Ducks Give Top-Ranked Bruins A Battle

Sunday, February 9

Eugene, OR

1 p.m.

University of Oregon

16-8,7-6Big Ten

UCLA

23-0,11-0Big Ten

UCLA

Oregon

Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com

02/09/25 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Oregon was within a basket in the second half Sunday, before losing to No. 1 UCLA.

By: Rob Moseley

EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon played the No. 1 team in the country as tough as anyone has all season Sunday, though the UO women's basketball team went home from Matthew Knight Arena with a 62-52 loss to UCLA.

Coming off a couple of one-sided defeats, the Ducks (16-8, 7-6 Big Ten) were within two points of the unbeaten Bruins early in the second half, and within seven early in the fourth quarter. Oregon improved its scoring output with each successive quarter, but couldn't generate enough offense to pull off the upset.

"We don't believe in moral victories; we're disappointed that we lost," UO coach Kelly Graves said. "But I told them in the locker room I was proud of them. Tonight we played well enough to win."

The Ducks played their typically tenacious brand of defense, holding UCLA to its lowest point total of the season. The Bruins' average margin of victory this year had been 27.3 points, but Sunday was their second-smallest of the year. It might have been even smaller but for Oregon's 26.6 percent shooting, including 2-of-17 from three-point range.

"A loss is always tough, but we're also just proud of the girls for rallying together, putting up a fight and showing heart after a couple rough games," said UO guard Nani Falatea, who hit both of Oregon's three-pointers on her way to 19 points.

Deja Kelly added 14 points for the Ducks, and Amina Muhammad had eight points with seven rebounds. Phillipina Kyei had four points and six rebounds, and helped limit UCLA post Lauren Betts — the best player in the country, according to Graves — to nine points with six rebounds. Betts came into the day averaging 20.2 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.

How It Happened: Kelly made a couple of early shots, but they ended up being Oregon's only two field goals in the first quarter. The Ducks trailed 12-7 at the end of the period, having shot 2-of-18 with four misses from three-point range.

"That's a night when you've got to have your shots falling," Graves said. "We played a really good basketball game; we just didn't score enough. We didn't shoot the ball well enough tonight."

The Bruins extended their lead to 10 at 21-11 on a jumper by Betts with 5:46 left in the first half. But that was their last field goal of the second quarter, as Falatea answered with a three-point play to spark an 8-4 run that got Oregon with 25-19 at halftime.

Kelly and Kyei then scored to open the second half, and it was down to a two-point game. Falatea hit a three to get the Ducks back within four at 30-26, but UCLA slowly began to pull away again and was up 43-33 entering the fourth.

Early in the final period Falatea scored five straight points, including her second three of the game to get the Ducks back within seven at 45-38. The next three baskets were all three-pointers by the Bruins, however. That put them up 16, at 54-38, and though UO freshman Katie Fiso hit two buckets during a 10-2 run that got the deficit back to single digits, Oregon got no closer the rest of the way.

"We hung in there, but ultimately we've just got to make shots," Kelly said. "That's what's going to beat really good teams like this. But for our defense to allow us to hang around as long as we did, all the way to the end, that speaks volumes."

Up Next: The Ducks host Washington on Wednesday (6 p.m., B1G+).