Oregon Womens Basketball Wins at Penn State 63-61!

[Charles Fischer]

I have to admit...after last year, and all the women transferring out--this season has gone much better thus far than I thought it would.  Good for them!

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 Kelly’s Game-Winner Lifts Ducks at Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Road wins in the Big Ten are hard to come by, especially ones that take place over 2,000 miles from home.

The Oregon women’s basketball team withstood Penn State’s second-half comeback bid, as Deja Kelly knocked down the go-ahead jumper with 4.1 seconds on the clock to give the Ducks a 63-61 win Thursday at Bryce Jordan Center.

The Ducks (12-4, 3-2) led by as many as 17 points in the second half, only to see Penn State rally furiously to tie the score at 61 with 1:40 to play. With the score still sitting at 61-61 in the final minute, Kelly isolated her defender and used a Phillipina Kyei screen to get an open pull-up jumper at the free throw line.

“That’s one of the reasons we brought Deja in, to make those kind of big shots, and she did it,” said UO head coach Kelly Graves.

Her jumper fell with 4.1 second left and then the UO defense swarmed the Nittany Lions on the other end, not giving PSU a decent look at its game-winning 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

 

“We wanted to run a little weave action and get the ball to Deja, and just a side ball screen up in the slot,” Graves said of the winning play. “She (was able to) create some separation and take the shot.”

Kelly led the Ducks with 15 points, leading three starters in double figures. Kyei added 12 points and eight rebounds, while Nani Falatea scored all 10 of her points in the second half on 4-of-6 shooting.

UO’s defense forced 24 turnovers behind 11 steals, helping the Ducks to 21 points off turnovers. Oregon shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half, shooting 75 percent in the third quarter (9-for-12) but just 25 percent in the final period (3-for-12).

How It Happened: The Ducks scored the first four points of the game in opening an early 12-2 lead, with six points coming from Amina Muhammad in that span, forcing an early Penn State timeout. Oregon connected on four of its first six field goals, with three coming from Muhammad. Muhammad and Sarah Rambus each dropped six points in the quarter to stake UO to a 20-14 lead after 10 minutes.

Oregon forced seven PSU turnovers in the quarter while not committing a single turnover, resulting in a 6-0 edge in points off turnovers.

An eight-point Duck run pushed the lead to 15 in the second quarter, 31-16, but the Nittany Lions scored the next nine to trim the deficit to six before a Kelly triple stopped the run. Penn State finished the half by scoring 11 of the final 14 points, with the Ducks taking a 34-27 lead into the locker room.

 

Four Ducks finished with at least six points in the half, paced by Kelly’s seven. UO limited PSU to 10-for-28 shooting in the half while hitting on 14-of-33 field goals. The Nittany Lions owned a 23-13 rebounding edge, but Oregon outscored PSU 20-12 in the paint.

Oregon hit on seven of its first eight field goals of the third quarter, including three from Falatea and two by Kelly as part of a 15-2 run to begin the half. A 3-pointer by Falatea gave UO a 49-32 lead to hand the Ducks their largest lead of the game.

Again the Nittany Lions responded, this time by outscoring UO 13-5 to finish the third, cutting the Ducks’ lead to 54-45 going to the fourth. Falatea scored nine points on 4-of-4 shooting while Kelly added six points to lead a UO offense that shot 75 percent in the quarter.

A 10-point PSU spurt to begin the fourth quarter gave the Nittany Lions their first lead of the game, 55-54, midway through the frame. A Kyei layup snapped the run and marked UO’s first points of the quarter, coming with 4:46 to play.

The teams exchanged the lead in the fourth quarter six times, and the score stood tied at 61 after a Penn State layup with 1:40 on the clock. The score remained 61-61 in the closing seconds, when Kelly used a Kyei screen to get an open look at the free throw line, knocking down the go-ahead shot with 4.1 to play.

“Down the stretch I thought we did some good stuff,” added Graves. “We got the right shots … We just kind of made some uncharacteristic dumb turnovers in that second half that I think changed the game and gave them a chance.”

Up Next: The Ducks finish their road trip Sunday at No. 9 Ohio State (10 a.m. PT, B1G+).

 

[30Duck]

Great basketball day for the Ducks!

[Grandpa Duck]

I recognize that folks are unhappy about the settlement money going to WSU and OS, but when I see a B1G football championship and today’s men BB win vs. tOSU and women BB vs Penn State, the process of getting to where we are was worth whatever it cost.  Oregon fans are so much better off enjoying where we are than we were two years ago in the PAC-12 it isn’t even close.  Part of this great basketball day for the Ducks is the names of the teams we beat.