Utah Women's Basketball Falls To No. 10 Oregon, 85-43

Sunday, December 6

Eugene, OR

12:00 PM

University of Utah

0-1,0-1Pac-12

Oregon

4-0,2-0Pac-12

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Utah	4	16	9	14	43
Oregon	20	25	21	19	85

Utah Women's Basketball Falls To No. 10 Oregon, 85-43

12/6/2020 2:37 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

EUGENE, Ore. – The Utah Women's Basketball program faced a high-powered Oregon team today in its season-opener with the Utes struggling to contain them defensively, falling 85-43 on the road to the No. 10 Ducks.

It was a tough start for the Utes as Oregon finished the first quarter on a 12-0 run, holding Utah to just four points in the first quarter. The Utes were able to find some rhythm offensively in the second quarter, but Oregon's sharp shooting continued, finishing the half making eight of their last 10 shots to take a 45-20 lead into halftime.

The Utes shot 30-percent from the floor in the first half and just 22-percent from the three with Oregon shooting 58-percent from the floor. Utah was able to force 10 turnovers in the first half, but committed 13 of its own with Oregon leading the points off turnovers battle at 11-2 in the first two quarters.

Utah found some offensive rhythm in the second half with a spark from Niyah Becker, who scored all 11 of her points in the third and fourth quarters, but the Utes were unable to close the gap against the Ducks.

Utah finished the game shooting 29-percent from the floor and an uncharacteristic 15-percent from the three, only knocking down four from beyond the arc. The Utes had just seven assists on 18 made baskets, also losing the paint battle 40-28.

GAME LEADERS
Becker led the Utes in points with 11 against the Ducks, finishing the game shooting 5-of-13 from the floor and 1-of-5 from the three, also grabbing two rebounds, two steals and an assist.

In her collegiate debut, freshman Kennady McQueen scored eight points, shooting 3-of-9 from the floor and 2-of-7 from the three, also dishing out one assist in the game. Andrea Torres and Brynna Maxwell added six points each with Torres and Lola Pendande tying for the team-high in rebounds with eight a piece.

Q4 | 7:18 | Oregon 76, Utah 32 Gylten > McQueen > For Three! Watch more on @Pac12Network. #GoUtes // #Elevate pic.twitter.com/HwpCQOaANb — Utah Women's Basketball (@UTAHWBB) December 6, 2020

TALKING ABOUT THE GAME: HEAD COACH LYNNE ROBERTS
"Oregon is a really good team and they were clearly ahead of us in all aspects of execution today. We looked rusty and a little nervous, which is to be expected. That doesn't excuse our lack of defensive intensity and fight, however."

"There is lots to improve upon, but we will get there. I believe in our players, our system, and our culture. And again, hats off to Oregon- they have another great team."

STANDOUT STAT
Utah had 11 players see action against the Ducks with five making their first-ever appearance as a Ute. Freshmen Donna Ntambue, Kennady McQueen, Peyton McFarland, Kelsey Rees, and senior Zuzanna Puc all played their first minutes as a Ute today.

NOTABLE

Of the five players that saw action for the first time for the Utes today, three scored at least two points with Ntambue (2 pts), Puc (2 pts) and McQueen (8 pts) all getting on the board.
Twenty-one of Utah's 43 points was scored by underclassmen today (48%), led by freshman McQueen with eight points.
Becker's 11-point outing was her sixth-career game in double figures. Her career-high is 18 points, scored against Weber State last season.
Pendande and Torres combined for 16 of Utah's 34 rebounds today, finishing with a team-high eight each. Pendande has either led or tied for the team lead in rebounds 17 times in her career while Torres has eight career games as Utah's rebound leader.

One game under our belt, and we'll be ready to bounce back. ?? Next game is vs Oregon State on Tuesday at 7 PM MT. #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/7UoW7NUzmE — Utah Women's Basketball (@UTAHWBB) December 6, 2020

UP NEXT
The Utes will turn their attention to Oregon State on Tuesday, Dec. 8, staying on the road and playing the Beavers in Corvallis, Ore. The game is set for a 7 p.m. MT tip.

FOLLOW THE UTES
Fans can follow along with all of the action this season on social media (Twitter: @UtahWBB | Instagram: @UtahWBB) with live in-game news, stats and notes along with behind the scenes photos and videos throughout the season.