Sunday, March 1
Eugene, OR
2 p.m.
University of Oregon
20-11,8-10Big Ten
69
vs
70
Washington
20-9,10-8Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Washington
15
21
17
17
70
Oregon
9
18
20
22
69
Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Big Ten Tournament Next After Senior Day
03/01/26 | Women's Basketball
Oregon opens the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 11 seed Wednesday after dropping Sunday's regular-season finale.
EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon's cardiac kids nearly completed another double-digit comeback Sunday, but Washington pulled out a win, 70-69, in the regular-season finale at Matthew Knight Arena.
Katie Fiso had 27 points and fellow sophomore Ehis Etute had 21 for the Ducks, with each tallying two points as the UO women (20-11, 8-10 Big Ten) scored four straight to take a 69-67 lead with 21 seconds left. But UW tied it at the other end, the Ducks turned it over and the Huskies won on a free throw with five seconds to play.
"I feel bad for our kids," said UO coach Kelly Graves, whose team trailed by 13 early in the second half. "You know, we fought hard. We weren't great in the first half, but I thought the second half we were much better. In typical Duck fashion, we sure make it exciting here."
Oregon ended up earning the No. 11 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, which starts Wednesday in Indianapolis. The Ducks will play in the third of three games that evening, against a Purdue team they beat on the road last week — a loss that at the time looked like it might keep the Boilermakers from qualifying for the tournament at all.
"The way things worked out, they're in, and so we're going to be playing a team that probably feels like they're playing with house money," Graves said. "And we've got to pick ourselves back up and get it done."
Sunday was Senior Day for the UO women. Second-year Ducks forward Amina Muhammad and senior transfers Mia Jacobs and Astera Tuhina all started the game, before being honored with friends and family in a postgame ceremony.
"I'm proud of all three of them," Graves said. "They're going to have Oregon degrees. And when we recruit players, we talk about two things that I think are really important when you choose a school — you want to go somewhere where you can establish roots and where you can grow wings, right? And I just impressed upon them, even though they were here for a short time, we just wanted them to know that this can always be home."
How It Happened: The Ducks started slow, shooting 28.6 percent and turning it over four times in the first quarter. A three-pointer by Tuhina was the only UO scoring during a 9-3 run by UW to open the game. Ari Long ended that dry spell with a layup and Fiso scored twice to tie it, but UW took a 15-9 lead at period's end.
Shots began to drop for the Ducks in the second quarter, when they shot 50 percent (7-of-14). Etute had six points and six rebounds in the period, but UW seemed to have a response every time Oregon made a push and the UO women trailed 36-27 at halftime.
"We dig ourselves a hole, and then we have to fight the entire game to come back," said Etute, whose team completed three comebacks from double-digit deficits in the regular season. "So I feel like that's something we need to take with us for next year."
Washington scored twice to open the second half and take its biggest lead of the game, 40-27. But then Fiso started to take over — she had 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting in the third quarter. Eight of those came during a 13-2 run that got the Ducks back within 42-40, and she hit a three-pointer to spark a 5-0 run that cut the deficit to 48-47 before UW took a 53-47 lead into the fourth.
The Ducks scratched and clawed and got the deficit back to one at 60-59, and they trailed 65-61 with 2:43 left. Fiso then scored to spark an 8-2 run that gave Oregon its first lead of the game, at 69-67 after a basket by Etute with 21 seconds left. But UW tied it at the other end, then won with a free throw after Fiso lost control while attacking the lane and then committed a foul chasing the loose ball.
"We had it in the right hands," Graces said. "And she's not afraid — like I told her after the game, the great ones are never afraid to miss that big shot or make it. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. But yeah, she was phenomenal in that second half — both of our sophomores."
Up Next: The Ducks face Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday evening.
Katie Fiso had 27 points and fellow sophomore Ehis Etute had 21 for the Ducks, with each tallying two points as the UO women (20-11, 8-10 Big Ten) scored four straight to take a 69-67 lead with 21 seconds left. But UW tied it at the other end, the Ducks turned it over and the Huskies won on a free throw with five seconds to play.
"I feel bad for our kids," said UO coach Kelly Graves, whose team trailed by 13 early in the second half. "You know, we fought hard. We weren't great in the first half, but I thought the second half we were much better. In typical Duck fashion, we sure make it exciting here."
Oregon ended up earning the No. 11 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, which starts Wednesday in Indianapolis. The Ducks will play in the third of three games that evening, against a Purdue team they beat on the road last week — a loss that at the time looked like it might keep the Boilermakers from qualifying for the tournament at all.
"The way things worked out, they're in, and so we're going to be playing a team that probably feels like they're playing with house money," Graves said. "And we've got to pick ourselves back up and get it done."
Sunday was Senior Day for the UO women. Second-year Ducks forward Amina Muhammad and senior transfers Mia Jacobs and Astera Tuhina all started the game, before being honored with friends and family in a postgame ceremony.
"I'm proud of all three of them," Graves said. "They're going to have Oregon degrees. And when we recruit players, we talk about two things that I think are really important when you choose a school — you want to go somewhere where you can establish roots and where you can grow wings, right? And I just impressed upon them, even though they were here for a short time, we just wanted them to know that this can always be home."
How It Happened: The Ducks started slow, shooting 28.6 percent and turning it over four times in the first quarter. A three-pointer by Tuhina was the only UO scoring during a 9-3 run by UW to open the game. Ari Long ended that dry spell with a layup and Fiso scored twice to tie it, but UW took a 15-9 lead at period's end.
Shots began to drop for the Ducks in the second quarter, when they shot 50 percent (7-of-14). Etute had six points and six rebounds in the period, but UW seemed to have a response every time Oregon made a push and the UO women trailed 36-27 at halftime.
"We dig ourselves a hole, and then we have to fight the entire game to come back," said Etute, whose team completed three comebacks from double-digit deficits in the regular season. "So I feel like that's something we need to take with us for next year."
Washington scored twice to open the second half and take its biggest lead of the game, 40-27. But then Fiso started to take over — she had 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting in the third quarter. Eight of those came during a 13-2 run that got the Ducks back within 42-40, and she hit a three-pointer to spark a 5-0 run that cut the deficit to 48-47 before UW took a 53-47 lead into the fourth.
The Ducks scratched and clawed and got the deficit back to one at 60-59, and they trailed 65-61 with 2:43 left. Fiso then scored to spark an 8-2 run that gave Oregon its first lead of the game, at 69-67 after a basket by Etute with 21 seconds left. But UW tied it at the other end, then won with a free throw after Fiso lost control while attacking the lane and then committed a foul chasing the loose ball.
"We had it in the right hands," Graces said. "And she's not afraid — like I told her after the game, the great ones are never afraid to miss that big shot or make it. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. But yeah, she was phenomenal in that second half — both of our sophomores."
Up Next: The Ducks face Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday evening.
Team Stats
UW
Oregon
FG%
.458
.491
3FG%
.333
.250
FT%
.583
.813
RB
31
34
TO
13
14
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Pts
27
FGM
12
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
4
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballEhis Etute & Katie Fiso | Postgame vs. Washington
Monday, March 02
Kelly Graves | Postgame vs. Washington
Monday, March 02
Astera Tuhina & Katie Fiso: "Coming out hungry."
Friday, February 27
Kelly Graves: "I like where we're at."
Friday, February 27
