ATLANTA  – Playing its first ranked team of the season roughly 2,700 miles away from home proved to be a tough task for Oregon on Wednesday night as the Ducks fell 87-69 to No. 25 Georgia Tech at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

Oregon, now 8-2, struggled in the paint against the Yellow Jackets as the Ducks were outrebounded 53-34.

Georgia Tech, now 7-2, found its way to 20 offensive boards and scored 13 second-chance points.

The Ducks staged a late run in the second half after trailing by as many as 15. Oregon cut Georgia Tech’s lead to 76-69 on a Jasmin Holliday three-pointer with 1:11 to go.

But the Yellow Jackets were solid from the free -throw line in the final minute, knocking down 11 of their 12 attempts.

Georgia Tech had four players in double figures led by Deja Foster’s double-double with a game-high 21 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Brigitte Ardossi added 19 points and nine rebounds, while Alex Montgomery scored 16 before leaving the game with an injury. Mo Bennett chipped in 10 points and a game-high six assists.

For the second straight game, senior guard Micaela Cocks led the Ducks in scoring with 19 points, knocking down three buckets from long distance.

Junior Nicole Canepa added 14 points and two blocks, on a 6-of-7 night from the free-throw line, while Nia Jackson scored 11 and had two steals.

Oregon's leading scorer, Amanda Johnson, was held to four points, but did lead the Ducks with eight rebounds and five assists.

The Ducks were outscored in the paint 44-32.

Oregon shot a cold 33.3 percent in the second half, and 40.0 percent for the game. Most damaging for the Ducks was an off night from three-point range as UO shot 6-of-27.

Georgia Tech went into the locker room ahead 47-39, as the Ducks struggled with the Yellow Jackets under the basket, and shot poorly (27.3 percent) from three-point range.

Oregon first trailed by double digits, 45-34, on a three-pointer from Bennett with 1:16 to go in the first half.
Cocks led the Ducks with 10 at the break, while Jackson added nine.

Georgia Tech was led by Montgomery’s 14 points in the first 20 minutes.

The Yellow Jackets shot 51.2 percent in the first half and outrebounded Oregon 24-16, while outscoring the Ducks 28-20 in the paint.

Early on Oregon trailed 12-4, but the Ducks made an 8-0 run and tied the score with 14:36 to go on one of Cocks’ two three-point plays of the day.

Jackson had two steals and fast break layups in the first half.

Notes:  Oregon received nine points in this week’s AP Poll…Micaela Cocks first-half three-pointer extended her streak of games with a trey to 26…Cocks is the only UO player to reach double figures in all 10 games this season.

UP NEXT   
The Ducks close out the non-conference portion of their schedule on the road at Wyoming on Sunday and Utah on Tuesday.

Oregon will return to Mac Court to open the Pac-10 season against Washington on Jan. 1, 2010.