Written and Audio Stories by Austin Ota

The #19 Oregon Women’s Basketball team had been on fire of late, and they continued that trend as they took on Arizona State in a game that had been rescheduled due to COVID issues. Oregon, coming off of six straight wins, came into the day game looking to stay hot, while Arizona State attempted to halt the momentum and pull off an upset. What began looking like it would be a blowout for the Ducks turned into a much closer game than the fans at Matthew Knight Arena might have hoped for, but it was a well played contest on both sides.

Beginning the first quarter, Arizona State might have even surprised themselves with an early 7-0 run, as Taya Hanson opened the scoring with a long three ball. At the 7:50 mark while still being scoreless, Nyara Sabally went to the line for the Ducks and hit two free throws, which would be the first of a 17-0 run to answer the Sun Devils’ hot start. Sabally ended the first quarter with a then game-high 11 points, the first of her game total of 22.

In the second, the story for both sides was the turnover battle. The Ducks had six turnovers, and the Sun Devils had five. The sloppy basketball was uncharacteristic for both teams, as they both only had eight turnovers the entire rest of the game. However, Oregon’s sloppy play allowed Arizona State to come back into the game, as they entered the half down only three.

The Ducks clearly committed to spreading the wealth in the second half, as Sabally, Paopao, Rogers, and Parrish all had over five second half points to contribute to the team’s 39. Rogers, who struggled in the first half, converted all of her shots in the second, definitely a welcome sight for Kelly Graves and Ducks fans. Though they came off the bench, the duo of Ahlise Hurst and Kylee Watson were key to the Ducks coming out on top, as Watson finished with a plus/minus of 8, and Hurst had an efficient six points and drew a key charge. Arizona State entered the fourth down only three, but stifling defense along with dominant post play by Sabally would allow the Ducks to finish on top, 72-58.

Postgame Audio

Te-Hina Paopao

Kelly Graves