The word of the day for Oregon women’s basketball was ‘sweep’ after the Ducks lost the second game in just three days against in-state rival No. 11 Oregon State.

Oregon fell Sunday 77-48 within the friendly confines of Matthew Knight Arena.

“They have a tremendous basketball program, they are every bit deserving of their ranking,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said. “What impresses me is they really don’t have any weaknesses.”

The start of the game was sloppy for both teams, as no one could find a rhythm. Unforced turnovers, missed shots and off-ball collisions marred the flow of play.

Oregon State began to work the ball down low, feeding the post to get things going. The Ducks tried to do the same, though with Beaver center Ruth Hamblin that is a tough prospect at best.

Just like in Corvallis, Hamblin contained Oregon star junior Jillian Alleyne, who looked flustered at times during the game. Alleyne was forced away from her usual spots, taking shots further from the basket. She finished 7-17 with 16 points.

“I don’t think we played any better than we did over there,” Alleyne said. “I think we need to step it up on defense, we just have to toughen up.”

While the shots were tough to come by, Alleyne picked up her usual amount of rebounds, finishing with 18. Her double-double broke a rare two game dry spell where she was unable to collect one.

To go along with her strong defense in the paint, Hamblin also had an effect on the offensive end, finishing with 23 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

“I just took my time and was more poised in the post,” Hamblin said. “I just relaxed and played my own game.”

At the 10-minute mark of the first half, Oregon trailed 16-4. Things got worse for the Ducks, who shot 8-32 (.250) and had 10 turnovers in the first. The score at the break was 33-16, the same margin as Friday’s game.

To start the second Oregon freshman Lexi Bando nailed a three pointer to get things going. The Ducks began to move the ball better, finding open teammates and playing with a confidence that seemed to be lacking earlier in the contest.

A bright spot for the Ducks was the play of sophomore guard Drea Toler off the bench. She made strong drives into the lane, finishing tough shots and finding open teammates with the pass.

“She gives us something different, gives us that speed to break the defense down,” coach Graves said. “She is going to get more playing time, I guarantee you that.”

Toler finished with four points and four assists.

Despite the better effort in the second, Oregon couldn’t keep up with the Beavers. Oregon State looked polished out on the court, getting pretty much any shot they wanted. The Ducks limped through the final minutes, losing the game.

“The good thing is we’re done with them, we don’t have to see them again for the rest of the season,” coach Graves said. “Hopefully we can build on this weekend and get better for the next.”

The next slate of conference games for Oregon is against the two Washington schools — Huskies on Friday and Cougars on Sunday.

Follow Christopher Keizur on Twitter @chriskeizur