Written Story by Knight Jarecki
Eugene, OR — Despite 33 points from Endyia Rogers and 22 points from Chance Gray, #21 Oregon (13-5, 4-3) fell to the unranked Washington State Cougars (13-4, 3-3) 85-84 Sunday afternoon at Matthew Knight Arena. It is the Ducks' first loss to Washington State in Eugene since 2015 and the first loss against the Cougars overall since the 2017-18 season.
After a lackluster first quarter in which the Ducks trailed 19-14, Oregon answered with a strong second quarter, outscoring WSU 24-10 at the frame to lead 38-29 at the halftime break. Endyia Rogers then started to catch fire in the second half of the game, scoring all 13 of Oregon's 3rd quarter points to keep the Ducks afloat by one, 51-50 at the third intermission. Washington State star, Charliisse Leger-Walker, who remained quiet through the first three-quarters of basketball, started to heat up in the 4th quarter as well as senior center Bella Murekatete and the Cougars began the quarter on a 13-2 run to lead by 10 points with 6 and a half minutes to play. Oregon continued to chip away the Cougar lead for the remainder of the quarter, finding themselves within 5 points with just under eight seconds to play after two made free-throws by Leger-Walker. Rogers was able to connect for her 5th 3-pointer of the game with 4 just under 4 seconds remaining to make it a 2-point game late. Rogers then made a steal on the ensuing in-bound with Ahlise Hurst hitting a potential game-winning 3-pointer right after the steal. Officials called time-out just before the shot and they gave Oregon possession with 0.6 seconds left trailing by two. The Ducks were able to in-bound it to Grace VanSlooten, who was fouled by Murekete for her 5th foul and tie the game at 76 after two free throws by the Freshman. Overtime was a back-and-forth affair that saw teams trade baskets and the Cougars lead by 1 point after a 1-2 trip at the foul stripe by VanSlooten early in the frame. Ultimately, Endyia Rogers hit another three with the Ducks down by 4 points to make it a 1-point game with under 15 seconds left in OT. Rogers then forced another turnover on the inbound to set the Ducks up for the final shot trailing by one but Te-Hina Paopao's mid-range jumper fell short as time expired and the Ducks lost by 1.
With the loss, Oregon drops their first game to a non-top-15 team this season. This is the second time this season Oregon has lost at Matthew Knight Arena. Oregon will now head up the road to Corvallis on Friday to face off against their bitter rivals the Oregon State Beavers (10-8).
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Audio Story by Ben McGrath:
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