Oregon Ducks Lose to Indiana Hoosiers in Big Ten Tournament: NCAA Tournament Hopes Loom

The Oregon Ducks fell to the Indiana Hoosiers 78-62 in the second round of the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament on Thursday. Costly turnovers kept the Ducks out of striking distance for the majority of the game. They will now sweat it out on Selection Sunday to see if they receive an at-large bid.

Oregon Ducks guard Deja Kelly (25) rushes past Indiana Hoosiers guard Lexus Bargesser (1) on Thursday, March 6, 2025, during the Big Ten women's tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Oregon Ducks were eliminated from the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament on Thursday morning at the hands of the Indiana Hoosiers, 78-62. Oregon was careless with the ball for most of the game and committed 18 turnovers. The Ducks leading scorer was Peyton Scott with 16 points.

Oregon and Indiana are on the NCAA Tournament bubble according to the latest bracketology projection by ESPN. As of Monday, the Ducks and Hoosiers are the "Last Four Byes" of the bubble. Meaning that they are both among eight of the last teams in his projected field. Oregon will now be on edge during Selection Sunday as they no longer control their own destiny. It's in the committee's hands now.

Oregon’s Deja Kelly, left, Peyton Scott and Nani Falatea join the tam on the court before their game against Rutgers at Matthew Knight Arena Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025 in Eugene, Oregon. / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oregon coach Kelly Graves is looking to the Ducks back to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time and the 14th time in his career.

Oregon finishes their season with a 19-11 overall record.

Indiana improves to 19-11 on the season and will face the No. 1 seeded USC Trojans in the quarterfinals on Friday.

---

Fourth Quarter

End of Fourth Quarter: Indiana 78, Oregon 62.

3:57: Indiana 71, Oregon 55. Indiana takes their largest lead of the game with 3:57 left. Looking like Oregon's stay in their first Big Ten tournament will last all but two hours.

4:49: Indiana 67, Oregon 55. Indiana is 8-0 this season when making 10 or more three-pointers. They have made 11 thus far. It's going to be a tall task for the Ducks to get all the way back.

Third Quarter

End of Third Quarter: Indiana 56, Oregon 48. Sofia Bell knocked down three to cut the lead down to single digits; Ducks got lead down to five. More careless Ducks turnovers keeping Oregon at an arm's reach from Indiana through three quarters. Hoosiers are begging the Ducks to get back in this thing with tunrovers themselves. Indiana coach Teri Moren has been fuming on the sideline for a solid five minutes.

5:15: Indiana, 48, Oregon 37. Countless missed shots in the paint for Oregon keeping them just out of striking distance. A positive is that they keep getting to the free throw line and are shooting 12 of 15 from the stripe.

8:32: Indiana 43, Oregon 30. Indiana starting forward Karoline Striplin draws her fourth foul with over nine minutes to go in the quarter. Hoosiers knock down a three right after to get the second half scoring underway.

Second Quarter

End of Second Quarter: Indiana 40, Oregon 30. Oregon cuts the lead down to 10 heading into the halftime break on a Peyton Scott mid range jumper at the buzzer. Off the bench, Ehis Etutue is leading all Oregon scorers with 10 points. Some good news for Oregon is that the Hoosiers are dealing with foul trouble. They have three players with three fouls.

3:04: Indiana 36, Oregon 22. Deja Kelly picked up her second foul in the opening seconds of the quarter and Kelly Graves pulled her. Ducks are doing a better job taking care of the ball but are missing some layups inside. On the defensive end, the Oregon is starting to allow easy buckets in the paint. Indiana's Shay Ciezki is the game's leading scorer with 15 points.

First Quarter

End of First Quarter: Indiana 23, Oregon 11. Indiana is lighting it up from deep. Hoosiers shoot 5/10 from three point land and lead by 12. The Ducks have allowed 13 Indiana points directly off of their seven turnvovers.

4:13: Indiana 15, Oregon 4; Ducks start Amina Muhammad, Phillipina Kyei, Deja Kelly, Peyton Scott, and Nani Falatea. Turnovers have been a killer for Oregon in the opening five minutes. They already have seven and Indiana is capitalizing off of them. Ducks down. 15-4. Bad, bad start!

PREGAME

• The Ducks have landed and have begun practice in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Conference tournament.

• The Oregon women's basketball team got to have a little fun while in Indianapolis, attending a Houston Rockets vs. Indiana Pacers game and posing in a photo with former Oregon Duck Dillon Brooks.

• According to GoDucks reporter Rob Moseley, Oregon coach Kelly Graves addressed the team in their film session with some motivation ahead of the Indiana matchup.

"It's tournament time, you guys," said Graves. "We need everybody dialed in. The focus has gotta go up, and that starts today in practice."

MORE: What 5-Star Quarterback Recruit Ryder Lyons Said About Oregon Ducks' Dan Lanning, Will Stein

MORE: Oregon Ducks' Dillon Gabriel NFL Draft Projection After Combine Workout

MORE: Oregon Ducks' Dillon Gabriel Addresses Height Concerns At NFL Combine

feed