The message was delivered loud and clear on Sunday night, after so much waiting, so many doubts.

The proof was finally in the pudding Sunday night in the Ducks (3-0) 76-74 upset win over Baylor (1-1). Proof that yes, Head Coach Kelly Graves can win in this current college basketball climate. 

It could be seen in the playmaking of star transfer Deja Kelly, whose fancy footwork and veteran savvy helped her rebound from a dreadful scoring first half to help close out the game. Kelly found a streaking Elisa Mevius for what was the game-deciding basket with 22 seconds remaining. 

“We were trying to get the ball in Deja’s hand,” Graves said. “She’s kinda made for these moments, and there was so much attention on Deja that there was an open driving lane.” 

It could be seen in a stifling defense that held the Bears scoreless on their final possession as Sarah Andrews’ long 3-pointer from the left wing drew rim. Baylor continued to punch back every time the Ducks would take a lead, but ultimately went cold down when it mattered most — this time for good. 

And It could be seen in the coach who stuck with his always positive, one-day-at-a-time vision, amid a mountain of losses and criticism. Graves’ team had a really good Sunday after so many recent flops.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the team,” Graves said. “We played so so well for a good portion of that game, but to come back and make the plays we did, it actually shows a lot of character.”  

Nothing about the end of the game was easy. 

To control the game for as long as they did, the Ducks rode Kelly — she connected with a team-high of 20 points. Nani Falatea and Sofia Bell torched the nets from deep. And defensively, they hounded the Baylor guards and fought to keep the Bears off the offensive glass with the Ducks flying back in transition.

Kelly shook off some early erraticness to hit key shots down the stretch. She, Nani Falatea and Alexis Whitfield led a third-quarter surge to grow the lead to 14. 

“Lexi’s a heckuva player,”Graves said of Whitfield. “Sehe produces and gets to the rim, for a while there she carried us.” 

Baylor surged midway through the fourth quarter with a little help from the Ducks. Repeated miscues and mistakes from the Ducks as well as a newfound grit from the Bears saw that 14-point deficit knotted at 72 with two minutes left.

“We’re a new team, we have some growing pains and turned the ball over too much,” Graves said. “But we just gutted it out.” 

The comeback — in which the Bears took a two-point lead — was sudden, more a tsunami than repeated waves crashing against the Ducks. 

Baylor made one 3-pointer. Then another. And another.

The Ducks committed one turnover. Then another. And another.

“We got casual with the ball,” Graves said. “We kinda forgot that these guys are aggressive.” 

“Basketball is a game of runs,” Whitfield said. “Our biggest thing is just stopping their run and saying ‘ok it’s time to lock in on defense’. This game showed you can either lay-down or you can fight… winning a basketball game is hard and today showed us that winning a basketball game is hard.” 

But the Ducks ultimately locked up when it mattered most. Kelly found a streaking Mevius in the lane for a layup with 22 seconds remaining. 

“She’s just a really good player, I’m not sure she’s played in a moment like this.” Graves said of Mevius. “Maybe at the gold medal game.”

Any chance of the Bears completing their comeback died when their possession following Mevius’ basket came up empty with Baylor’s Sarah Andrews missing a long 3-pointer from the left wing. 

“I thought we played a really nice defensive game.” Graves said. 

The final Ducks’ possession came as they evaded Bears’ defenders who were looking to foul. 

“We got the ball in fairly easily,” Graves said. “And we were expecting them to kinda swarm us.” 

“I was surprised,” D. Kelly said of not being fouled. “But it’s game two for them so you can expect some of those errors.” 

No foul was to be had, Mevius and Bell chest-pumped and threw the ball in the air in celebration. 

There was reason to rejoice. 

Throughout the game, the Ducks were more forceful to the glass. They were quicker in transition. They were more aggressive to the basket. And even though they went ice cold at various points in the game, they were more willing to shoot from range. 

Six Ducks remain from last year’s team that competed (and lost) against 11 top-25 ranked teams. This year’s Oregon team entered with a new perspective, the result, a euphoric win in front of 6,372 fans at Matthew Knight Arena left them with an incredibly different prevailing sentiment. The win is the Ducks’ first against a top-25 opponent since 2022, breaking a 14-game losing streak. 

But is Oregon back?

“It’s one game,” Graves said. “We won tonight.” 

The Ducks provided their coach with a signature victory that could catapult them into the national rankings for the first time since 2022 while likely sending the Bears back to the lower end of the top 25.

“We can be a really really great team,” Graves said. “But until you see it, you may not believe it.” 

And if Sunday is any indication, that belief won’t be limited to just Oregon’s locker room long.