Oregon's season ends with loss to Washington in WNIT quarterfinals
Oregon’s roller coaster of a season has come to an unceremonious end.
The Ducks fell, 63-59, to the Washington Huskies in the quarterfinals of the WNIT Sunday afternoon in Seattle.
After a roller coaster of a season that was hindered by injuries and absences, Oregon ends its 2022-23 campaign with a 20-15 record and will head into the offseason with plenty of questions to answer.
Te-Hina Paopao led Oregon with 14 points, and Taya Hanson added 12. Phillipina Kyei had nine points and 11 boards.
Ducks’ star senior Endyia Rogers finished with just seven points on 2-for-12 shooting. That marked her lowest scoring output since Oregon’s Jan. 29 loss at Stanford.
Rogers, who garnered first-team all-conference honors for the second consecutive season, will have until Tuesday to decide if she will enter the WNBA Draft or return to school for another season.
The Ducks began the day with just eight healthy, scholarship players available as freshman center Kennedy Basham was out injured. Their thin depth took a significant hit midway through the game when star freshman Grace VanSlooten picked up an injury and was severely limited throughout the remainder of the game.
Oregon got off to a quick start on Sunday and raced out to an 11-3 lead. By the time the first quarter ended, the Ducks held a 21-13 advantage and appeared to be in control.
But Washington slowly but surely shot its way back into contention.
A flurry of second-quarter buckets from Dalayah Daniels and Lauren Schwartz pushed Washington ahead midway through the second. the Ducks battled back with a few timely baskets of their own.
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But Hannah Stines gave the Huskies the lead with a free throw late in the second half to send the Huskies into the break with a 30-29 advantage.
From that point, Washington never trailed.
Oregon was outscored 18-12 in the second period and struggled to find an offensive spark with VanSlooten sidelined.
When Elle Ladine buried a pull-up jumper to put the Huskies ahead 60-51 with 2:23 left in regulation, it appeared the Ducks were dead and buried.
But they rallied back with a pair of quick buckets — the first of which came on a Chance Gray layup, and the second on a three-pointer from Hanson — to make it 60-56.
At the other end, Washington’s Trinity Oliver missed the second of two free throws, giving Oregon a window to further climb back into contention.
But the Huskies grabbed the offensive rebound and Oregon was forced to foul again. Haley Van Dyke sank the two ensuing free throws to put the game on ice.
