The 10-seed Oregon women’s basketball team dropped its first round game of the Pac-12 Tournament at Seattle’s KeyArena to seven-seed Washington State 107-100. The loss eliminates the Ducks from the rest of tournament play.
Sophomore Jillian Alleyne led the Ducks with 28 points and 21 rebounds. With 1:04 left in the first half, Alleyne recored her 12th rebound, which broke Stanford’s Chiney Ogwumike’s previous conference mark of 466 rebounds, which was set last season.
Freshman Chrishae Rowe scored a team-high 29 points for the Ducks, but Oregon (15-15) was unable to defend the Cougars down the stretch, losing in a shootout. The 207 combined points set the conference record for most points scored in a Pac-12 tournament game. The previous mark was set in 2011 by Arizona and Oregon.
Oregon still remains eligible for a WNIT birth with a .500 record.
“I like my team. I like their spirit,” Westhead said after the game to Pac-12.com. “I think there’s a game to play on and they could be successful, so why not? Yeah. I’d be happy for them if that’s the way it turns out.”
Senior Ariel Thomas finished with her first double-double of the season with 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
Washington State’s duo of Lia Galdeira and Tia Presley both finished with 31 points each for WSU on 23-for-46 shooting.
“Well, I think they (WSU) shot the ball very well,” Westhead told Pac-12.com. “They minimized their turnovers, which we do our best to kind of frazzle teams that kind of turn the ball and get them into awkward positions…Washington State played a good game and they shot the ball well. So good for them.”
After the game, Alleyne was asked how she was feeling considering it could be the team’s final game of the season.
“It’s really hard for me especially because I have so much love for my coaches and my teammates, especially the seniors,” Alleyne said to Pac-12.com. “So I’m really just trying to stay positive. I’m kind of just letting everything come to me right now. It’s really a lot. Honestly, it’s tough, but I’ve got to remain positive.”
Both teams started out the game hot from the field. Oregon held a 30-28 lead with 11:29 left in the first half while the two teams combined for nine made three-pointers in the first nine minutes. Rowe hit her first four shots of the game, including three 3-pointers.
Alleyne had 13 points and 13 rebounds at the half while Rowe had a team-high 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting with four 3-pointers.
An Alleyne layup made it a 98-95 Washington State lead with under two minutes left to play, but Galdeira answered with a clutch three-pointer to push WSU’s lead to six points, at 101-95, with 1:31 remaining. The Ducks were never able to regain the lead.
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne