three late free throws. "They put aside the fact that they had missed a few, and she stepped up there and made them when they counted. I'm so proud of her, so proud of the team. That was a great team effort all the way around."
Kyei paced Oregon with 10 rebounds, including eight in the second half, while adding nine points. Peyton Scott led three Ducks in double figures with a dozen points, with Falatea and Deja Kelly each finishing with 10 points.
How It Happened: The Ducks defense made its presence felt from the opening tip, forcing an air ball on a desperation shot attempt as the shot clock expired on MSU's first possession, as the Spartans missed their first five shot attempts, including two blocks by Kyei. UO held Michigan State to 3-of-14 shooting in the quarter while forcing five turnovers.
On the offensive end, Kyei scored UO's first four points in helping the Ducks open a 6-0 lead. Oregon later led 11-2 and, after an 8-0 run that was capped by a Sofia Bell 3-pointer, led by 15. The Ducks shot 53 percent from the floor, going 2-for-2 from range, while six players got into the scoring column, led by five from Sarah Rambus.
The Ducks finished the half shooting 50 percent from the floor while holding MSU to 27 percent (9-for-33), with the Spartans going just 2-for-7 from the 3-point line. Falatea scored five points in the second quarter, including a 3-pointer, while Bell hit her second triple of the day in the frame, as the Ducks went 4-for-5 from range in the half.
Bell and Amina Muhammad led the way with six first-half points each. UO outscored Michigan State 22-10 in the paint while owning an 18-9 edge in bench points, leading to a 35-23 lead at the break.
"That was a business-like effort in the first half," said Graves. "We played so efficiently, we turned them over, but it was just an efficient first half."
UO got eight points from Scott in the third quarter, helping the Ducks extend their lead to 15 after the third quarter, 55-40. Kelly added four points as the Oregon offense went 7-for-13 in the quarter, outscoring the Spartans 20-17 despite being outrebounded 12-7.
MSU scored the first five points of the fourth, trimming Oregon's lead to 10 points. The lead shrank to single digits after the Spartans' run hit 10-1, and later they were within three points with under four minutes to play.
The Ducks responded by scoring five of the next six points, all coming from the free throw line, with Kyei hitting three free throws and Falatea knocking down a pair to push the lead back to seven. Despite going 1-for-11 from the field in the fourth, Oregon fended off the Spartans' rally by hitting 6-of-8 free throw attempts down the stretch.
"It shows we've got some tough, gritty kids that just play their butts off," Graves said. "They believe in each other, they trust each other."
Notable: The win marked UO's first road win over a ranked team since Dec. 13, 2020 when it defeated then-15th-ranked Oregon State … The win was the first on the road in the series with the Spartans (1-1), as the Ducks lead the all-time series 4-1 … Oregon has held 12 straight opponents below its season scoring average (MSU entered the game averaging 82.8 points per game) … In its four-game winning streak, Oregon is allowing teams to score 52.0 points a game.
Up Next: The Ducks play at Michigan on Sunday (9 a.m. PT, B1G+).
Oregon held its fourth consecutive Big Ten opponent below the 60-point mark, as the Ducks held the 16th-ranked Spartans to a season-low point total in their 63-59 win at Breslin Center Thursday.
"I'm just so proud of the team," UO head coach Kelly Graves said. "When we really needed a stop the last three, four minutes, the defense stepped up. … This is a huge win. This is a quad one win, a highly ranked team. They were undefeated at home, and they've made some teams look bad."
The win was the fourth straight for the Ducks (16-5, 7-3), and seventh over their last eight games, to move into a fourth-place tie in the Big Ten standings. It also marked their second win over a top-20 team this season, and its first on the road since the 2020-21 season.
It was the Ducks' offense that got things started in the first half Thursday, jumping out to a 21-8 lead after the first quarter and leading by as many as 18 midway through the third. Even with UO leading by 15 going into the final quarter, the Spartans refused to go quietly.
Oregon saw its double-digit lead shrink to three with under four minutes to play, but the defense rose to the occasion and allowed MSU to make just one of its last nine field goal attempts. Nani Falatea and Phillipina Kyei combined to knock down five clutch free throws over the game's final 3:36 to fend off the rally.
"That's what gamers do," Graves said of Kyei's three late free throws. "They put aside the fact that they had missed a few, and she stepped up there and made them when they counted. I'm so proud of her, so proud of the team. That was a great team effort all the way around."
Kyei paced Oregon with 10 rebounds, including eight in the second half, while adding nine points. Peyton Scott led three Ducks in double figures with a dozen points, with Falatea and Deja Kelly each finishing with 10 points.
How It Happened: The Ducks defense made its presence felt from the opening tip, forcing an air ball on a desperation shot attempt as the shot clock expired on MSU's first possession, as the Spartans missed their first five shot attempts, including two blocks by Kyei. UO held Michigan State to 3-of-14 shooting in the quarter while forcing five turnovers.
On the offensive end, Kyei scored UO's first four points in helping the Ducks open a 6-0 lead. Oregon later led 11-2 and, after an 8-0 run that was capped by a Sofia Bell 3-pointer, led by 15. The Ducks shot 53 percent from the floor, going 2-for-2 from range, while six players got into the scoring column, led by five from Sarah Rambus.
The Ducks finished the half shooting 50 percent from the floor while holding MSU to 27 percent (9-for-33), with the Spartans going just 2-for-7 from the 3-point line. Falatea scored five points in the second quarter, including a 3-pointer, while Bell hit her second triple of the day in the frame, as the Ducks went 4-for-5 from range in the half.
Bell and Amina Muhammad led the way with six first-half points each. UO outscored Michigan State 22-10 in the paint while owning an 18-9 edge in bench points, leading to a 35-23 lead at the break.
"That was a business-like effort in the first half," said Graves. "We played so efficiently, we turned them over, but it was just an efficient first half."
UO got eight points from Scott in the third quarter, helping the Ducks extend their lead to 15 after the third quarter, 55-40. Kelly added four points as the Oregon offense went 7-for-13 in the quarter, outscoring the Spartans 20-17 despite being outrebounded 12-7.
MSU scored the first five points of the fourth, trimming Oregon's lead to 10 points. The lead shrank to single digits after the Spartans' run hit 10-1, and later they were within three points with under four minutes to play.
The Ducks responded by scoring five of the next six points, all coming from the free throw line, with Kyei hitting three free throws and Falatea knocking down a pair to push the lead back to seven. Despite going 1-for-11 from the field in the fourth, Oregon fended off the Spartans' rally by hitting 6-of-8 free throw attempts down the stretch.
"It shows we've got some tough, gritty kids that just play their butts off," Graves said. "They believe in each other, they trust each other."
Notable: The win marked UO's first road win over a ranked team since Dec. 13, 2020 when it defeated then-15th-ranked Oregon State … The win was the first on the road in the series with the Spartans (1-1), as the Ducks lead the all-time series 4-1 … Oregon has held 12 straight opponents below its season scoring average (MSU entered the game averaging 82.8 points per game) … In its four-game winning streak, Oregon is allowing teams to score 52.0 points a game.
Up Next: The Ducks play at Michigan on Sunday (9 a.m. PT, B1G+).
Team Stats
Oregon
MSU
FG%
.434
.338
3FG%
.429
.250
FT%
.579
.647
RB
40
38
TO
20
16
STL
9
13
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballKelly Graves | Selection Sunday
Monday, March 17
Deja Kelly, Peyton Scott & Phillipina Kyei | Selection Sunday
Monday, March 17
Peyton Scott & Ari Long: "A good, competitive basketball game."
Thursday, February 27
Kelly Graves: "We've played really well."
Thursday, February 27
