In a game rescheduled from late January due to Covid problems in the Cougar program, Oregon (14 - 7 and 7 - 3 Conf) traveled to the Palouse this afternoon to face Washington State (14 - 7 and 6 - 4 Conf). With the Ducks coming off a 2-game losing streak to the Arizona schools over last weekend, Oregon was looking to get back to its winning ways from last month. Oregon came out hot, stayed hot, played stifling defense for all four quarters and ran the Cougars out of Beasley Coliseum, 83 - 30. It was the 13th win by 50 or more points during Kelly Graves’ tenure at Oregon. The Ducks looked, again, like a top team in the nation.
FIRST QUARTER
Even with (or perhaps because of) Nyara Sabally out due to injury after a hard fall during the ASU game last weekend, Oregon came out ready to play, and Washington State provided all the opportunities the Ducks needed to build a lead. The Cougars opened the game 0 - 13 from the field, scoring only 2 free throws until 2:13 was left in the quarter. By that time, Oregon had put up 21 points, with Sedona Prince, Te-Hina PaoPao and Endyia Rogers hitting shots from all over the floor. Oregon’s defense was just outstanding in this quarter. While Washington State missed numerous open shots, defensive effort by the Ducks led to quick shots under pressure for the Cougs. The teams each scored a bucket late and the first quarter ended with Oregon ahead 23 - 6. Rogers had 10 points and Prince 6 in the quarter. Prince added 3 rebounds and Kylee Watson 2. Maddie Scherr added 3 assists. Oregon shot 58.8 percent from the field and 3 - 4 from behind the 3-point line. The Cougars shot only 11.8 percent from the field and missed all 9 of their 3-point attempts.
SECOND QUARTER
The second quarter featured more of the same, although Oregon was marginally less dominating. Oregon reached a 20-point lead when Prince scored to make it 27 - 6 with 8:35 left in the half. Washington State hit their first 3-point basket of the game with 7:40 left and then made a layup on the break to close to 27 - 11. But PaoPao scored 5 points and Parrish and Rogers contributed baskets to put Oregon up 36 - 13 at 3:49 and prompted a Cougar timeout. The teams again traded baskets down the stretch, and when Shannon Dufficy scored with 22 seconds in the half, Oregon went into the halftime locker room with a commanding 40 - 17 lead. Rogers had 12 in the half, Prince chipped in 8 and PaoPao had 7. Prince had 5 rebounds and Watson 4, while Scherr had 5 assists. Oregon continued shooting well, notching 50 percent for the half while holding the Cougars to 21 percent overall and only 1 - 16 from beyond the arc.
THIRD QUARTER
The third quarter started off poorly again for Washington State, as they missed their first 4 shots and turned the ball over on their other possession. Oregon was content to keep playing tight defense, and to make shots. Another 5 points from PaoPao, 2 Prince free throws and a Scherr layup pushed Oregon ahead 49 - 17 with 7:35 in the quarter. Oregon was relentless on the offensive boards during this part of the quarter. On one such possession, Oregon grabbed 3 straight rebounds on their own misses and then drew a non-shooting foul on the Cougars. On the subsequent inbounds pass, Sydney Parrish was left alone for an easy layup to make it 51 - 19. The Ducks ate up a full minute of clock on this sequence. On two subsequent possessions, Oregon scored a basket and four free throws on 2nd chance opportunities. After Rogers hit another 3, Oregon opened its first 40 point lead at 62 - 22 with 2:40 left. The Cougs would not score again in the quarter while Oregon added 4 more points from Watson to close out the third 66 - 22. Oregon won the 3rd quarter 26 - 5.
FOURTH QUARTER
With the game obviously already decided for a while, the Cougars continued to oblige, missing their first 3 shots of the quarter, turning the ball over and scoring only 2 free throws through the first 4 minutes. Oregon continued the game’s theme on its side of the court, building a 72 - 24 lead at 6:25. Oregon was able to empty its bench ultimately playing everyone who was available. Oregon gained a 51-point lead - 78 - 27 - with 3:54 left. The Ducks continued to crash the offensive glass and to challenge almost every Cougar shot down the stretch. Oregon’s largest lead was 56 with 1:47 to go and Washington State had only one more 3-pointer in them. The Ducks dribbled out the last 22 seconds, leaving the final score at 83 - 30.
The Ducks were led by Endyia Rogers with 17, Te-Hina PaoPao with 14 and Sedona Prince with 12. Sydney Parrish also had 9 and Ahlise Hurst scored 9 off the bench for Oregon. Prince and Maddie Scherr had 8 rebounds each and Scherr also had 8 assists. The Ducks solved the shooting woes that hurt them in the Arizona series, hitting 50.8 percent from the floor and 8 - 22 from 3-point range. The defense held WSU to only 17.5 percent shooting and 3 - 29 from 3-point range.
All-in-all a truly comprehensive win for Oregon. The Ducks next face a home-and-home series with Oregon State this coming weekend. Join The_Badwater for full coverage of these important games!