Monster Endyia Rogers Game Leads #17 Ducks to Comeback Win Over Beavers

After the game in which she led Oregon in virtually every positive statistical category, Endyia Rogers said she “Wanted to get back to the old me,” and be “very aggressive.” Mission accomplished as Rogers led the Ducks with 34 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and went 6 - 10 from 3-point range as Oregon rallied late to beat Oregon State 75 - 67. Despite Rogers’ heroics, the Ducks struggled to score for long periods, giving the Beavers a chance to stay in the game. Scoring droughts of 4:59 at the end of the first half, and then another of 5:35 spanning the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth looked like they would doom Oregon’s effort, but the Ducks followed a 17 - 3 Beavers run with a 22 - 7 run of their own over the last 5:28 to close out Oregon State.

BOX SCORE

FIRST QUARTER

Perhaps foreshadowing later problems, Oregon got off to an ice-cold start and the Beavers could not miss. The Ducks missed their first four shots - including an airball on a 3-pointer from Rogers - and Oregon State took advantage. The Beavers scored on free throws, a 3-pointer, a run-out layup after an Oregon miss and a short hook inside to race to a 9 - 0 lead at 7:54. Oregon’s first points (after going over 2:30 scoreless) came from Rogers as she scored inside and then hit a 3-pointer to cut the Beaver lead to 11 - 5. Oregon kept battling and when Grace Van Slooten scored inside while drawing a foul from very heavy contact the lead was only 4 at 5:09.

Oregon finally made it all the way back, tying the game 18 - 18 on a Rogers 3-pointer with just 52 seconds left in the quarter. The Ducks then took the lead after 2 missed Oregon State free throws on a Rogers 3 at the buzzer, putting Oregon ahead 21 - 18. Rogers had 11 in the quarter, along with 3 assists.

SECOND QUARTER

The Ducks opened the quarter on a 7 - 0 run, thanks to tight defense, including a trap on the opening Beaver possession that led to a turnover and an Ahlise Hurst layup. Oregon also picked up a steal that led to a Taya Hanson drive and bucket and Rogers hit another 3-pointer to give Oregon a 28 - 18 lead at 7:50. Oregon was able to maintain the lead as Te-hina PaoPao hit a 3 and Phillipina Kyei hit one of two from the charity stripe and Oregon led 34 - 24 with 4:59 left.

Oregon’s offense stalled at this point, and the Ducks could not buy a basket over the rest of the second quarter. Oregon missed 9 shots in a row, from layups to 3-pointers but continued to play good defense. The Beavers could run off only 7 straight to close to 34 - 31 at the half.

For the first half, Rogers scored 16, Chance Gray had 6 and Van Slooten 4. Kyei had 5 rebounds and Rogers 3. Rogers also had 5 assists. Oregon shooting dropped off to just 36.1 percent by the buzzer - the teams scored only 13 points each in the second quarter. Oregon was having some success from beyond the 3-point arc, though, connecting on 46.7 percent (7-15). Oregon also had only 3 turnovers and held OSU to 2 - 8 on 3-point shooting and holding Beaver marksman Talia von Oelhoffen to just 2 points.

THIRD QUARTER

The teams went toe-to-toe as the third quarter began. Rogers and PaoPao scored but Oregon State hit two 3-pointers to close to 38 - 37 at 7:44. They then took a 39 - 38 lead after the Ducks failed to score and the Beavers made all 3 free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt at 7:23. The Ducks got back in the lead at 45 - 41 on a PaoPao basket at 4:15.

Oregon pulled out to a 7-point lead at 50 - 43 with just 2:22 left on a pair of Van Slooten free throws, but again Oregon’s offense would stall out and Oregon State would run off 8 straight points to take a 51 - 50 lead going into the last quarter. The Beavers outscored Oregon 20 - 16 in the third to make a game of it. To this point, Rogers had 20 points and Van Slooten 8. Kyei had 9 rebounds and Rogers 5.

FOURTH QUARTER

Oregon started off the fourth quarter still struggling to score. Long and short open jumpers were missed along with a couple of layups. PaoPao got the Ducks off the schneid by hitting a 3-pointer at 6:47 to cut the Beaver lead to 55 - 53. Fortunately for Oregon, the Beavers were struggling on offense while the Ducks were, if not to the same extent. But Oregon State went on what would be their last run of the game, scoring 5 straight during a 17-3 run to open up a 60 - 53 lead with 5:28 to play.

That was the high-water mark for the Beavers and Rogers hit two 3-pointers and 4 free throws as the Ducks forged a 65 - 62 lead with 2:04 left. Oregon State began to press a bit on offense, missing 3 wild 3-point shots on one possession after a Gray 3 gave Oregon a 6-point lead. Down the stretch, the Beavers could only foul and hope for Oregon to miss but the Ducks made 7 of 8 from the line, keeping Oregon State at bay. PaoPao made the final 2 free throws that provided Oregon the final winning margin at 75 - 67.

Rogers was the dominant force in the game, finishing with a career-high 34 points, a career-high 9 rebounds, and a career-high-tying 6 made 3-pointers. After the game, she noted she, “Had an answer for everything they threw at me.” PaoPao and Van Slooten scored 12 and 10 respectively and Kyei also added 9 rebounds. Rogers also finished with 6 assists, involving her in more than half of Oregon’s points. As a team, Oregon also finished with just 8 turnovers and were 23 - 63 (36.5%) from the field, while hitting 11 - 27 from beyond the 3-point arc. After some disappointing efforts from the free throw line in previous games the Ducks were a solid 18 - 22 from the stripe.

#17 Oregon (7-1) next sees action on Thursday, December 17 when they host Eastern Washington in Matthew Knight Arena, that game available on Oregon Live Stream.