UCLA exits early from Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament with loss to Oregon

Endyia Rogers finished with 16 points and six assists, Nyara Sabally and Sedona Prince added double-doubles, and Oregon rallied for a 63-60 victory over upset-minded UCLA in the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals on Thursday night.

Rogers made just 4 of 13 shots from the floor for the second-seeded Ducks (20-10), but two of them were 3-pointers and she made all six of her free throws. Sabally totaled 15 points and 15 rebounds, while Prince scored 12 with 12 boards.

Jaelynn Penn sank 3 of 4 from 3-point range and scored 13 to help No. 7 seed UCLA (14-12) take a 32-31 lead at halftime. Sabally and Prince scored eight points each and Rogers added seven in the first half for Oregon. Te-Hina Paopao, who joined Sabally and Rogers on the All-Pac-12 team for a second straight season, missed all six of her shots and didn’t score.

Paopao’s first basket came with 5:01 left in the third quarter and pulled the Ducks within 43-41. Ilmar’l Thomas sank a 3-pointer and scored nine in the quarter to help UCLA take a 53-50 lead heading to the final period.

Oregon opened the fourth with a rebound basket by Prince and a layup from Sabally to grab a 54-53 lead with 8:03 remaining. Paopao buried a 3-pointer to push the Ducks’ lead to four with 7:11 left. Angela Dugalic and Thomas had back-to-back baskets to knot the score at 57 and Thomas buried a 3-pointer, following a bucket by Prince, to give the Bruins a 60-59 lead with 4:19 to go. It was the last basket of the game.

Rogers sank two free throws with 1:27 left to put the Ducks up 61-60 and Sabally added a pair with three seconds left. UCLA, which had just one team foul at the time, had to foul four times in four seconds to send Sabally to the line. Penn missed a 3-pointer on the game’s final shot.

Thomas and Penn scored 18 apiece for the Bruins.

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