Preseason WNIT: Oregon Ducks Do Little Things Right, Still Lose vs Louisville
The Oregon Ducks Women’s Basketball team suffered their first defeat of the season vs Louisville in the Preseason WNIT Final 74-61.
Oregon faced a defensive minded Louisville team on the road and kept things close through most of the 1st Quarter. The Cardinals built a 23-14 lead and never looked back in the game. The Ducks fought back, and the only quarter they won was the 4th, 15-13 in their first loss of the season to the number five team in the country.
The Ducks shot a respectable 44 percent from the floor and had 11 steals in the game. Oregon did the little things right and also out rebounded Louisville 29-27. The Cardinals had three teams in double figures led by experienced Asia Durr who hit on 10 of 18 from the floor and had 26 points for the game. When Oregon thought they had an answer, she was the one player that posed more questions than answers on Sunday.
After a phenomenal start to the season, and mind you, losing to a team ranked higher is expected sometimes, the Oregon Ducks and Kelly Graves have been given something to focus on for the rest of the season. Defending a player like Durr is what other teams see as ‘trying to Defend Sabrina Ionescu’.
The in-game experience for the Oregon Players will be invaluable the rest of this season. Louisville had a full house to watch the Championship game for the Preseason WNIT. Despite the loss, Sabrina Ionescu had two triple-doubles in the tournament and Ruthy Hebard scored in double figures in all four tournament games.
Next: Oregon Football: Three Ducks Accept Senior Bowl Invites
Oregon and Eastern Washington tipoff at 6 pm Pacific Time from Matthew Knight Arena.