Soul-crushing losses have defined Oregon women’s basketball’s 2024 season. After the conclusion of almost every game, the Ducks walk off the court with more questions than answers.
Where does this program go from here?
This is the same question presented after Oregon (11-17, 2-13 Pac-12) fell to Washington (14-12, 4-11 Pac-12) 74-66 on Friday.
The Huskies made the Ducks’ zone-defense pay with two early 3-pointers, both by Lauren Schwartz. Washington, however, went cold from the field following its first two buckets. Oregon went on an 11-0 run to secure an early lead.
The Ducks utilized their height advantage in the first quarter. Grace VanSlooten and Kennedy Basham scored all of Oregon’s points in the period. In addition to VanSlooten and Basham, Phillipina Kyei snagged five rebounds in the span of four minutes.
The Huskies responded with a run of their own at the end of the quarter. Once they started hitting their jumpers again, the Ducks’ lead was cut to a single possession.
Basham scored her career-high in points in the first half alone with 11 points. With a majority of the buckets still coming from Basham and VanSlooten, Washington started throwing a double team at the frontcourt duo. Everyone else on the Oregon roster combined for 1-for-15 shooting in the first half.
A Huskies’ shot from behind the arc at the first-half buzzer sent the Ducks into the locker room trailing 27-31.
Friday’s game was a stark contrast to last season when both programs were battling for a late bid in the NCAA Tournament. The out-of-state rivals faced each other four times in 2023 — one of those being in the Pac-12 Tournament and another in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
The stakes in Friday’s meeting weren’t as high, but the second half was set to be another battle between Oregon and Washington.
The Ducks began the second half on a 6-0 run to retake the lead. The other starters started to fill the stat sheet. Ula Chamberlin converted on a pair of three’s, Kyei continued to haul in rebounds and Chance Gray guided Oregon on the fastbreak.
For a short period, the Ducks looked the most confident they have in a long time.
But on the other side, Sayvia Sellers directed traffic for the Huskies. Sellers finished the contest with 10 assists. Once again, Washington found the bottom of the net as the third quarter horn sounded. This time, it was Sellers with the crafty dime to level the score.
The Huskies went on their own run in the fourth quarter. With 5:30 left, Kyei was called for an offensive foul that had Oregon head coach Kelly Graves scratching his head. Kyei’s third foul sent her to the bench at a critical time.
Kyei didn’t sit for long, but when she was inserted back into the lineup, she was called for two more fouls. Kyei had another double-double with 10 points and tied her career-high with 21 rebounds. Not having her on the floor was costly for a short-rostered Ducks squad.
Oregon couldn’t stop Washington on the other end of the floor. The Huskies drilled their free throws to clinch the victory.
Four players finished in double figures for the Ducks, including VanSlooten with 19 points and Basham with 15 points. It still wasn’t enough as Oregon suffered its 10 straight defeat.
The Ducks head to Pullman to face Washington State (16-11, 5-9 Pac-12) on Sunday. The struggling Cougars present another opportunity for Oregon to deliver another conference victory. The Ducks will return home after the weekend to round out the regular season with a pair of games against Cal and Stanford.
