A group of scarlet jerseys rushed to home plate to celebrate with sophomore Jade Berry after she recorded the Cardinal’s fourth home run of the afternoon with a shot over the right field wall in the fifth inning.

The stadium became very familiar with this scene on Saturday, as Stanford (50-11, 16-8 ACC) took down the No. 16 seed Oregon (48-8, 19-3 Big Ten) 14-1 in the first game of the day.

The Ducks defeated Weber State University (28-31, 8-7 Big Sky) on Friday in an 8-0 victory in five innings. The Cardinal entered the matchup off a 9-2 win against Binghamton University (36-13, 16-2 American East Conference).

Taryn Kern led things off by hitting a single to center field and advancing to third off an error by Kedre Luschar. Emily Jones made Oregon pay for the previous fielding error by driving in Kern with a single up the middle.

Elise Sokolsky, who started inside the circle, drew soft contact against the next three batters in order to retire the top of the inning with minimal damage.

The Ducks drew two walks to eventually put two runners in scoring position. Stanford head coach Jessica Allister made an early pitching change with two outs. Alyssa Houston entered for Kylie Chung at the bottom of the first, immediately recording a strikeout to leave two on base.

“I thought [Houston] did a good job of competing in the zone,” Allister said. “I think she executed our game plan in big situations.”

Joie Economides piled onto Oregon’s struggles by hitting a homer down the left field line to put the Cardinal up 2-0 at the top of the second. 

“I think we have a lot of new people who hadn’t faced [Sokolsky] last year, so we were completely wiped of that memory,” Jones said. “We came in with a fresh, clean slate and faced her as another pitcher that we faced all season.”

Lyndsey Grein replaced Sokolsky later in the inning, coming off a Friday performance where she tallied nine strikeouts. Jane Sanders Stadium rattled to the applause of the crowd as Grein and the Ducks’ defense recorded two outs against the next three batters.

The Cardinal hit a couple more solo shots with Grein in the game, one coming by Allie Clements in the fourth and another by River Mahler in the fifth.

In the middle of the fourth inning, the Jane Sanders crowd rose to its feet during the tradition of ‘Shout.’ The high-level energy in the stadium carried into the bottom of the inning. Stefini Ma’ake trailed in the count, taking a couple of big swings that went foul.

Ma’ake belted the 2-2 pitch down the left field line, bringing in pinch-runner Regan Legg from second.

It ended up being the only scoring the Ducks saw in their first Saturday game. Stanford forced Oregon to make a couple more pitching changes with seven more runs.

“That’s actually been one of our strengths all year, is that we feel like we can score up and down the lineup,” Allister said. “Around different times in the season, different people have stepped up and kind of taken the lead on the offense. And I think that’s why we’ve been able to be as consistent as we’ve been.”

A disastrous start to the sixth inning, with six Cardinal runs and the bases loaded, brought Sokolsky back into the game. Stanford scored three more times in what was a 45-minute half inning.

The Ducks are set to play on Saturday versus the winner of Weber State and Binghamton after the conclusion of their game.

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The Weber State University Wildcats could’ve played spoiler with one monster inning, only down one heading into the bottom of the fourth.

But the Ducks’ bats weren’t going to stay cold for too long. Freshman power hitter Stefini Ma’ake was up to bat with two runners on. She crushed the 3-1 pitch to center field. The packed Jane Sanders Stadium rose to its feet as both runners crossed home plate.

A four-run fourth gifted the No. 16 seed Oregon (48-7, 19-3 Big Ten) the 8-0 win against Weber State (28-31, 8-7 Big Sky) in the host team’s Eugene Regional opener on Friday.

Friday marked the first time the Ducks played an NCAA Tournament Regional game at home since the program hired Melyssa Lombardi as head coach in 2018. Senior Dezianna Patmon led the way with three RBIs, going 2-for-3 at the plate, while Ma’ake added two RBIs on her two-run blast.

Lyndsey Grein started inside the circle for Oregon on Friday. Her first pitch of the game found the inside of the strike zone, setting the tone for the game. Grein went on to strike out nine batters in five innings pitched. She struck out her 200th batter of 2025 during the game.

“We’ve been talking all year about starting, the ability to start fast, stay fast, finish fast,” Lombardi said. “I love how Lyndsey set the tone. How the defense set the tone.”

The first two batters in the Ducks’ lineup grounded out, bringing up freshman Rylee McCoy to the plate.

McCoy blasted the first pitch into The Bob at center field to put Oregon on the board. The homer put her at 18 on the year, one away from tying the single-season program record.

More history came for the Ducks at the bottom of the third when left fielder Kai Luschar stole second base. It was her 103rd career stolen base, giving her sole possession of the program’s all-time record. She entered the matchup tied with Jane Takeda (2012-15).

McCoy’s homer was the only hit for Oregon in the first three innings. At the bottom of the fourth, the floodgates opened for the Ducks’ offense. Ma’ake drove home Regan Legg and  Kedre Luschar before Patmon’s homer gave Oregon a comfortable lead.

“Every day is just another day for us to be able to play together,” Patmon said. “Just knowing that your teammates are there behind you, it takes a lot of stress, a lot of pressure off you, so you go out there, play free.”

The Ducks had the opportunity to run-rule the Wildcats in the fifth inning. Hits by Kedre Luschar and Emma Cox put runners on the corners. An error advanced Luschar to second before she later stole home.

Patmon drew good contact again on an RBI double to center field. Sophomore Braisey Rosa entered as a pinch hitter for Katie Flannery and drew a four-pitch walk.

Kai Luschar ended the game on a single to shortstop that drove in Patmon.

“Postseason is a brand new opportunity, a fresh restart,” Patmon said. “Just being able to start fast for this regional, we’re so blessed to be able to play here, and so the fans and for this team, it’s just a great opportunity.”

The Ducks are set to play on Saturday at 1 p.m. versus Stanford. The winner of that game will advance to play on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

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On May 12, thousands of fans lined up outside Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, decked out in New York Liberty merch.

It didn’t matter that Matthew Knight Arena is 2,918 miles away from the Liberty’s home, the Barclays Center in New York. Two teams on opposite coasts became one fan base — at least for the weekend.

New York’s WNBA franchise traveled to Eugene for a preseason matchup against the Toyota Antelopes of the Japan Women’s Basketball League. The site of the 84-61 Liberty win was intended as a homecoming for former University of Oregon women’s basketball stars, Sabrina Ionescu and Nyara Sabally.

In the 2024 preseason, three-time MVP A’ja Wilson returned to her alma mater, South Carolina. It was the beginning of a new trend where WNBA stars got the chance to play professional basketball in the arena where they played collegiate basketball. In the past month alone, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark returned to Iowa, the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith returned to LSU and Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young faced off against Arike Ogunbowale at Notre Dame. 

A handful of fans started watching women’s basketball at the collegiate level and followed their favorite players to the pros. None of the universities that WNBA teams have played at this year are within a two-hour drive of a professional team, making the exhibition games that much more of an opportunity to draw fans into the next level.

“I feel like everyone’s been talking about this day for a really long time,” Ionescu said. “It just is going to continue to help grow the game of basketball and do so in different areas and especially here in Eugene, where there isn’t a professional basketball team.”

Although Portland is receiving a WNBA team in 2026, the closest that Eugene’s diehard women’s basketball fanbase can see a professional game currently is all the way in Seattle.

Sabally added that it’s a fun experience for the players to return, especially given that some schools are much further away from a WNBA team than others.

“It’s just cool to go back to the old stomping grounds and also have the fans that supported you your whole career, being able to see you in the pros,” Sabally said. “Because some might not be able to travel to the cities where other players play, so to be able to see them and the next step, I think, is really good for the fans.”

While it’s a fairly new opportunity for WNBA franchises to go back to school, Team USA women’s basketball has a history of playing against collegiate teams. When Ionescu was a senior in 2019, her Oregon team became the first college to defeat the senior national team since 1999 in a 93-86 victory.

“It was insane. I think everyone kind of still talks about it today,” Ionescu said. “We got a sellout crowd, and we’re just college kids excited to play against the national team and ended up winning. It was intense. I just remember that moment of how fun it was to play here.”

Ionescu is an Olympic gold medalist for Team USA, five years later. Now, a new generation of Oregon women’s basketball players watched from the crowd, with aspirations of being in the position to play where Ionescu is currently at the professional level.

“It just makes it feel more real. It’s so close to you. You can just come to the game,” current Oregon women’s basketball guard Elisa Mevius said about teams playing on college campuses. “The whole Oregon women’s basketball team is going to the game [against the Antelopes]. I just think it’s going to be more people watching the WNBA more and more.”

Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello added that for a team like New York, which has a lot of new additions, another benefit of going to a player’s former college town is the team bonding aspect. Liberty players, such as newly acquired guard Natasha Cloud, detailed how Ionescu and Sabally were as hosts. The pair showed their team spots in Eugene, such as Dutch Bros and Rennie’s Landing.

Brondello advised other teams who consider playing exhibition games at college campuses to “take the opportunity when presented.” She thinks it’s going to occur more frequently moving forward and hopes that her team “made some new fans.”

“We have to embrace it with two hands and the opportunity to continue to grow the game, this great game that I’ve been a part of for so long,” Brondello said. “But it’s a real movement. And so it’s great to come to non-WNBA teams.”

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On May 12, thousands of fans lined up outside Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, decked out in New York Liberty merch.

It didn’t matter that Matthew Knight Arena is 2,918 miles away from the Liberty’s home, the Barclays Center in New York. Two teams on opposite coasts became one fan base — at least for the weekend.

New York’s WNBA franchise traveled to Eugene for a preseason matchup against the Toyota Antelopes of the Japan Women’s Basketball League. The site of the 84-61 Liberty win was intended as a homecoming for former University of Oregon women’s basketball stars, Sabrina Ionescu and Nyara Sabally.

In the 2024 preseason, three-time MVP A’ja Wilson returned to her alma mater, South Carolina. It was the beginning of a new trend where WNBA stars got the chance to play professional basketball in the arena where they played collegiate basketball. In the past month alone, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark returned to Iowa, the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith returned to LSU and Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young faced off against Arike Ogunbowale at Notre Dame. 

A handful of fans started watching women’s basketball at the collegiate level and followed their favorite players to the pros. None of the universities that WNBA teams have played at this year are within a two-hour drive of a professional team, making the exhibition games that much more of an opportunity to draw fans into the next level.

“I feel like everyone’s been talking about this day for a really long time,” Ionescu said. “It just is going to continue to help grow the game of basketball and do so in different areas and especially here in Eugene, where there isn’t a professional basketball team.”

Although Portland is receiving a WNBA team in 2026, the closest that Eugene’s diehard women’s basketball fanbase can see a professional game currently is all the way in Seattle.

Sabally added that it’s a fun experience for the players to return, especially given that some schools are much further away from a WNBA team than others.

“It’s just cool to go back to the old stomping grounds and also have the fans that supported you your whole career, being able to see you in the pros,” Sabally said. “Because some might not be able to travel to the cities where other players play, so to be able to see them and the next step, I think, is really good for the fans.”

While it’s a fairly new opportunity for WNBA franchises to go back to school, Team USA women’s basketball has a history of playing against collegiate teams. When Ionescu was a senior in 2019, her Oregon team became the first college to defeat the senior national team since 1999 in a 93-86 victory.

“It was insane. I think everyone kind of still talks about it today,” Ionescu said. “We got a sellout crowd, and we’re just college kids excited to play against the national team and ended up winning. It was intense. I just remember that moment of how fun it was to play here.”

Ionescu is an Olympic gold medalist for Team USA, five years later. Now, a new generation of Oregon women’s basketball players watched from the crowd, with aspirations of being in the position to play where Ionescu is currently at the professional level.

“It just makes it feel more real. It’s so close to you. You can just come to the game,” current Oregon women’s basketball guard Elisa Mevius said about teams playing on college campuses. “The whole Oregon women’s basketball team is going to the game [against the Antelopes]. I just think it’s going to be more people watching the WNBA more and more.”

Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello added that for a team like New York, which has a lot of new additions, another benefit of going to a player’s former college town is the team bonding aspect. Liberty players, such as newly acquired guard Natasha Cloud, detailed how Ionescu and Sabally were as hosts. The pair showed their team spots in Eugene, such as Dutch Bros and Rennie’s Landing.

Brondello advised other teams who consider playing exhibition games at college campuses to “take the opportunity when presented.” She thinks it’s going to occur more frequently moving forward and hopes that her team “made some new fans.”

“We have to embrace it with two hands and the opportunity to continue to grow the game, this great game that I’ve been a part of for so long,” Brondello said. “But it’s a real movement. And so it’s great to come to non-WNBA teams.”

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Many dubbed Dante Moore as the future of the starting quarterback position for Oregon the moment he transferred to the Ducks in 2024. Meanwhile, with all the attention on Moore, redshirt sophomore Austin Novosad continued to improve his game the past two seasons with the program, proving himself to be a worthy competitor for the starting role.

Novosad committed to the Ducks as a consensus four-star recruit from Dripping Springs, Texas. He led his high school to three straight appearances in the state playoffs, making him a consensus top-20 quarterback in the nation.

The quarterback utilized a redshirt in his first year with Oregon in 2023, but did play in three games. He made his collegiate debut against Portland State University in 2023 while also facing University of Hawai’i and Liberty University in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.

Last fall, Novosad took another step in his progression. He played in another three games in his redshirt-freshman season. He now enters the 2025 season with a career total of 42 offensive snaps: 11-for-13 for 59 yards.

Many fans and media members predict Moore to be the next in line for the quarterback position, but Novosad has stayed ready.

Also a redshirt sophomore, Novosad had been a part of several iterations of Oregon football. He said that the players at the position, which consists of Novosad, Moore, Luke Moga, Brock Thomas and Akili Smith Jr., have pushed each other to improve on the field.

“That whole room is pretty close. We go out there and help each other when we need to, and go out there and compete,” Novosad said. “We’re all trying to make plays and lead to the best of our ability in that room. It’s been great.”

The Ducks are incorporating a handful of younger players into the offense this season such as wide receiver Dakorien Moore. Novosad expressed that having quarterbacks like himself and Moore, who’ve been in college for multiple years and who know the Oregon playbook, has helped get the newer faces “up to speed.”

The redshirt sophomore is one of the longest tenured quarterbacks in the room. He has the rare experience of learning from two Heisman candidates in his first two seasons: Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel.

“Just seeing Dillon and Bo, both were completely different quarterbacks,” Novosad said. “But I think one thing that was super similar was just their preparation and that’s one thing that I really learned from both of them throughout the two years.”

Head coach Dan Lanning cited the experience Novosad gained from backing up Nix and Gabriel as important steps in learning the player he can be.

“I think the guy’s just a winner. He’s become really comfortable in our system,” Lanning said at a spring media availability. “He understands it, and I think that Coach Stein and the offensive staff do a good job of continuing to push that, but he’s just really level-headed.”

Novosad said his leadership and “execution of a faster-paced offense” are what’s improved since his arrival at Oregon. Other players, such as wide receiver Gary Bryant Jr., have also noticed his improvements, with Bryant saying he’s become more vocal. But Novosad’s still refining his craft.

“It’s been the same all three years, elevating your game every offseason,” Novosad said. “This spring, I think just leading the team and leading the offense has been a big thing for me. I’m really understanding the playbook now, so you’re out there trying to execute at the highest level you can.”

In addition to leadership and execution, Novosad said that performing well in the spring game this weekend is another one of his goals for the offseason.

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Oregon (5-8, 0-6 Big Ten) fought hard to stay close with No. 16 Michigan (9-4, 3-2 Big Ten) in the final home game of the season, but ultimately couldn’t keep up with the scoring of the Wolverines in the 14-9 defeat.

The seniors that the Ducks honored postgame were the ones who kept the game close in the first half. Paige Crowther recorded nine first-half saves in goal, while graduate attacker Bri Carrasquillo tallied two of the squad’s four goals in the opening 30 minutes.

“They got to spearhead our first year being in the Big Ten,” head coach Jess Drummond said of the 2025 class. “They really set the precedent of what it is to be Oregon lacrosse going to the Big Ten.” 

“It’s honestly an honor to be able to play in this conference, and be able to do this for this program,” Crowther said. “We may not be there this year, but I know that we’re building a foundation right now. This team is going to be phenomenal within the next five years, and really compete.” 

The Wolverines won the opening draw, but the Ducks’ goalie, Crowther, controlled the game early. Crowther recorded three saves alone in the first four minutes, and Oregon held Michigan scoreless for half of the first quarter.

Wolverines attacker Jane Fetterolf drew contact to get in the free position. Her attempt bounced into the bottom of the cage for the first goal of the game at the 6:23 mark.

The Ducks responded with a free-position goal of their own less than a minute later. Carrasquillo splashed her attempt to equalize in the top corner of the net.

Crowther kept Oregon in the game in the first half, including back-to-back saves on a pair of good looks for Michigan. Anna Simmons and the Ducks once again tied the game with a shot after a Wolverines score.

The goals finally began to snowball for Michigan in the final minutes of the first. Oregon regained some momentum with a Carrasquillo crease roll goal and a goal by Lyla Hurley in the second quarter, but the Wolverines had already built a multiple-score lead.

The downpour of rain started following the halftime break, as the outlook for the Ducks’ chances looked equally gloomy. It only took Michigan 14 seconds into the third to score its tenth goal and increase the lead to six.

Five Wolverine makes on nine chances from the free position hurt Oregon. The Ducks also allowed multiple free position opportunities on two attempts, despite Crowther saving the first time on both occasions.

“Michigan did a good job of making us kind of be more sunken on defense, where we usually had to foul outside the eight meter, “ Drummond said.

Simmons, Carrasquillo and Hurley all finished with two or more goals, but it wasn’t enough for Oregon to pull off an upset. Michigan outshot the Ducks 45-26, with 29 of those attempts coming in the second and third quarters.

Despite the loss, Crowther tied a career-high with 17 saves.

“It really is the defense,” Crowther said. “Those low angles in their hands, everything like that, I’m just able to make those saves and have their back because they have my own.”

Oregon’s losing streak grows to six games, dating back to the start of conference play. The Ducks hit the road for the final three games of the season. Eastern Michigan is next on the schedule, with the two sides facing off at noon on Friday.

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Oregon women’s lacrosse hasn’t started Big Ten play in the fashion it hoped for, but the first half of the season still proved promising for the future of the young squad.

While Bri Carrasquillo, one of the Ducks’ top leaders in points and goals, is a graduate student, most of the team’s top contributors have multiple years of eligibility left. Sophomore attacker Gabby Santucci, for example, was third on the team in goals before she went down with an injury.

“You see how tough she is. She’s strong, she’s gritty,” head coach Jessica Drummond said postgame in an interview with KWVA after the Ducks’ first Big Ten game against Ohio State. “I’m just really proud of how much she shows up and competes every game.”

Santucci scored 15 goals across the difficult stretch of three games against the University of California, Davis, San Diego State University and Ohio State when Oregon recorded a 1-2 record. Her hot streak had her tied for the most goals on the team across that three-game stretch. Attacker Lyla Hurley joins Santucci as another bright spot in the sophomore class, sitting at third in points through 10 games.

On the defensive side of the field, senior Paige Crowther has commanded the starting goalkeeper position this season, but freshman Kate Shields showed flashes of potential. Shields subbed on with Oregon down five goals in a comeback non-conference victory over San Diego State University. She ended the game with 11 saves and was credited with her first collegiate win.

“One moment I was there cheering for my teammates and the team on the sideline, and then Coach Drummond looked over at me and said, ‘Go get warmed up,’” Shields said, according to GoDucks. “I kind of just took that as I have to warm up quickly, go in and help the team turn it around.”

The Big Ten named Shields Freshman of the Week on March 11 after her outing versus the Aztecs. The current freshman class is full of contributors like Shields who’ve helped the Ducks to gritty performances. Midfielder Liv Kozitza has scored double-digit goals off the bench this season and both Hazel Baker and Audrey Thompson scored in limited playing time, while Ella Lewandowski has been a defensive stalwart since the start of conference play.

The Ducks lost their last three home games and have been riddled with injuries. Captains Anna Simmons and Rachel Pallo will be seniors next season alongside the current underclassmen who now have a taste of what it takes to be successful in the Big Ten.

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The Oregon Athletic Department has welcomed former star athletes back to Eugene over the years in such ways as honoring them at games or helping them give back to the community. A chance for Ducks fans to see a legendary athlete play on campus one last time is a rare opportunity, let alone watching two former Ducks perform.

Oregon women’s basketball greats Sabrina Ionescu (2016-2020) and Nyara Sabally (2018-2022) will make their return to Matthew Knight Arena on May 12, as part of the New York Liberty’s WNBA preseason schedule. They’ll play the Toyota Antelopes, a team from the Women’s Japan Basketball League.

“I never thought I was going to be able to play on that court and in front of our amazing Duck fans again,” Sabally said, according to a Liberty press release. “I know Oregon is going to show out and it’s going to be an amazing atmosphere!”

The Liberty’s coming to Eugene is part of a unique trend in the WNBA, where franchises are playing preseason games at college campuses. For example, the Las Vegas Aces and the Dallas Wings will face off at the University of Notre Dame, while Louisiana State University welcomes back their very own, Angel Reese, when the Chicago Sky play there in May.

Ionescu and Sabally will return to Oregon after a WNBA Championship with New York at the end of last season. Ionescu said in November when she appeared on Big Ten Tailgate in Eugene that “a part of that championship is for the University of Oregon.”

The Ducks were among the favorites to win the NCAA Tournament back in 2020 when both Ionescu and Sabally were on the team, but the season was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This ended Ionescu’s award-winning career as a Duck before she had the opportunity to play in front of the Matthew Knight Arena crowd for the final time.

Five years later, Ionescu will have another chance to play on an Oregon-branded court. The two former Ducks play their preseason game five days before they’ll be presented their championship rings in New York on opening day.

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The Matthew Knight Arena crowd erupted into cheers that were deafening to the ears on the court. It didn’t matter that it was only the first quarter. It didn’t matter that it was Super Bowl Sunday. The Ducks possessed all the momentum against the undefeated No. 1 team in the nation. The fans were locked in on the action.

Oregon assistant coach Jerise Freeman was just as fired up as the sea of green and yellow in the stands. She hopped out of her seat on the sideline and clapped her hands, shouting words of encouragement at her players. The Ducks mimicked her energy on the court, flexing and roaring as they forced turnover after turnover.

Oregon held UCLA to only 12 points on just over 30% shooting in the first quarter. Even though it ended as a 62-52 loss, defensive stops are what kept the Ducks in the game against the Bruins longer than any team up to that point. It was the side of the floor that Freeman specialized in.

About a month earlier, Freeman sat in the practice gym after the team’s workout wearing a patterned green pom beanie with the Duck logo on the center.

“It’s easy for them to be excited about getting a stop and all of those things because we talk about it every single day,” Freeman said. “It is a big thing if we get a charge in practice, just like it’s a big thing if we get a charge in the game.”

Freeman’s contagious energy comes from her playing days. She was known as a defensive stopper at Seward County Community College and later Pacific, where she averaged 13.2 points and 7.2 rebounds a game in her senior year. A smile flashed across her face as she recalled a moment in high school when she started to understand that her energy is what makes her stand out.

“My high school coach came to me and he was like, ‘You don’t have the opportunity to have ups and downs. You’re energy — that’s what you are. That’s what you bring,’” Freeman said. “‘That is your constant. And so if you’re having a bad day, unfortunately, you’re going to have to hide it because we feed off of the low energy just as much as the high.’”

In the past few seasons, the Ducks didn’t have a personality like Freeman whose spirit could inject energy into the program.

“Sometimes I had to fill that role, give the energy,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “I’m 62 years old. My energy is different than [the] young energy that she’s been giving us.”

Three days after the UCLA loss, the Ducks played a nail-biter against their rival Washington Huskies. Washington guard Devin Coppinger received the ball on the baseline inbound and her contested jumper rolled off the rim. The Matthew Knight Arena crowd cheered in celebration as the final buzzer sounded and the scoreboard indicated a 68-67 Oregon victory.

Freeman jumped into the air, pumping her fists in excitement as she celebrated with Graves. Once again, the Ducks sealed a much needed win on the defensive end. A rivalry win clinched a spot in the Big Ten Tournament — and it kept Oregon’s hopes of reaching March Madness alive.

The thought of the Ducks reaching the 2025 NCAA Tournament would’ve been laughed off at the end of last season. The program lost 14-straight games and its top two scorers transferred. Coach Graves went to work in the offseason, not just recruiting top talents from the transfer portal, but adding a proven assistant coach to his staff.

Freeman achieved a lot of success in her previous stops as an assistant at Oklahoma State and then Utah. She helped both teams to multiple NCAA Tournament appearances and coached multiple players who were drafted into the WNBA, such as the eighth pick in 2024, Alissa Pili.

She still made the decision to exit the Utes’ program for Oregon in the offseason, despite the disparity in success the two programs achieved in recent years. Graves called Freeman last summer with a vision: Oregon would get back to a place of prominence similar to where it stood five years prior when it reached the Final Four.

“It’s not like he hasn’t been to the Final Four. It’s not like he hasn’t been to Sweet 16,” Freeman said. “It’s like he’s been there and done that. When a head coach calls you and says they want you and we’re getting back there and they want you to be a part of that, it’s special and you want to be a part of that.” 

Freeman said that when Graves called her about the opportunity in Eugene, she almost didn’t take it — not because of the program’s thorny past season, but because she was afraid of how she’d handle increased responsibility.

“I was nervous. I didn’t want to fail him,” Freeman said. “I knew they were coming off of a tough season and I didn’t want to be the reason why we failed.”

Freeman ended up taking the position, in part due to the support of Graves and his coaching staff.

“Being able to coach through the mistakes, being able to still build them up, but hold them accountable — I think those were all things that I had to learn,” Freeman said. “Kelly, [assistant coach Jodie Berry], their minds of how they work, I leaned on them hard. Still do in those tough moments.”

Freeman said that the confidence Graves and the coaching staff had in her never wavered, even during periods when the team struggled on the defensive side of the floor.

“She’s taken ownership of [the defense],” Graves said. “She just has the personality, I think the team feeds off that. They love her energy and she’s upbeat every single day and they’ve bought into it.”

In terms of completely flipping the team’s narrative in the span of one year, Freeman saw similarities in the rough season the Ducks were coming off of to the situation she entered in Utah.

“[The Utes] had a bad season prior,” Freeman said. “And then we flipped it and turned it around and made it to the NCAA Tournament.”

Losses to Nebraska and Washington in the final three games of the regular season kept Oregon’s postseason placement in flux. The Ducks team sat in Matthew Knight Arena on Mar. 16, anxiously awaiting to hear if their name would be called during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show.

Finally, the vision Graves presented to Freeman last summer became destiny. The Ducks return to the tournament for the first time in three years to face off against Vanderbilt, despite the turbulent road it took to get to that point.

“We really needed to get back to the tournament,” Graves said to the media on Sunday. “That was our goal right at the very start and we put ourselves into that position.”

Just like her prior stops, Freeman helped another program to the “Big Dance.” She said that what she took from each team she worked with was the importance of attention to detail.

“If you let something go in practice and it continues to be a thing, well that’s the thing that’s gonna beat you in the game,” Freeman said.

Freeman said the squad hasn’t taken any practice lightly down the stretch of the season because every practice, every chance to improve has mattered when it came to reaching the NCAA Tournament.

Beyond a single season, programs are always in search of new stars on the court to pick up lost production as a result of inevitable roster turnover. Regardless of how far the Ducks finish in the tournament, keeping Freeman on the staff will only allow Oregon to continue building what she’s started on the defensive side of the floor.

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It only took 10 seconds for Oregon lacrosse’s Anna Simmons to storm down half the length of the field and score.

It was the first time that Simmons found the back of the cage in her program record-tying seven-goal performance against Stetson University on Feb. 11.

Causing opposing defenses to scramble and then shake their heads after inevitable defeat is something that the junior midfielder has done in just about every game this season. Her team-leading 24 goals through six games follows a career-best 34 goals she scored last season in 15 outings.

“F​​rom freshman year to sophomore year, I made a huge jump, and sometimes I wasn’t super confident in myself,” Simmons said. “In this off-season, I just learned how to trust myself and be able to push myself to new levels while also bringing people with me, so not only that I’m performing, but more people are as well.”

When Simmons is playing well, whether it’s on defense or offense, opportunities open up for the rest of her teammates. In the game against Stetson, sophomore attacker Avery Young also contributed four goals.

“(Simmons) came up to us maybe after a couple shots in the first quarter and was like, ‘They’re getting tough on me. You guys have to step in and take that role, and not just on offense,’” Young said. “That’s just being communicative and being like, okay, if she’s not going to get it in, we have to.”

Simmons’ offensive showing has garnered a lot of attention from fans and the Big Ten, but she’s dominated both sides of the field. In addition to her seven goals against Stetson, she recorded a career-high seven ground balls and a career-high of five caused turnovers against Central Michigan University.

“We’ve really focused on the small wins like those little ground balls or chasing the shot after someone misses,” Simmons said. “Those things really help us create momentum. I think that’s why we are finding success on offense and defense.”

Her dominant performances made her the only player in the Big Ten to win the Conference Midfielder of the Week award in the first three weeks of the season. The Ducks got off to a 4-0 record before losing two games on the road.

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