The Oregon women lost to a Washington State team that shot 65.2 percent from the three-point line and 45.2 percent from the field on Friel Court in Pullman, Wash., Saturday.
The Cougars made 15 of 23 three-point attempts and took advantage of Nia Jackson’s absence to defeat the Ducks, 96-90.
Oregon now falls to 12-10 overall and 3-8 in the Pacific-10 Conference; Washington State is 7-16 overall (5-6 Pac-10).
Jackson injured both knees in Thursday’s loss to Washington and was declared unavailable by head coach Paul Westhead for Washington State. Jackson was replaced by freshman point guard Ariel Thomas, who had a career-high 19 points and six assists.
Westhead used the opportunity to make wholesale changes to the starting lineup. Victoria Kenyon was replaced by freshman Danielle Love, who had seven points and seven rebounds. Jasmin Holliday was replaced by freshman Deanna Weaver, who played just three minutes before succumbing to an ankle injury. Senior Tatianna Thomas started over Ashley Buis and had eight points and six rebounds.
While Jackson was unavailable, Kristi Fallin returned from a week-long absence after injuring her right ankle against California. Fallin produced two of the game’s biggest moments for the Ducks, pouring in 13 points off the bench.
With 9:54 remaining, Fallin hit a baseline three-pointer while being fouled on the play. She converted the four-point play to tie the game at 66. A minute later, she buried another three-pointer to tie the game at 69.
From that point, the Cougars went on a 9-2 run, and Oregon never got closer than the final margin of defeat.
The Ducks started out the game on a 7-0 run but quickly met with resistance from Washington State, which entered the locker room ahead 46-43 at halftime.
Amanda Johnson had 22 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, leading Oregon in all three categories and leading all scorers.
Five Cougars reached double-figure scoring totals for the game, led by Katie Madison’s 17 points and nine rebounds. Rosetta Adzasu and Sage Romberg each contributed 15 points off the bench for Washington State.
Ireti Amojo added 13 points for the Cougars, while Hana Potter chipped in 11.
Oregon forced 20 Washington State turnovers and blocked six shots but was outrebounded 51-44 and shot just 39.7 percent from the game. The Ducks made 11 of 40 three-pointers attempted (27.5 percent).
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