After going nearly a full month without a home game, the Cougs finally ended their six-game road trip against Oregon, their second former Pac-12 matchup of the season. While it was a much closer contest than the blowout at Stanford, the Cougs fell to the Ducks 70-85 on Wednesday.
Entering the Oregon matchup, the Cougs came off the Discover Puerto Rico Shootout, where they had played three games in three days just four days earlier. Oregon on the other hand had a full week’s worth of rest heading into the matchup. With both teams coming off losses and heading into the last stretch of non-conference play, Wednesday’s game presented an opportunity to right the ship and have a sense of confidence in preparing for the conference schedule.
The first quarter saw strong offensive performances from both teams and the offense was concentrated heavily in just a couple of individual scorers. For the Cougs, guard Eleonora Villa scored eight points in the quarter including three mid-range jump shots and would lead the team in scoring for the game. The Ducks were led by the frontcourt duo of forward Amina Muhammad and center Phillipina Kyei who combined for 17 of Oregon’s first 22 points. Muhammad scored the Ducks’ first six points and Oregon would finish the quarter up 22-17.
Even with the Cougs lagging behind at the end of the first despite a solid scoring output, the team would score the same amount of points in the second quarter but completely flip the script on the Ducks. Both teams started the quarter slow but Oregon would go up by 11 by the midway point of the quarter for their largest lead of the game so far, but WSU would quickly respond. The Cougs would proceed to go on a 15-4 run to end the quarter behind a pair of threes by guard Astera Tuhina, who would end up going 4-4 from three by the game’s end. The team’s headed into halftime back knotted at 34.
WSU head coach Kamie Ethridge said Tuhina did not take enough shots when players went under ball screens in their last game against Drake, but Ethridge said she liked Tuhina’s response against Oregon. Ethridge also said she was proud of how the team responded in the second quarter overall.
The third quarter would be the highest-scoring quarter of the game and started as a back-and-forth affair for the first half of the quarter. After the teams traded buckets and remained tied with six minutes left in the quarter, Oregon would proceed to go on a 13-2 run to help create a comfortable cushion heading into the final quarter. Guard Peyton Scott had an excellent quarter for the Ducks, notching 14 points with three makes from beyond the arc. After holding Oregon to just 12 points in the second quarter, WSU allowed nearly triple that amount in the third quarter.
A Coug comeback attempt in the fourth quarter would quickly fall flat as the defense again struggled to contain the Ducks. After getting the deficit below double-digits after the first basket in the quarter, WSU would be down by double-digits the rest of the way. Oregon built its lead up to a game-high of 20 with three minutes left to go in the game and never looked back. The Cougs suffered multiple scoring droughts in the quarter and only cut the lead down to 15 in the waning moments of the game. The Cougs went 1-7 from three in the final period and failed to gain any significant momentum.
The Cougs again struggled on the glass and were pounded in the post. Oregon out-rebounded WSU 37-28 and grabbed 13 offensive boards. The Ducks also notched 11 second-chance points and dominated down low, scoring 50 points in the paint to the Cougs’ 32.
“Some of the same things are still hurting us against a big team like Oregon, their second chance points, their rebounding,” Ethridge said. “They still got to the line a little bit more than us and we just couldn’t get many baskets inside, in the paint and they got a lot of those.”
Oregon generated much of its offense by creating deflections and fast-break opportunities. The Ducks scored 22 points off turnovers, forcing 16 turnovers on 10 steals. Oregon also had 13 fast break points.
Scott and Muhammad led the way for the Ducks, scoring 23 and 22 points respectively. Scott went 4-7 from three and 5-7 from the free throw line while getting two steals. Kyei also had a strong performance with a double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Four of her rebounds were on the offensive boards.
The Cougs had three players in double figures, with Villa leading the charge with 18 points and five assists. Villa and forward Tara Wallack each had seven rebounds and Wallack blocked three shots as well. Villa and Wallack struggled from three going a combined 0-7 while the team’s top three scorers combined for 10 of the team’s 16 turnovers. WSU put in the effort to keep up with the Ducks but struggled with several small details that added up to make the difference in the game.
WSU now enters a critical stage of the season as the team continues to develop and search for its identity. The Cougs have been faced with several challenges in a tough non-conference schedule, and with such a young team, perfection should be far from the expectation. Ethridge said with a young team and a tough tournament schedule, the team is still trying to figure itself out.
“We’ve played a really hard schedule and we’re not quite ready for it yet and I think there’s some things we can get better right away and I think we can get more production out of some people,” Ethridge said. “We’ve got to be able to handle this pressure, like the pressure that hurt us tonight. We’ve got to turn around and find ways to not be bothered by that.”
Ethrdige praised her players’ efforts though and said this was a game that the team could build off.
The Cougs will get two more chances to try and end the non-conference schedule on a strong note. WSU faces Brigham Young University next at home on Dec. 13 followed by Saint Martin’s on Dec. 15.
