The Ducks traveled down to California this weekend to face off against two of the best teams in the Pac-12 in the No. 6 ranked California and No. 4 ranked Stanford. Having won only two conference games this season while also sitting in last place in the Pac-12 standings, the Ducks have done nothing but disappoint in a season that has been plagued with injuries and chemistry issues and tonight marked simply marked another loss for a team that is unsure where to go with the remainder of their season. With the win, the Bears improved to 14-1 in conference play, while the Ducks fell to 2-13. The Ducks continued their struggles on the offensive end tonight and it resulted in yet another blowout loss as they fell to the Bears 77-55.
For the Ducks, it was the same old story of not being able to score enough baskets to stay in the game. The Ducks as a team shot a combined 25.4 percent from the field and only managed to score 21 field goals. With low scoring outputs on the offensive end, the Ducks have struggled to get any sort of rhythm going in their games and as a direct result, scoring droughts have become a big advantage for opposing teams.
The game began with what seems to becoming a trend as the Ducks went scoreless in the first five minuets of the game. California jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead and it if weren’t for Alleyne’s pair of free-throws at the 15 minuet mark, the Ducks could have been in a serious hole from the beginning of the game. But the Ducks managed to climb back after a Galland three midway through the first half as they found themselves in a manageable 14-10 game with just over nine minuets to go. To close out the half, the Golden Bears went on a commanding 11-2 run as they gave themselves a comfortable 30-21 lead heading into the half. Leading up to the run, the Ducks were actually within a couple points for most of the half, but couldn’t keep it up heading down the latter stretch of the half as they continue to give up crucial big runs throughout their games.
The second half started off with a promise on the Oregon side as the two teams began to trade baskets. With just under 17 minuets to play in the second half, the Ducks were only down seven after a Jordan Loera three and seemed to finally get things to fall on offense. It wasn’t before a 12-2 California run with at the 11 minuet mark that the Ducks resigned to their old selves. The Golden Bears managed to extend their lead to 24 points at one point in the second half and despite the Ducks efforts to close the gap, the Golden Bears simply continued to fend off every attempt at a run and in the end result, another blowout loss was formed.
Leading the way tonight was freshman Devyn Galland, who was the only Duck to reach double-digits in scoring with seven of her 10 points came from the free-throw line. Jordan Loera had herself a solid outing as well as she finished the game with nine points and a team high eight rebounds. Nothing went right for the Ducks tonight and it just happened to be against a very good California ball club.
The Golden Bears were led by Layshia Clarendon who had a team high 14 points. California had a total of four players (including Clarendon) who finished in the double-digits in scoring: Afure Jemerigbe (13points), Talia Caldwell (10 points) and Gennifer Brandon (10 points) as they controlled both ends of the floor. The Golden Bears also had a huge rebounding edge over the Ducks at 51-37 and their 16 total offensive rebounds also led to a lot of second chance points that definitely hurt the Ducks heading down the stretch.
Turning point: After cutting the lead to seven points midway through the second half, the Ducks allowed California to go on a 12-2 tear. This not only halted the little offensive flow that the Ducks had going for them, but it also gave the Golden Bears the strong advantage that they were looking for throughout the entire game. That basically ended the game right then and there as the Ducks added another loss to their season.
On the horizon: The Ducks will resume play this Sunday as they get set to face off against No. 4 ranked Stanford in Palo Alto, CA. Tip off is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will air on the Pac-12 Network. For all news and recaps following the game, check back here at the Emerald.