Thursday, March 6
Indianapolis, Ind.
9 a.m.
University of Oregon
19-11,10-8Big Ten
62
vs
78
Indiana
19-11,10-8Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Indiana
23
17
16
22
78
Oregon
11
19
18
14
62
Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Slow Start Hurts Ducks In Tournament Loss
03/06/25 | Women's Basketball
Turnovers put Oregon in an early hole and the Ducks couldn't dig all the way out in a loss to Indiana on Thursday.
INDIANAPOLIS — A few days of scoreboard watching is at hand for the Oregon women's basketball team.
The Ducks entered the Big Ten Tournament on the right side of the March Madness bubble. They hope to remain there when the NCAA Tournament field is announced, despite losing in the second round of the conference tournament Thursday to Indiana, 78-62.
As of Thursday morning, Charlie Creme of ESPN had the Ducks as one of his "last four byes" into the 68-team NCAA Tournament field. Results from conference tournaments around the country will help determine if Oregon maintains that status.
"We've had a nice year," UO coach Kelly Graves said. "We've had some really quality wins, we play in a great conference, we were the eight seed in that conference tournament. I'd like to think our résumé can stand up — but there's not a whole lot we can do about it now."
The UO women (19-11) got out to a slow start Thursday, falling behind by as many as 13 in the first quarter and only cutting the deficit to as few as five, late in the third. Early turnovers by Oregon fueled Indiana's hot start, and the Hoosiers hit 11 three-pointers to keep the Ducks from closing the gap.
"From the jump we were just pretty stagnant overall, didn't get a lot of movement," UO senior Deja Kelly said. "We overall took some tough shots; I took some shots. I think we weren't really definitive with what we needed to do on the offensive end until late."
Peyton Scott had 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists to lead the Ducks, and Ehis Etute provided a spark off the bench with 14 points — eight during the second quarter, when the Ducks stabilized themselves after their slow start. Sarah Rambus and Kelly had seven points each, and Kelly added five rebounds with five assists.
How It Happened: The Ducks scored first on a jumper by Nani Falatea, but Indiana tied it up moments later and then broke it open with help from UO turnovers — after the Hoosiers tied it, 2-2, Oregon had turnovers on six of its next eight possessions. The UO women allowed a 10-0 run with all 10 points scored off turnovers as Indiana opened up a 15-4 lead.
"They came out the aggressor," Scott said. "We kind of fell to that, as you see in those turnovers. … Mentally I feel like we weren't locked in with what we were supposed to do and we just let them be the aggressors."
A couple of late threes helped Indiana take a 23-11 lead into the second quarter. It was 34-20 when Etute scored eight straight for Oregon, getting her team back within 38-28. The teams then traded baskets and the Ducks trailed 40-30 at halftime.
Indiana's second three-pointer of the second half made it 48-35, but the Ducks held the Hoosiers scoreless for the next 2:20. Sofia Bell hit a three-pointer during a 7-0 run during that stretch, as Oregon finally got the deficit back into single digits. A jumper from Rambus got the Ducks within 53-48 late in the period, but Indiana answered with yet another three to close the quarter.
"We just never got them uncomfortable, and that's why they shot it so well tonight," Graves said.
Two buckets by Scott early in the fourth kept the deficit in single digits. She scored again with 6:15 left to make it 63-55, but the Ducks then went scoreless for nearly 4 minutes and Indiana mounted a 13-0 run to solidify its advantage.
Up Next: The NCAA Tournament field will be announced Sunday, March 16 (5 p.m., ESPN).
The Ducks entered the Big Ten Tournament on the right side of the March Madness bubble. They hope to remain there when the NCAA Tournament field is announced, despite losing in the second round of the conference tournament Thursday to Indiana, 78-62.
As of Thursday morning, Charlie Creme of ESPN had the Ducks as one of his "last four byes" into the 68-team NCAA Tournament field. Results from conference tournaments around the country will help determine if Oregon maintains that status.
"We've had a nice year," UO coach Kelly Graves said. "We've had some really quality wins, we play in a great conference, we were the eight seed in that conference tournament. I'd like to think our résumé can stand up — but there's not a whole lot we can do about it now."
The UO women (19-11) got out to a slow start Thursday, falling behind by as many as 13 in the first quarter and only cutting the deficit to as few as five, late in the third. Early turnovers by Oregon fueled Indiana's hot start, and the Hoosiers hit 11 three-pointers to keep the Ducks from closing the gap.
"From the jump we were just pretty stagnant overall, didn't get a lot of movement," UO senior Deja Kelly said. "We overall took some tough shots; I took some shots. I think we weren't really definitive with what we needed to do on the offensive end until late."
Peyton Scott had 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists to lead the Ducks, and Ehis Etute provided a spark off the bench with 14 points — eight during the second quarter, when the Ducks stabilized themselves after their slow start. Sarah Rambus and Kelly had seven points each, and Kelly added five rebounds with five assists.
How It Happened: The Ducks scored first on a jumper by Nani Falatea, but Indiana tied it up moments later and then broke it open with help from UO turnovers — after the Hoosiers tied it, 2-2, Oregon had turnovers on six of its next eight possessions. The UO women allowed a 10-0 run with all 10 points scored off turnovers as Indiana opened up a 15-4 lead.
"They came out the aggressor," Scott said. "We kind of fell to that, as you see in those turnovers. … Mentally I feel like we weren't locked in with what we were supposed to do and we just let them be the aggressors."
A couple of late threes helped Indiana take a 23-11 lead into the second quarter. It was 34-20 when Etute scored eight straight for Oregon, getting her team back within 38-28. The teams then traded baskets and the Ducks trailed 40-30 at halftime.
Indiana's second three-pointer of the second half made it 48-35, but the Ducks held the Hoosiers scoreless for the next 2:20. Sofia Bell hit a three-pointer during a 7-0 run during that stretch, as Oregon finally got the deficit back into single digits. A jumper from Rambus got the Ducks within 53-48 late in the period, but Indiana answered with yet another three to close the quarter.
"We just never got them uncomfortable, and that's why they shot it so well tonight," Graves said.
Two buckets by Scott early in the fourth kept the deficit in single digits. She scored again with 6:15 left to make it 63-55, but the Ducks then went scoreless for nearly 4 minutes and Indiana mounted a 13-0 run to solidify its advantage.
Up Next: The NCAA Tournament field will be announced Sunday, March 16 (5 p.m., ESPN).
Team Stats
IND
Oregon
FG%
.446
.400
3FG%
.440
.500
FT%
.944
.824
RB
29
34
TO
12
18
STL
6
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ 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
