In three of their last four losses, the Ducks have led at halftime.
But the Ducks have been unable to translate their effort to the second half. That’s both encouraging and discouraging for Oregon, coach Kelly Graves said.
The Ducks (11-4) put together their best half of the Pac-12 season against No. 11 Oregon State (12-3), but the Beavers rattled off a 35-20 margin after halftime to take their 11th straight win in the women’s basketball Civil War.
“I thought we came back on less than 48 hours after just getting worked at their place and showed some character today,” Graves said. “We came out, played well, played hard and did a lot of really good things.”
Oregon State held the Ducks to 26.9 percent shooting in the second half while the Beavers shot 47.8 percent. The Beavers also held the Ducks — the fifth-ranked 3-point shooting team in the NCAA — to one 3-pointer in four attempts. Oregon’s lone 3-pointer came from Mar’Shay Moore with 1:24 left to play.
Liz Brenner led the way for the Ducks with a season-high 13 points while freshman Maite Cazorla stepped up her game to tally 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Jillian Alleyne did not record a double-double, but had six points and 10 rebounds against the Oregon State inside defenders.
Alleyne said it was Oregon’s best showing against their in-state rivals in her four years in Eugene.
The Beavers led early at 9-2 and stretched their lead to 15-6 on a pair of free throws from Katie McWilliams, but Oregon began to rally. The Ducks cut the OSU lead to 15-12 after three straight buckets and took their first lead of the game at 20-19 after a jumper from Cazorla.
Oregon took a 22-19 lead after Lexi Petersen capped a 8-0 run with 2:20 left before halftime. Oregon State came back slightly to make it a one-point Duck lead at halftime (25-24). At intermission, the Ducks had a 14-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
In the third quarter, the Beavers outscored the Ducks 14-6 to take a 38-31 lead. OSU came out of halftime on a 7-0 run which was a part of a larger 14-4 run. A Brenner bucket stopped the Duck scoring drought.
With 3:59 left in the third, Jacinta Vandenberg picked up her fourth foul. That forced the Ducks to pull her out of the game and leave Alleyne to try and score against 6-foot-6 Ruth Hamblin.
“They are what they are,” Graves said. “They just do it really well. They don’t mistakes and keep coming at you. In that critical time, they just put the hammer down.”
The Beavers piled it on in the fourth quarter, notching their largest lead of 20 points with 3:46 remaining.
Oregon State held Lexi Bando and Lexi Petersen to four combined points. The Beavers won the rebounding battle (35-27) and Oregon had 11 steals to OSU’s four.
“We can play,” Graves said. “We just need to get that first win — the monkey off our back — and get going.”
The schedule doesn’t ease up for the Ducks with No. 9 Stanford and No. 21 California coming to town next weekend.
“We can take how hard we played in the first half and translate it to the next two games,” Alleyne said.
Oregon State’s offensive attack was led by Gabriella Hanson (12 points) and Hamblin (12 points). Jamie Weisner also had 11 points. Oregon State coach Scott Rueck admires the drive Alleyne has and the rivalry between Hamlin and Alleyne in the post.
“She brings out Ruth’s best because she’s really good,” Rueck said of Alleyne. “The rebounds that she kept alive tonight; it’s just amazing how much effort and energy she brings to every possession. We worked so hard not to make a mistake against her.”
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