Peyton Scott reaches 2,000 career points in University of Oregon win

EUGENE, Ore. — The depth of the Oregon women's basketball team was on display again Thursday, even if the execution wasn't quite at the level of two days previous.

After shooting almost 60 percent as a team in a win Tuesday, the Ducks were back in action Thursday and posted a 71-43 victory over UC Irvine before 4,508 fans in Matthew Knight Arena. The bench outscored the starting five for the second game in a row, though the UO women shot a mere 38.2 percent Tuesday.

"Not our best game, but it was hard to follow up what I thought was a great performance the other night," UO coach Kelly Graves said. "(The Anteaters) are a good team. They have a winning culture and you have to give them credit — they battled."

UO senior Peyton Scott scored nine points to lead Oregon's starters, surpassing 2,000 career points in the process.

(Editor’s note: Scott also surpassed 2,000 points during her high school career at Lynchburg-Clay.)

The Ducks (9-3) got 48 points off the bench, led by 11 from freshman Katie Fiso in her second strong performance of the week. Alexis Whitfield added 10 points with five rebounds, four assists and four steals.

"We just always want to come in and make sure there's no drop-off, and build off the starters," Whitfield said. "Pick up the intensity and come in with a spark."

How It Happened: Scott came into the night needing four points to reach 2,000 for her career, which began with four seasons at Miami (Ohio). She got the first three during a 14-0 run in the first quarter that put the Ducks up by double digits, a margin they sustained the rest of the night.

Whitfield capped the first quarter with a bucket for a 17-4 lead. Less than a minute into the second, Scott went to the basket and was fouled, making her first free throw to reach the 2,000-point benchmark.

"It just shows you how many great people I've been surrounded by," she said. "I was just put in great positions to excel with those around me, so I'm very grateful."

After a UC Irvine basket, Whitfield made a three-pointer to spark a 9-0 run for the Ducks. Nani Falatea hit her second three-pointer of the first half later in the period, and Sarah Rambus hit a jumper in the final minute as Oregon took a 36-20 lead into halftime.

The Anteaters cut the lead to 14 a couple times in the third, but the Ducks finished the period on another 12-0 run that included layups off steals by Ari Long and Elisa Mevius, and another three from Whitfield.

Fiso had seven of her points in the fourth, and fellow freshman Ehis Etute capped the scoring with a bucket that gave the Ducks their biggest lead of the night. That sent them into a holiday break with momentum; the UO women will meet back in Eugene on Christmas Day for a light workout, practice the following day and then depart Dec. 27 for their first Big Ten road trip, beginning the next day at Illinois.

"It's a lot better going into a break off a win," Scott said. "We talked about enjoying it the first few days, but making sure we're staying ready. Because we're going into the meat of our season and the games that really matter."

Up Next: The Ducks play at Illinois on Dec. 28 (noon, B1G+).

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