Grand Canyon vs Oregon | NCAA Women's Basketball | 11.16.23

PHOENIX - Oregon picked up its first road win of the season, getting 21 points from Grace VanSlooten and a double-double from Phillipina Kyei to earn a 64-56 win over Grand Canyon Thursday night at GCU Arena.
Kyei turned in her third straight double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds to pair with VanSlooten's season-high point total. VanSlooten was a rebound shy of her second consecutive double-double, while Chance Gray added 11 points and set career highs in assists (7) and rebounds (6).
"You take 'em all," head coach Kelly Graves said after the game. "We certainly weren't our best tonight, especially offensively. We didn't shoot the ball that well, some of the players that typically get it done for us I thought struggled a bit from the field. But for the third game in a row now, we played good defense. We held them to about 30 percent from the field, which is great."
The Ducks shot just 3-for-14 from 3-point range, with freshman Sofia Bell accounting for all three 3-pointers for UO. But the Ducks did attempt 29 free throws, making 21 of those.
Oregon limited the GCU offense to 30.8 percent from the field, and 25.0 percent from deep (7-for-28). The Antelopes were just 1-for-10 from beyond the 3-point line in the first half without a trip to the free throw line.
How It Happened: Oregon's offense started slow, shooting 2-for-12 from the field in the first quarter in producing nine points, making 5-of-6 free throws. The Ducks' defense limited GCU to eight points on 4-of-17 shooting, as the teams combined for eight turnovers in the first frame.
A nine-point Duck run midway through the second quarter created a five-point edge at 18-13, and UO took a 25-19 halftime lead into the locker room. Oregon committed just two turnovers in the second quarter after recording six in the first, and limited the Lopes to 1-for-10 from 3-point range in the half.
VanSlooten scored a team-high seven points in the first half to go with four rebounds, while Gray added five points with two assists. UO owned a 21-16 rebound advantage in the first half and attempted nine free throws while GCU made zero trips to the free throw line in the half.
After hitting on just one 3-point try in the first half, the Lopes connected on 5-of-6 attempts in the third quarter. GCU shot 7-for-15 from the field in the quarter and put together an 11-1 run to trim UO's lead to 42-40 with under two minutes to play before Kyei converted an and-1 and Gray hit a pair of free throws to give the Ducks a seven-point lead headed to the final frame.
"We came out (of halftime) strong and built a nice little cushion and then they fought back, cut it to two and we showed some toughness at the end of the third quarter," added Graves. "So I'm pleased, we knew this was going to be a tough game. We relied on our defense tonight and down the stretch made the plays."
WBB at Grand Canyon
Kyei and VanSlooten each scored seven in the third, as did GCU's Tiarra Brown and Shay Fano. Kyei grabbed seven rebounds in the third, bringing her total to a dozen after three quarters.
The Ducks' run extended to 10 unanswered points after scoring the first five of the fourth, opening their largest lead of the night at 52-40. A 3-pionter by Naudia Evans cut the UO lead to 57-52, but Grand Canyon went without a field goal over the game's final 4:16.
Notable: Kennedy Basham, playing in her hometown with a number of family and friends in attendance, scored a career-high seven points (5-6 FT) … Kyei went over 500 career rebounds in the win (502) and turned in her 11th career double-double, moving her into a tie for 19th in program history … VanSlooten produced her sixth 20-point outing and 28th career game in double figures ... The Ducks snapped a six-game road losing skid, dating back to last season ... The game marked the first ever between UO and GCU.
Up Next: The Ducks return to Matthew Knight Arena to host Santa Clara on Saturday (12 p.m., UO Live Stream).

[@leelaural]

Grand Canyon played well.....