Oregon Ducks edge Washington Huskies 88-86

Man, that was a great game and a great win for the Oregon Ducks. They bounced back from a humiliating loss against Washington State and defeated their rivals to obtain their first Pac-12 victory of the season. The Ducks took down the Huskies 88-86 thanks to some clutch play. They were down 47-36 at the half but mounted an incredible second-half rally and took the lead with 16 seconds left after a clutch three from Deanna Weaver. Danielle Love made a great defensive play soon after and blocked a shot from Majorie Heard with just seconds to play to preserve an 87-86 lead. Point guard Nia Jackson was able to play, and her influence on this team certainly showed in this game. She was the main reason why the Ducks were able to win, and she hit a free throw to end the game 88-86.

Ariel Thomas came up big against the Huskies and dropped 21 points off of five three-pointers in this game. Thomas also grabbed 7 rebounds and notched three steals, while Jasmin Holliday also put in a defensive performance to remember. She may have only shot 30% from the floor and turned the ball over three times, but she also had four steals and three blocks. Holliday was also able to grab 7 rebounds and dish out 3 assists.

Speaking of assists, PG Nia Jackson had a game-high 4 assists in her much-needed return. She was the spark the Ducks needed in this game and is one of the best players in the Pac-12 right now. The importance of her return cannot be understated, and she hit 11 of her 12 free throws while also hitting half of her shots from the field. Jackson finished off with 19 points and 6 rebounds, and her 3 steals offset her 3 turnovers.

Even if we try as hard as we can to ignore her three-pointer that won this game for the Ducks, Deanna Weaver was still a huge part of this victory. She scored 13 points off the bench and hit 75% of her threes and 67% of her total shots. Weaver also blocked two shots and had six rebounds. Fellow bench star Jordan Loera also had double-digits off the bench (10 pts).

Kellie McCann-Smith was a thorn in the Ducks defense’s side all night long, and the guard racked up 26 points in 28 minutes with a 50 FG% and 6-11 shooting from three-point land. Mackenzie Argens added 18 points and 9 rebounds, and she also shot 50% from the floor. Star Regina Rogers fouled out with six minutes left to play, and she had 8 points and 5 rebounds and was only able to play for 14 minutes. Jazmine Davis also fouled out, but she was able to score 12 points. However, Davis also had an unsightly 8 turnovers and was the only player on the team with more than two.

The Ducks would have won this game by at least five, if not for the incredible performance by McCann-Smith. She single-handedly kept the Huskies in this game and was just incredible from downtown. Oregon were the much better team in the second half, and the Huskies just fell apart at the end. This was a very important win for the Ducks, and it was a very convincing one.

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