Dominant First Half Fuels Oregon Ducks in Commanding Win Over UCLA Bruins

Oregon (17-8 ,10-4 Pac-12) entered Wednesday's game in need of a win after dropping Sunday's rivalry game to Oregon State. The Ducks were tied with Arizona for second place and faced off against former Duck Angela Dugalic, who suited up for UCLA after transferring.

First Quarter

The Ducks got off to a fast start, thanks in large part to a great defensive effort from Te-Hina Paopao, who had a pair of steals in the first minute. Paopao and Maddie Scherr got the scoring started with a pair of three-pointers and Charisma Osborne fired off a deep three of her own to get the Bruins going.

Turnovers plagued UCLA in the first quarter, with six turnovers in just the first eight minutes. Endyia Rogers ensured the Ducks capitalized, launching a pair of threes to extend the Ducks lead to 18-7 with 1:50 remaining. UCLA's offense was ineffective early, relying mainly on shots in the post and Oregon led 20-9 at the end of the opening quarter.

Endyia Rogers vs. UCLA

Second quarter

Graves said he made a decision before the game to play 12 players, and Shannon Dufficy continued to see some more minutes. You could see why she was getting more invovled with a crafty pass to Nyara Sabally who finished with a layup.

Paopao was taking it to the Bruins and created space by shaking off her defender with an in-and-out dribble, which led to a floater. She finished with ten points and four assists to go with six rebounds in the first half. UCLA finally cracked double digits with 6:59 left in the second quarter after a jumper from Dominique Onu.

The Ducks kept their foot on the gas with another jumper from Scherr, and Sedona Prince had the turnaround jumper falling in the first half. UCLA just couldn't get into a rhythm on offense, with Osborne (5 pts) and Onu (7 pts) serving as the main scorers the first half.

The Ducks led 40-20 heading into the locker room.

Third quarter

UCLA looked like it finally woke up in the second half with better ball movement and well-rounded scoring. Prince continued to have a strong showing, getting active in the paint on both ends and more involved overall. Graves emphasized her importance in the big-picture following the game, saying the Ducks need her and Sabally to be rolling to get the team where it wants to go.

Scherr, the team's best defender, was getting into a bit of foul trouble, logging her third foul midway through the quarter. Oregon's three-point shooting played a big role in building a lead, converting at a 8-17 clip compared to UCLA at 2-12 , as the Ducks led 54-44 through three.

Fourth Quarter

UCLA continued to claw back from their 20-point halftime deficit, cutting Oregon's lead to 10 for much of the fourth. The Ducks were getting sloppy with the ball and that led to some much easier buckets on the other end for the Bruins.

Angela Dugalic fouled out with about 3:30 to go, finishing with four points in her return to Eugene. Paopao and Rogers had the pick and roll working to perfection with Sabally, which led to easy and open looks down low.

Nyara Sabally vs. UCLA

Oregon went on to win 67-53 over UCLA, who now sits at 11-10 as they battle for an NCAA Tournament birth.

The Ducks will be back in action against the California Golden Bears on Friday night in Eugene.

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