Kelly Graves walked onto the podium and wrung his quarter-zip dry.
There were moments where it felt like it was going to get away from the Ducks against Baylor on Sunday night. They led by 16 with nine minutes left, trailed by two with 90 seconds to play, and won without scoring in the last 22 ticks.
This team can play.
More importantly, this team can recover. It went on multiple runs, held the nation’s 12th-ranked team scoreless for minutes at a time, and battled back from the brink to earn a 76-74 signature victory. Its stars shone, but not so bright that the constellation was invisible. You don’t need a telescope to see it: There’s something alight in the woods in Eugene.
“Late in the game,” Graves said afterwards, “we just talked about, ‘We just need one stop,’ and there for about six or seven possessions we couldn’t get any. We got a little bit casual with the ball a couple times, and those guys really get after you…I think that shows great character when you give up a lead like that, and then [that] we made a couple stops when we really needed to.”
When the No. 12 Bears (1-1) came out firing and opened the second half with an 8-2 run, the Ducks (3-0) responded with two sets of eight of their own to extend their lead to 10 and then 14 points. Nani Falatea splashed from the corner and got Sabrina Ionescu, sitting courtside, on her feet with three fingers held up.
It didn’t last.
In 2:30 in the final quarter, the Bears whittled down the lead from 16 to four. Kelly responded with a jumper and two from the stripe, but 12 otherwise unanswered points handed the visitors a lead with 1:28 left.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” Alexis Whitfield said. “Everyone’s gonna go on their runs…our biggest thing is stopping that run.”
They stopped the run. After 24 points in seven minutes, the Bears scored none in the final one.
“That’s what I’m saying,” Whitfield continued. “This game showed that you can either lay down and just let them go…or you can put a stop to it. Winning a basketball game is hard. Today taught us how to win a basketball game that is hard.”
This team is adamant that it isn’t the one that ended last year on a 14-game skid. Whitfield and Kelly, the two graduate transfers on the podium, perhaps showed that best. Yes, there’s stars — but they aren’t reliant on them. Kelly drew praise from Graves:
“[The final play] was kind of ad-libbed,” the coach said. “I think in that moment we were trying to get it in Deja’s hand. She’s kind of made for these kinds of moments. They did a nice job with it, and she was unselfish enough to give it up to Elisa [Mevius].”
Kelly saw it differently.
“The goal was just to get a good look,” the guard said. “Whether that was myself, whether it was me and Alexis making a play…I knew that we had two guards on the opposite side, and Elisa made a great play. Once I got it to her, it was her world.”
The 2024 Oregon Ducks are stacked with battlers. Hand any of them that shot, and they’re confident enough to take it. Kelly shared what she said in a postgame huddle. The CliffsNotes: She’s proud of the fight. Everyone was influential. Enjoy this, but come tomorrow ready to work.
Usually these non-conference games don’t really matter in March. Despite every word from those who climbed the stairs to the podium afterwards, it will. This was a strong game, against a legitimate team. It’s a real win. Are the Ducks back?
“We won tonight,” Graves said. “We’ve got a long way to go before we can say that [we’re back], but to get there you have to have big wins like that.”
His quarter-zip was still dripping on the way out the door.
