Oregon women’s basketball locks down UC Irvine for second straight win

To wrap up non-conference play, Oregon women’s basketball picked up its second straight win with a 71-43 victory over UC Irvine on Thursday night at Matthew Knight Arena.

The Ducks (9-3, 0-1 Big Ten) were led by freshman guard Katie Fiso with 11 points. Fiso was recently away from the team for a stretch due to the sudden passing of her father, and she put in a complete performance for Oregon in the blowout win Thursday.

Supplementing Fiso in the scoring department was Alexis Whitfield (10 points) and Peyton Scott (nine points). 10 different Ducks scored on a night when they held UC Irvine to just 25% shooting.

It was an ugly start from the field for both teams, as the Anteaters and Ducks combined to shoot 0-11 to begin the night. Oregon scored the first basket of the game nearly five minutes in, a layup by Sarah Rambus.

A 14-0 run by the Ducks broke the game open, however, with a three-pointer by Scott making it 15-3 Oregon.

Midway through the second quarter, spreading the ball around and getting quality looks, Oregon extended its lead to 27-7 with a 9-0 run. At that point, the Ducks’ shooting percentage ticked up to 44% while the Anteaters were shooting just 6%.

In the process, Scott surpassed 2,000 points for her collegiate career, stretching between her time at Miami (Ohio) and Oregon. She became the eighth active player to reach that mark.

The Ducks relented slightly in the late second quarter, allowing a 7-0 run to cut their lead down to 34-18. They led at the half, 36-20.

Scott got right back to work in the second half, nailing a three-pointer on the opening possession to give Oregon a 39-20 lead.

The Ducks went cold, though, going more than five minutes without a basket as the quarter waned on. But a 12-0 run over a four-minute span to end the third quarter gave Oregon a 55-29 lead heading into the fourth.

Fiso controlled the fourth quarter with mostly substitutes in the game for both teams, hitting her fifth basket to get into double-digit scoring on the night. The Ducks maintained a significant advantage down the stretch and walked away with another lop-sided home win.

It was a holiday sendoff for the Ducks as well, with head coach Kelly Graves rocking a Christmas sweater that featured a rubber ducky wearing a Santa hat.

Next game: Oregon (9-3, 0-1 Big Ten) at Illinois (9-2, 0-1)

• When: Saturday, Dec. 28
• Time: 12 p.m. PT
• Where: State Farm Center — Champaign, Illinois
• TV: B1G+
• Radio: Oregon Sports Network

— Ryan Clarke covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten Conference. Listen to the Ducks Confidential podcast or subscribe to the Ducks Roundup newsletter.