Oregon Ducks Improve To 5-0 With 70-54 Win Over Grand Canyon

From Oregon Athletics –

EUGENE, Ore. — A season-high 17 points from Peyton Scott and a double-double by Amina Muhammad helped No. 23 Oregon get by Grand Canyon Monday evening, 70-54, at Matthew Knight Arena.

Scott produced her highest point total in an Oregon uniform, after missing all but five minutes of last season, behind three 3-pointers. Muhammad secured her first double-double as a Duck, as the Texas transfer dropped 11 points to go with 10 boards.

“Excited about the win,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “I don’t think we were great tonight, certainly didn’t shoot the ball well. … I gotta to give Grand Canyon a lot of credit, they played really hard. That’s a good team, they’re going to win the WAC and be an NCAA Tournament team.

“I am pleased with the win, we have to do things a little tighter and a little better. But I am proud of the hard work, I thought we played hard.”

The Ducks used a 20-0 run in the first quarter in building a 22-4 lead, a burst that included 3-pointers on consecutive possessions by both Scott and Nani Falatea. Coming off the bench, Falatea finished with nine points and has gone 7-for-11 from deep over her last three games.

Oregon’s defense, which has allowed opponents to shoot just 25.0 percent from the 3-point line this season, stifled GCU from the arc, as the Lopes went 1-for-8 from range in the first half and 5-for-20 in the game.

UO owned a 47-32 rebounding advantage, including a 16-10 edge in offensive boards, but the Lopes were able to outscore the Ducks 32-22 in the paint and 16-9 in second-chance points.

How It Happened: After Muhammad opened the scoring with a layup, the Ducks missed their next six field goals until a Scott 3-pointer. Scott hit another triple on UO’s next possession and Falatea drilled back-to-back 3-pointers as part of a 20-0 run, giving the Ducks a 22-4 lead. GCU scored the final six points to trim the Ducks’ lead to 22-10 after the first quarter.

Scott added six more points in the second quarter, upping her first-half total to 12 to lead all players. UO held GCU to just 3-for-14 from the floor in the second quarter and 1-for-8 from the 3-point line in the opening half, helping the Ducks to a 36-18 lead at the break.

“That felt great, that felt really good,” said Scott. “Just to get some in-rhythm shots to start the game always feels good and then it felt like it jump-started other people to get hot.”

The Ducks and Lopes each put up 14 points in the third, while both connecting on a pair of 3-pointers. Oregon closed the quarter on a 9-2 run after the Lopes cut UO’s lead to 11, 41-30, with just under four minutes left. Four different Ducks made baskets in the run, including a 3-pointer from Elisa Mevius.

Scoring the first five points of the fourth, including a 3-pointer from Sofia Bell, Oregon opened its largest lead of the game at 23 points, 55-32. Muhammad scored five of her 11 points in the fourth to card her double-double, while Alexis Whitfield hit a pair of field goals for four points in the frame.

“Great board work, great board work,” Graves said of Muhammad. “I thought Amina played really, really well. She made her free throws, which is awesome. I am really proud of her, it looked like she wanted the ball inside.”

GCU trailed by 20 with just over four minutes left, but closed the gap to 16 after finishing the game on a 10-6 run. The Lopes shot 25.0 percent from the 3-point line in the game, going 5-for-20. Trinity San Antonio led all players with 18 points to go with six rebounds and five assists.

Notable: Oregon set season highs in made free throws (15) and free throw percentage (83.3) … The Ducks begin the season 5-0 for the first time since 2020-21 and for the fifth time under Graves … UO picked up its 69^th win over their last 71 home nonconference games … The Ducks are now 2-0 against GCU all-time, winning last year in Phoenix.

Up Next: The Ducks host Auburn on Wednesday (6 p.m., B1G+).