Eugene, OR – The Oregon Ducks women’s team took on undefeated Long Beach State (7-0) this afternoon at Matthew Knight Arena. The Ducks were coming off a close win at Portland while the 49ers last won by one point over Air Force. Oregon (5-3) held on in a close contest to hand the 49ers their first loss of the season. The 68-59 Oregon win was helped from a solid performance from Oregon’s point guard Maddie Scherr. Scherr played the entire game until fouling out with 47.3 seconds remaining. She contributed 12 points and added nine assists and seven rebounds but committed six turnovers. Ahlise Hurst led the game in scoring with 19 points, connecting on 5-of-8 3s. Justina King kept the visitors in the game, scoring 18 points on 8-of-19 from the field and hitting several mid-range jumpers to keep her team close.
Long Beach State was hindered by poor shooting through much of the game. They connected on only 2-of-13 three-pointers in the second half (6-of-21 overall) while shooting 3289 percent for the game. The Ducks were more efficient shooting 46.8 percent on the game while shooting a decent 7-of-16 from deep. The 49ers kept the game close by forcing Oregon into 21 turnovers. They committed only 11 and took 17 more shots from the field than the Ducks.
The first half was close throughout. Oregon held a 16-15 lead after the first quarter and went into halftime with a 30-26 lead after a driving lay-up from Scherr at the buzzer. Scherr led the game in scoring at the half with ten points. She made her only three-point attempt and added five rebounds and three assists while playing all 20 minutes. She was supported by fellow guard, Hurst, who added nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep. Taylor Hosendrove made here first appearance of the year after being cleared by the NCAA and contributed two points in two minutes. King led the visitors with ten first half points on 4-of-11 shooting.
Neither team shot well in the half with Long Beach State connecting on only 30.3 percent of their shots while the Ducks scored on 37.5 percent from the field. Rebounding was even while Oregon was forced into ten turnovers against only six for their opponents.
Hurst’s fifth three-pointer of the game, a step-back shot at the end of the shot clock gave the Ducks a 44-40 lead late in the third quarter. The Ducks went into the final stanza holding a 48-43 advantage after a Hurst layup off a cut, on a nice pass from Scherr. Oregon’s lead would have been greater if not for some bad passing that resulted in turnovers. They committed six in the quarter as opposed to three by the 49ers.
Oregon next plays McNeese State at home on Monday evening before heading to road contests against Kansas State and Northwestern.
This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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