Oregon had its best chance since Kelly Graves was hired in 2014 to snap its Civil War losing streak.

The Ducks rallied from 10 points down to trail by two points with 43 seconds remaining but No. 11 Oregon State’s stout defense kept the Ducks from scoring additional points, dropping a close 43-40 battle. With the win, the Beavers extended their Civil War winning streak t0 12 games.

The Ducks (14-7, 4-5 Pac-12) play the Beavers again on Sunday in Corvallis.

“Against a legit Final Four contender you’ve got to play 40 minutes,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “You can’t play 36, 37, 38 and a half minutes, you’ve got to play 40 minutes.”

Ionescu hit a jumper to give the Ducks a 37-36 lead but Oregon State scored six consecutive points to make it a 42-37 lead.

Lexi Bando scored her first points of the game — and Oregon’s first 3-pointer — to cut the OSU lead to 42-40. Oregon State didn’t score on the ensuing possession but the Beavers tipped a pass from Maite Cazorla and Katie McWilliams hit a free throw to record the game’s final points.

“We had our chances, just didn’t finish it,” Graves said. “First time this year we lost a close game. It’s normally something we’ve done well.”

Ionescu led the Ducks in scoring with 14 points and six rebounds. Ruthy Hebard had 11 rebounds and five points while Cazorla finished with 12 points in 37 minutes of play.

The Ducks held the visitors to 6-of-17 shooting in the first half for a 17-13 halftime lead. The Beavers shot a combined 30.2 percent from the field and were 5-of-19 from 3-point range.

“Outside the three or four minutes in the third quarter, I think it was the most complete defensive game we’ve played since I’ve been here are the University of Oregon,” Graves said.

The Ducks played before 4,370 fans, the largest crowd at Matthew Knight Arena since Graves was hired. It was also the third largest crowd for a women’s game at MKA.

“The energy was crazy in there,” Ionescu said. “It’s something that I’ve never experienced in high school or internationally or anywhere.”

The Beavers outscored the Ducks 20-8 during the third quarter to take a relatively commanding lead, 33-25. The visitors went on 11-0 run highlighted by a 3-pointer from Sydney Wiese, who led the Beavers in scoring with 12 points. Oregon State after the game said it focused on playing inside-out to jump start the offense.

“A lot of the first half was outside shots that usually go down for us but weren’t going down tonight,” Oregon State’s Gabby Hanson said. “That’s OK because we can change it up.”

Oregon opened the game with the first two buckets and led 10-5 over the visitors after Ionescu, who had eight points at halftime, drained a bucket. The Beavers took their first lead of the game, 13-12, after Kolbie Orum scored.

Oregon State coach Scott Rueck said both teams should be proud of their defensive efforts.

“Obviously it had a ton of intensity to it,” Rueck said of the game. “It definitely had a rivalry feel. I was really proud of my team for defending the way we did and being committed to it and executing and making the plays we needed to finish it out.”

The Ducks and Beavers have a quick turnaround for Sunday’s 11 a.m. tipoff in Corvallis. Graves said he wants his team to attack the post more on Sunday. Hebard and Mallory McGwire combined for seven points on Friday.

“They just wall up, make you shoot over the top of them, position their body well, they’re strong, and we didn’t handle it very well,” Graves said. “We’ve got to shoot a little bit better. I think we will.

“This whole year has been a learning process for us. We’re going to get better and we’re going to play better Sunday.”

 Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne

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