Kelly Graves’ halftime talk must have been about defense because the Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team’s effort on that end of the floor ratcheted up a notch or two in the third quarter.
The Ducks went on an 18-0 run to start the second half and cruised to an 83-46 win over Southern. The trip to Baton Rouge is part of the scheduling agreement between the Pac-12 and the SWAC in both men’s and women’s basketball.
Oregon’s size and overall talent overwhelmed the Jaguars, who fell to 0-3 this year. No one can accuse Southern in scheduling cupcakes. They lost to No. 4 Iowa and No. 8 Iowa State before this loss to the No. 21 Ducks.
Southern was held to just 34 percent from the field on 18-of-53 shooting. The Ducks had their best shooting night of the season going 29-of-56 (51.8 percent), including 11-of-30 from long range.
Ahlise Hurst led the Ducks with 15 points on five three-pointers.