Oregon Ducks Land Bid In WNIT, Will Host Long Beach State
Oregon was selected to play in the WNIT and will host Long Beach State on Thursday at Matthew Knight Arena.
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The Oregon Ducks lost their heart and soul late in the season when Senior Jillian Alleyne tore an ACL. She missed the last two regular season games and Oregon was unable to earn another victory in her absence finishing the season with 20 wins. On Monday, Oregon missed out on the NCAA Tournament, but did find a bid in the Women’s NIT with one of the better first round matchups. The Oregon Ducks will host Long Beach State on Thursday night in the First round.
Long Beach State and Oregon finished the season similarly in that both had key winning streaks as the season came to a close. The Oregon Ducks won 10 of 12 before losing Alleyne. Long Beach State finished on a six game winning streak before falling to Hawaii in their Conference tournament. Oregon enters with a 20-10 overall record. Long Beach State comes in at 24-8.
When word came that Star Player Jillian Alleyne was lost to injury the air came out of the balloon that had high praise for a the team to get to 20 wins this season. Head Coach Kelly Graves said it was a special moment. The team will now move forward and continue to play basketball, which can only help players build toward next season. If it were a regular season game at Matthew Knight Arena it would be one of the more intriguing games of the non-conference slate. The 49ers come in with just 8 losses where Oregon has lost three straight, two on the road and in the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
Outside of Alleyne, the Oregon Ducks have shown they have role players. It starts with Maite Cazorla who has grown into the role of point guard as a Freshman. The Ducks have shooters in Lexi Bando and Lexi Petersen. Kat Cooper can play as a Starter or Off the Bench and brings experience and heart. Fans who show up will not be disappointed. Kelly Graves in his second season has brough his brand of basketball to Eugene and has delivered in just two years a team that can play Offense and Defense. Oregon will look to make some noise in the WNIT to get better and build toward the 2016-17 season.
The Oregon Ducks host Long Beach State on Thursday at 6pm in the First Round of the WNIT.