Women’s Basketball Season Ends In Seattle, 59-63

Mar 27, 2023 - 2:07 AM

Oregon women’s basketball saw their season end at the hands of the Washington Huskies, 59-63.

Ultimately, the Ducks could not overcome poor shooting and losing the battle of the paint and glass.

Oregon came out firing and shot well in the first quarter, but after a few minutes Grace VanSlooten went out with a leg injury and did not return until the second half. The Ducks shot well and ended the quarter up 21-13.

Oregon began encountering problems at the end of the 1st, when Phillipina Kyei had to go to the bench after picking up her second foul. With Kyei and GVS out, the Ducks are a small team and the Huskies used that to their advantage. In the second quarter the Ducks scored only eight points, were losing the rebound battle, and while both teams had six turnovers, Washington had 7 points off T/O to Oregon’s 1. At the end of the half, the Huskies had a one point lead, 29-30, and it really felt like they should have had a winder margin than just one point.

A glaring stat at the half was that Endyia Rogers shot 0-6 in the second quarter and only had two points in the game at halftime.

By mid-third quarter, the Ducks were able to get the lead back on a Taya Hanson long shot:

But Kyei picked up a third foul, and UW proptly went on an 8-0 run, on the strength of some poorly contested three-point shooting.

UW kept the lead for the rest of the game, and even though Oregon came to within four at a couple of points, the Ducks gave up way too many points in the paint and had no rebound presence. There were too many easy layups that looked just like this:

The Huskies had four players in double figures, lead by Elle Ladine with 16.

Te-Hina Paopao lead Oregon scorers with 14 points, followed by Taya Hanson with 12. Phillipina Kyei nearly had a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds. Those three accounted for 35 of Oregon’s points, with the rest of the team scoring 24.

Washington completely took over the glass in the second half, finishing with 49 rebounds to 34 for Oregon. They had 42 points in the paint - 20 more than the Ducks. UW had 13 points off of turnovers to three for UO. That’s why the Huskies are off to the Fab Four.

This last game fittingly encapsulated this season. Lack of depth and consistency led to a disappointing conclusion. The injuries and lack of bodies to fill in for injured players is something that coach Graves will need to address in the off-season. The 11 players that started the season quickly became only 7 or 8 that were available at points in the season.

A bright spot is the freshman that started this year, particularly Grace VanSlooten. Later in the year, they will be older and more experienced and should be much improved next season. They will be joined by a strong recruiting class for next season, with the additions of Sofia Bell, Sammie Wagner, and Sarah Rambus.