Utah State women's basketball (2-1) lost, 88-58, to No. 3 Oregon (3-0) on Wednesday in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
Junior guard/forward Shannon Dufficy posted her second double-double of the season and 24th of her career with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Senior guard Rachel Brewster also scored in double figures with 12 points, while junior guard Eliza West dished out a game-high six assists.
Junior guard Olivia West tied the game at 5-5 with a 3-pointer with 8:29 left in the first quarter. Oregon responded with a 14-2 run to lead, 19-7, with 3:46 remaining in the quarter. A triple from freshman guard Steph Gorman and a Dufficy layup trimmed the lead to seven, 19-12, with 2:55 on the clock. The Ducks then extended the advantage, leading 30-16 at the end of the first.
The Aggies opened the second quarter with a pair of layups from Dufficy and junior guard/forward Hailey Bassett-Meacham to bring the lead down to 10, 30-20, with 8:39 left in the second period. Oregon, however, extended its edge to 20 on three separate occasions, leading 49-29 at the half.
Dufficy again opened the quarter with a layup to bring the score to 49-31 with 9:45 left to play in the third. After some back-and-forth action between the two teams, Oregon used a 10-0 run to lead, 67-39, with 2:09 remaining. A Dufficy triple and a pair of free throws from Eliza West cut the lead to 23, 67-44, but a pair of Duck free throws put Oregon at the 69-44 advantage heading into the final stanza.
Dufficy scored the opening points of the quarter once again with a 3-pointer to make it a 22-point game, 69-47, with 9:48 to go. After an Eliza West layup brought the score to 71-49 with 8:05 to play, Oregon used an 8-0 run to lead, 79-49, with just less than five minutes remaining. Oregon maintained its lead for the remainder of the quarter. Three made free throws in a row from Gorman trimmed the lead, 84-58, with 1:24 to play, but the Ducks made two final layups to win, 88-58.
Five Ducks scored in double figures as junior forward Ruthy Hebard had 20, junior guard Sabrina Ionescu had 15, redshirt sophomore forward Erin Boley had 14, freshman guard Taylor Chavez had 13 and sophomore forward Satou Sabally had 12. Ionescu also led Oregon with 10 boards.
Utah State shot 38.3 percent (23-of-60) from the floor, 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from behind the arc and 100.0 percent (5-of-5) from the free-throw line. Oregon shot 55.6 percent (30-of-54) from the field, 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from the 3-point line and 87.5 percent (21-of-24) from the charity stripe.
Utah State women's basketball will hold its next Brown Baggers luncheon on Thursday, Nov. 15, at 11:45 a.m., in the Champ Room of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
The Aggies return to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Tuesday, Nov. 20, as the Aggies host in-state rival BYU (1-1) at 7 p.m.