The Ducks played brilliantly all through November, running past Auburn and the rest of their nonconference slate with hustle and open-court basketball, undefeated at 10-0.
In their Big Ten Conference opener Sunday at No. 4 UCLA it became another story, a tall tale as the Bruins fed their 6-7 center Lauren Betts, who dominated inside with 14 rebounds, five blocked shots and 24 points on 10-19 shooting.
It revealed a daunting matchup challenge for the visitors as their best inside players, forwards Mia Jacobs, Sarah Rambus and Ehis Etute stand 6-2, 6-3 and 6-0, giving up size and height to the senior from Centennial, Colorado, second in the Big Ten in scoring last year at 20.