Sunday, February 16
Minneapolis, MN
12 p.m.
University of Oregon
18-8,9-6Big Ten
76
at
70
Minnesota
19-8,7-8Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Oregon
14
23
20
19
76
Minnesota
16
17
14
23
70
Photo by: Brielle Moseley/GoDucks.com
Ducks Display Grit in Road Win
02/16/25 | Women's Basketball
MINNEAPOLIS — The same few words get used to label this version of the Oregon women's basketball team. Words like gritty, tough, physical and experienced.
Each one of those words could be used to describe the Ducks' 76-70 win over Minnesota Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena.
Oregon (17-8, 8-6) trailed by as many as nine in the first half, but led by four at halftime after ending the half on an 18-5 run. The Golden Gophers (19-8, 7-8) then clawed within four points late in the fourth quarter, but the Ducks got key stops and made clutch free throws to thwart the comeback bid.
"The composure, the ability to make free throws, get stops when we needed," said head coach Kelly Graves. "We had a bunch of players step up and have big games. I thought Elisa (Mevius), this was the best game she's played in a Duck uniform. Deja (Kelly) is starting to break out and be that star that we know she can be."
Kelly scored a game-high 20 points, her second straight 20-point outing, while Mevius added a season-high 19 on 7-of-8 shooting, including 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. Kelly finished with seven assists and five rebounds with just one turnover.
UO's defense, led by three steals from Mevius, forced 17 Minnesota turnovers that resulted in 23 points. Coming off the bench, Alexis Whitfield scored 13 points while going 6-for-7 from the field, helping UO's bench to 28 points.
"When amp the defense up, good things happen," said Graves. "We got some run outs and easy baskets and got the tempo back in our favor. We pulled out a lot of different defenses tonight: picked them up full court man-to-man, some halfcourt trap and some three-quarter court trap. I think we kept them a little off balance tonight."
The game marked the 10th this season in which the score was within five points with five minutes or less to play – with the Ducks winning eight of those contests, including six straight. Kelly has recorded four of her team-leading five 20-point games in those tilts, including in each of the last two games.
"This was a great win against a good team," Graves said. "A Quad 1 win on the road, one of the better teams in the country. They kinda remind me of ourselves … both of our teams are gritty, tough, physical, aggressive."
How It Happened: Phillipina Kyei got her 1,000th rebound early in the first quarter and then kicked out to Mevius for a 3-pointer for the Ducks' first basket of the game. Neither team put together a run longer than five points, as the first quarter saw six changes.
Mevius hit both of her field goal attempts for a team-high five points. Kelly hit two free throws with three seconds left to give UO a 14-13 lead, but a desperation half-court heave handed Minnesota a 16-14 lead after one.
Following its last-second 3-pointer, the Golden Gophers scored the first seven points of the second quarter to open up a nine-point lead, 23-14. Down nine approaching the midway point of the quarter, Oregon went on an 8-0 run to trim the lead to a point, 28-27, and later tied the game at 30 on another Mevius 3-pointer.
The Ducks closed the first half on an 18-5 run, in which Mevius accounted for 10 UO points, taking a 37-33 lead into halftime. Mevius finished the half with 15 points, going 6-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 from behind the arc. Kelly had six assists and five points, while Oregon committed just one first-half turnover. Conversely, UO forced 10 turnovers that resulted in 16 points.
Oregon led by as many as 11 in the third quarter after a fastbreak layup from Whitfield. Whitfield scored seven points in the quarter, including a putback as the third-quarter clock expired. Kelly added eight points in the quarter, as the Ducks shot 50 percent from the field in the third and took a 57-47 lead into the final frame.
The lead swelled to 14 early in the fourth, but Minnesota got within four after a triple capped an 8-2 run with just two and a half minutes on the clock. A Kelly free throw and layup pushed the lead back to six, but after a pair of Gopher free throws, the lead sat again at four points with less than 20 seconds left.
Peyton Scott went 4-for-4 from the line in the closing seconds to help the Ducks fend off the Gophers' comeback bid and pick up their fourth road win in Big Ten play.
"That's four wins on the road in Big Ten play. The travel is real," added Graves. "It just shows that our players are gritty, they're tough, they're experienced. They don't let little things get to them and we are seeing those dividends on the court."
Notable: Kyei became the sixth Duck to record 1,000 career rebounds … This was the first matchup between Oregon and Minnesota in Minneapolis, with the Ducks leading the all-time series 3-0 … Oregon has won six straight games that have been within five points with five minutes or less to play, including two straight … Kelly leads UO with five 20-point games and has scored 20 or more in consecutive games for the second time this season.
Up Next: The Ducks travel to take on Nebraska on Wednesday (5 p.m. PT, B1G+).
Each one of those words could be used to describe the Ducks' 76-70 win over Minnesota Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena.
Oregon (17-8, 8-6) trailed by as many as nine in the first half, but led by four at halftime after ending the half on an 18-5 run. The Golden Gophers (19-8, 7-8) then clawed within four points late in the fourth quarter, but the Ducks got key stops and made clutch free throws to thwart the comeback bid.
"The composure, the ability to make free throws, get stops when we needed," said head coach Kelly Graves. "We had a bunch of players step up and have big games. I thought Elisa (Mevius), this was the best game she's played in a Duck uniform. Deja (Kelly) is starting to break out and be that star that we know she can be."
Kelly scored a game-high 20 points, her second straight 20-point outing, while Mevius added a season-high 19 on 7-of-8 shooting, including 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. Kelly finished with seven assists and five rebounds with just one turnover.
UO's defense, led by three steals from Mevius, forced 17 Minnesota turnovers that resulted in 23 points. Coming off the bench, Alexis Whitfield scored 13 points while going 6-for-7 from the field, helping UO's bench to 28 points.
"When amp the defense up, good things happen," said Graves. "We got some run outs and easy baskets and got the tempo back in our favor. We pulled out a lot of different defenses tonight: picked them up full court man-to-man, some halfcourt trap and some three-quarter court trap. I think we kept them a little off balance tonight."
The game marked the 10th this season in which the score was within five points with five minutes or less to play – with the Ducks winning eight of those contests, including six straight. Kelly has recorded four of her team-leading five 20-point games in those tilts, including in each of the last two games.
"This was a great win against a good team," Graves said. "A Quad 1 win on the road, one of the better teams in the country. They kinda remind me of ourselves … both of our teams are gritty, tough, physical, aggressive."
How It Happened: Phillipina Kyei got her 1,000th rebound early in the first quarter and then kicked out to Mevius for a 3-pointer for the Ducks' first basket of the game. Neither team put together a run longer than five points, as the first quarter saw six changes.
Mevius hit both of her field goal attempts for a team-high five points. Kelly hit two free throws with three seconds left to give UO a 14-13 lead, but a desperation half-court heave handed Minnesota a 16-14 lead after one.
Following its last-second 3-pointer, the Golden Gophers scored the first seven points of the second quarter to open up a nine-point lead, 23-14. Down nine approaching the midway point of the quarter, Oregon went on an 8-0 run to trim the lead to a point, 28-27, and later tied the game at 30 on another Mevius 3-pointer.
The Ducks closed the first half on an 18-5 run, in which Mevius accounted for 10 UO points, taking a 37-33 lead into halftime. Mevius finished the half with 15 points, going 6-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 from behind the arc. Kelly had six assists and five points, while Oregon committed just one first-half turnover. Conversely, UO forced 10 turnovers that resulted in 16 points.
Oregon led by as many as 11 in the third quarter after a fastbreak layup from Whitfield. Whitfield scored seven points in the quarter, including a putback as the third-quarter clock expired. Kelly added eight points in the quarter, as the Ducks shot 50 percent from the field in the third and took a 57-47 lead into the final frame.
The lead swelled to 14 early in the fourth, but Minnesota got within four after a triple capped an 8-2 run with just two and a half minutes on the clock. A Kelly free throw and layup pushed the lead back to six, but after a pair of Gopher free throws, the lead sat again at four points with less than 20 seconds left.
Peyton Scott went 4-for-4 from the line in the closing seconds to help the Ducks fend off the Gophers' comeback bid and pick up their fourth road win in Big Ten play.
"That's four wins on the road in Big Ten play. The travel is real," added Graves. "It just shows that our players are gritty, they're tough, they're experienced. They don't let little things get to them and we are seeing those dividends on the court."
Notable: Kyei became the sixth Duck to record 1,000 career rebounds … This was the first matchup between Oregon and Minnesota in Minneapolis, with the Ducks leading the all-time series 3-0 … Oregon has won six straight games that have been within five points with five minutes or less to play, including two straight … Kelly leads UO with five 20-point games and has scored 20 or more in consecutive games for the second time this season.
Up Next: The Ducks travel to take on Nebraska on Wednesday (5 p.m. PT, B1G+).
Team Stats
Oregon
MINN
FG%
.458
.458
3FG%
.400
.600
FT%
.696
.875
RB
26
42
TO
6
17
STL
8
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ 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
