Two historic women's basketball programs met when the Oregon Ducks hosted the Iowa Hawkeyes in a low-scoring, defensively-minded Big Ten matchup. While the Ducks didn't have legends like Sabrina Ionescu or Satou Sabally and the Hawkeyes didn't have stars like Caitlin Clark or Kate Martin, the game was one for the books as Oregon fought back from a halftime deficit.
With a 10-point point differential as the two teams headed to their locker rooms, head coach Kelly Graves and the Ducks had quite a bit to work on in the second half.
Led by a 12-point performance from senior center Phillipina Kyei, Oregon surged back to life in the second half and ended up defeating the Hawkeyes 50-49 by the end of regulation.
OUR HOUSE! pic.twitter.com/pAQ3Oy3gai
— Oregon Women’s Basketball (@OregonWBB) January 19, 2025
Kyei, alongside her 12 points, contributed 5 rebounds, 1 block, 1 assist, and 1 steal to the Ducks' stat line. Transfer guard Deja Kelly had a dominant performance off the glass with 6 rebounds of her own while scoring 10 points and dishing out 3 assists.
Oregon's bench players outscored Iowa's subs by just 2 points which ended up being the difference in the conference matchup as the Ducks who subbed into the game combined for 14 points while Hawkeyes who came off the bench scored just 12 points in total.
After the game, Kelly gave the crowd at Matthew Knight Arena a big shoutout, saying that the win was "Thanks to our 6th man! The energy in MKA was ELECTRIC!!! Need y’all to pack the house again this Friday!"
Oregon will host the Indiana Hoosiers on Friday, Jan. 24 for their third-straight home matchup – which will hopefully turn into their third-straight home victory. The Ducks improved to 12-1 at home with the win over the Hawkeyes and 14-5 overall with a 5-3 conference record.
On Jan. 24, the Ducks and the Hoosiers are scheduled to tip off from Matthew Knight Arena at 6 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on B1G+.