Marquette University
Oregon
Oregon Upends Marquette, 57-56
11/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Junior guard Krystal Ellis did not play in Tuesday night's game against the Ducks due to a sprained right knee.
"Overall I thought we fought and we made some good defensive stops, but down the stretch we missed key free throws and a critical box out," said head coach Terri Mitchell. "The game could have gone either way, but we ran out of time."
For the game, Marquette shot 36.4 percent from the field connecting on 20-of-55 attempts, while Oregon made 38.1 percent of its shots (16-of-42). The Ducks had three players in double figures led by Lilley Taylor with 17 points.
Marquette and Oregon each grabbed 32 rebounds. The Golden Eagles grabbed eight steals to the Ducks' seven, and forced 19 UO turnovers.
"I give Oregon a lot of credit. Statistically we were relatively the same, except they made their free throws. We were in a lot of foul trouble for most of the game. We had a lot of different combinations out there and at the end of the day we came up short," said Mitchell.
The Ducks opened the game with a long-range bucket 29 seconds into the game, but the Golden Eagles quickly took control and held Oregon scoreless for the next 10 minutes. While on its 14-0 outburst, Marquette forced 12 Oregon turnovers.
MU held onto its lead for the remainder of the first half, but the Ducks used a 13-7 run to close the first half and pull within three points (31-28) at the break.
Kovalenko paced Marquette in the first with eight points and three rebounds, while freshman Jocelyn Mellen, sophomore Janelle Harris and junior Erin Monfre combined for 16 points. Collectively, Marquette shot 41.4 percent in the first connecting on 12 of 29 attempts from the field.
Marquette held Oregon to 38.9 percent from the floor, while the Ducks drew 14 Marquette fouls in the first and scored 10 of their points from the charity stripe.
Oregon surged ahead in the second half. With the score tied at 40-40, Taylor hit a long-range basket to go head by three, 43-40. The Ducks pushed their lead to eight points, 50-42, following a 7-2 run over the next five minutes.
Marquette fought back and junior Kelly Lam hit a free throw and Kovalenko scored a lay-up to help MU come within one, 52-51, with 3:55 remaining in the game. The two teams traded free throws, but Marquette still trailed by one, 55-54 with 2:23 remaining in the game.
The Golden Eagles took a one-point lead, 56-55, with 1:13 remaining in the game after Kovalenko grabbed her own rebound and tipped it back in. Oregon countered with a jumper by Lilley to give the lead back to the Ducks, 57-56, with 58 seconds left to play.
Monfre missed her shot on MU's final attempt as the Golden Eagles were unable to get the final possession and the Oregon came away the victor, 57-56.
"This isn't a bad loss by any means. We are on the road at a Pac-10 school. Now we must regroup to play a talented Gonzaga team," said Mitchell.
The Golden Eagles will continue its stay in the Pacific Northwest and will play at Gonzaga on Friday, Nov. 23. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. CT at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash.
