With 49 seconds left in the game, Oregon had a three-point lead and possession. The Washington Huskies’ defense nearly forced a costly Oregon turnover at halfcourt which could have led to Washington cutting the deficit to one point or tying the game. 

With the shot clock winding down, the Huskies were not allowing Oregon any easy buckets inside the paint. Oregon guard Te-Hina Paopao passed the ball out to a contested Taya Hanson. On what looked like another empty possession by the Ducks, Hanson rattled in the dagger three to give Oregon a six-point cushion with 23 seconds remaining.

The Ducks came into the game off their fourth loss of the season against No. 15 Arizona on Sunday. Oregon has now won 11 straight matchups versus the Huskies following the 65–58 victory Friday night. 

Paopao led the way for Oregon with 16 points, and Grace VanSlooten chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds. Hanson scored 15 of the Ducks’ 17 bench points, 12 of which she scored in the second half.

A sluggish first half put Oregon on pace for its lowest-scoring game of the season. The Ducks’ shot selection was not the best, but their 23-14 advantage on the boards proved to be the difference maker. Oregon led 29-21 at halftime.

A sloppy third quarter allowed the Huskies to get back into the game. After a layup by Washington’s Haley Van Dyke tied the game, Hanson hit a pair of threes at the end of the quarter to give the Ducks a six-point lead.

“She saved our butt tonight,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said. “This is what we expected of her and she came through when we needed it most. That’s what you want out of a fifth-year senior like that.”

Paopao began the fourth quarter with a layup and a jumper to get the lead back up to 10. The Huskies responded with a 13-2 run that was highlighted by a wide-open layup by Jayda Noble that forced an Oregon timeout with 5:38 remaining.

Oregon committed four more turnovers after the timeout, but Washington was not able to capitalize. Instead, Hanson and Paopao led the Ducks to still finish the game on a 14-8 run to give them the victory against their out-of-state rivals.

“I believe in my teammates to get it done and we knew that it had to come down to toughness,” Hanson said. “I give it to Washington, they did not give up and they were relentless and they gave us some trouble on the offensive end with their defensive pressure. I think in those moments we got to do better locking in every single possession for 40 minutes and I think this is something we need to continue to grow on.”

Oregon hosts Washington State on Sunday at 12 p.m., where it will look to get its 14th win on the season.