Ducks lean on timely scoring from stars to notch eighth straight win

Oregon tried time and time again to put Arizona State away early on Tuesday.

The Ducks uncorked scoring runs of 17-0 and 9-0 throughout the afternoon but still couldn’t find a way to create separation from the Sun Devils during the first three-and-a-half quarters.

Then, the Ducks’ stars took over.

Nyara Sabally finished with 22 points and Te-Hina Paopao scored 19 to lead the Ducks to a 72-58 win over the Sun Devils Tuesday at Matthew Knight Arena. Oregon delivered a solid shooting performance but still had some work today late as ASU refused to go away quietly.

When it mattered most, the Ducks turned to their all-conference trio of Sabally, Paopao, and Endyia Rogers to close things out. Oregon finished the game on an 11-5 run, and those three players scored 19 of its 23 points to seal an eighth-straight victory.

“They scored 51 of our 72 points tonight,” Graves said of Sabally, Paopao, and Rogers. “Each one of them was involved on every set that we ran late in the game. The ball was in their hands late at some point. Those are three really special players — you’re talking about three all-Pac-12 players.

“Not many people can boast that.”

Oregon also took care of business at the other end of the floor, where it held a talented group of Arizona State guards relatively quiet.

Sun Devils’ senior Jade Loville is the team’s leading scorer at 16 points per game. But the Ducks limited her to just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting, thanks in large part to the defensive efforts of Maddie Scherr.

“Maddie is one of our greatest defenders on the team, and she did a really, really great job tonight, credit to her,” Paopao said. “We didn’t want (Loville) to go off. Maddie did a great job, and everyone who rotated on her did a great job. Our help side was great.”

The Ducks struggled to get going out of the gate and fell behind 7-0 in the first two minutes.

But from there, Oregon went on a 17-0 run over the next four minutes that included back-to-back threes from Sabally and Paopao.

The second quarter, however, turned into a slog for the Ducks. They were outscored 17-11 in the period and shot just 5-of-14 while committing six turnovers. Part of that was due to some frenetic defense from the Sun Devils, but Oregon also committed plenty of self-inflicted errors.

“This was everyone’s first time playing Arizona State, except for (Endyia Rogers),” Paopao said. “So just being able to get that glimpse of them at the beginning of the game, it was just, ‘this is how the game is gonna go. It’s gonna be a hard-fought battle.'”

In the third quarter, Oregon still couldn’t find a way to create much separation and it went into the fourth clinging to a three-point lead.

On the Ducks’ first possession of the fourth quarter, though, their stars began to take over. Oregon worked the ball inside to Sabally, where she took one drop-step, shook off a double-team, and converted a tough layup through contact to make it 51-46.

Two possessions later, Rogers buried a long three-pointer that brought the Matthew Knight Arena crowd to life.

ASU answered back with two points, but Rogers drove right back down the floor on the next possession, drew a foul, and buried the two ensuing free throws to make it 57-50.

The Sun Devils cut the lead to five at one point after that, but that was as close as they would get. Oregon discovered its offensive rhythm and put the game away for good by outscoring ASU 23-12 in the fourth quarter.

In the final period, Sabally scored seven points, while Paopao and Rogers each scored six.

“I think we all understood that we need to up our game in order to get that lead,” Paopao said. “I don’t know — I think we just get that energy from each other, that vibe that we need to be more aggressive. We came out flying in the fourth quarter and I think it helped us get that dub.”

With the win, Oregon improves to 14-5 on the year and 7-1 in Pac-12 play, while the Sun Devils dropped to 9-8 and 1-3.

Oregon will hit the road later this week and face No. 8 Arizona in Tuscon Friday at 7 p.m. before battling the Sun Devils again in Tempe Sunday at 1 p.m.