Coming off a three game win streak and historic back-to-back home wins against top-10 teams Arizona and UConn, the Oregon women’s basketball team defeated the Washington Huskies 68-61 on the road Friday. The Ducks (11-5, 3-1 Pac-12) continued their win streak against a struggling Washington team that is currently going through a rebuild under first year head coach Tina Langley.
Oregon’s Endiya Rogers started off flawless with 10 points in the first quarter, shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. Rogers finished with a team high 23 points, breaking her season high of 22 points against Stanford earlier this month.
“She actually passed up on shots,” head coach Kelly Graves said of Rogers. “She could’ve done some more damage.”
Nyara Sabally came back into the starting lineup for the Ducks against the Huskies (5-6, 0-3 Pac-12) and dominated offensively despite being matched up against Washington center Nancy Mulkey and forward Lauren Schwartz, who kept the game close for the Huskies combining for 32 points. Being Oregon’s second leading scorer and lead rebounder, Sabally finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
Suffering a right knee injury against UConn and having to leave the game early, she limped off the court to the locker room and later returned to the bench with ice on her leg. This was the same knee she injured earlier this season when she missed seven games. However, Sabally exploded against the Huskies by playing fast off the pick-and-roll.
“Every game I play is a blessing to me,” Sabally said.
Oregon has now won nine consecutive matches against Washington, six of which were in Seattle. With the win, Oregon will look to see where it will be placed in the national rankings. The Ducks started the season at No. 10 in the polls.
Oregon was supposed to see the Washington State Cougars after Washington but will instead face Utah next Wednesday at home. The Ducks will then go up against both LA teams on Friday and Sunday.