STORRS, Conn. _ No. 4 UConn may have scored the first basket of the game, but No. 3 Oregon's 10 unanswered points to follow ultimately foreshadowed the domination the Ducks would establish from start-to-finish on the Huskies' home floor.
Oregon looked every bit a national-championship contender in its 74-56 win over UConn Monday night at Gampel Pavilion. UConn? Not so much. The Huskies fell behind by double-digits by the end of the first, and while they pulled within six toward the end of the second quarter, their defense couldn't get enough stops to slow down the most lethal offense in the country.
The loss marks UConn's second of the season. It was also the program's first loss at Gampel since January 2013 and its worst loss in the 30-year history of the building. The Huskies are now 0-2 against top-10 teams with No. 1 South Carolina looming Monday.
Oregon shot a blistering 48 percent, the best a UConn opponent has shot against the Huskies this season. While Ionescu was limited to 10, she was still effective and was only one rebound and one assist shy from her 24th-career triple-double.
Ruthy Hebard (22 points) and Satou Sabally (17) led the way for the Ducks, while Erin Boley chipped in 13 first-half points. All five Oregon starters finished with double figures.
UConn's offense was hit-or-miss on a night where it needed to be firing on all cylinders, ending the night with 39.3% shooting from the field. Crystal Dangerfield put up a valiant 19 points, while Anna Makurat was behind her with 13. No one UConn player reached double figures.
After Oregon's initial burst, UConn pulled within five towards the end of the quarter off a three from Walker. But Oregon scored the next five points, including a three at the buzzer from Sabally, to give the Ducks a 10-point lead at the end of the first.
Oregon went ahead by 13 early in the second before a slew of UConn three pointers, capped by one from Williams, made it a six-point game with 3:52 before the break. But Oregon ended the half on a 10-3 run to extend their lead to 13 again.
The game slipped away even more for the Huskies in the third, when Sabally's layup made it a 20-point game at the 3:13 mark. Though Walker and Makurat hit back-to-back threes to pull within 12 towards the end of the frame, consecutive fouls from Nelson-Ododa and Molly Bent allowed Oregon to climb back up by 15 before the period's end. UConn wouldn't pull closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
