Men’s And Women’s Basketball Both Lose On The Road

Women’s Basketball

Despite a return to scoring production from Te-Hina Paopao, the Ducks were not able to hold on to a second and third quarter lead, losing to the Washington Huskies 60-68.

Paopao scored a season-high 22 points, with 14 of those points coming in the first half.

The Huskies marched out to an early lead in the first period. They held to lead through the entirety of the first quarter, but the Ducks pulled to within two, 14-16, off a shot from downtown by Paopao.

Oregon gained the lead in the second quarter and were ahead or tied with Washington all quarter. The Ducks went into halftime up by five, 32-27.

Unfortunately, Oregon’s offensive inconsistencies returned in the third quarter, where the Ducks shot a miserable 2-11, including 0-5 from beyond the arc. In shooting only six points in the third, once again Oregon put themselves in a hole that they would not be able to climb out of. The Ducks were down as much as 14 points in the fourth; a gap that would be impossible to surmount.

Oregon shot only 38.6% on the game, to 48.2% for the Huskies. Te-Hina Paopao lead all scorers with 22 points, and Endyia Rogers ended with 10 points. The Ducks also came up short on rebounds, pulling down 29 boards to 33 for Washington. Oregon did not get any significant help from the bench, with only eight points to 28 for the Huskies.

At this point, it’s looking more and more like a lost season for the Ducks. They might get a shot at NIT play, but they have to win some games first. Oregon ends the regular season at home, playing against Arizona on Thursday and Arizona State on Saturday.

Men’s Basketball

The Oregon men have now dropped three in a row, losing in Pullman 65-68. After the Ducks came out with a 12-7 lead, WSU went on a 10-0 run that was largely due to Oregon turning the ball over. The Ducks were able to regroup - and were helped by the Cougars only shooting 29.4% in the first half - and had the lead at halftime, 30-27.

In the second half, poor defense was Oregon’s undoing.

WSU shot 58.62% in the second half, including for 7-12 on threes. The Cougars lead most of the second half, but a free throw by Keeshawn Barthelemy gave the Ducks a one-point lead with 4:16 left to play. The Cougars responded with a three-point shot and held the lead for the rest of the game.

Keeshawn Barthelemy lead all Oregon scorers with 17 points. Jermaine Couisnard finished with 12, and N’Faly Dante ended with a double-double of 10 points and 11 boards. Will Richardson, who went scoreless last game against Washington, scored eight points on 3-4 shooting.

The Ducks out-rebounded the Cougars 38-29, but had 12 turnovers to six for WSU. Those turnovers lead to eight points for WSU off of those turnovers, and that was the game.

Oregon has played themselves out of the bubble. This is likely a team that is NIT bound, at best.

The Ducks travel to Corvallis on Saturday to face Oregon State.