Oregon women’s basketball (19-10, 10-8 Big Ten) simply needed to take care of business one game at a time in the final stretch of the season.

A trip to Washington (18-12, 9-9 Big Ten) proved too much to handle and the Ducks’ chances of making the NCAA Tournament slimmed in a 63-56 loss.

Oregon’s day started off with the news that junior guard Elisa Mevius would miss the remainder of the season with a hand injury.

Without one of their biggest 3-point threats, the Ducks struggled to find supplementary scoring early. Oregon only scored four field goals outside of Peyton Scott and Deja Kelly in the first half. In the first quarter, 17 of the team’s 19 points came from the backcourt duo.

The Ducks’ defense stayed steady in the first quarter. Oregon held Washington without a field goal for nearly four minutes at the end of the first to finish on an 8-0 run.

But the Ducks couldn’t rely on Scott and Kelly for the entire game. The Huskies started the second quarter on a run of their own, in part, due to the eight Oregon turnovers in the period.

Freshman Katie Fiso hit a buzzer beater jumper to cut the deficit to three but the damage of a 21-11 quarter was already done.

Washington’s Dalayah Daniels made all the right plays on Sunday. She intercepted an Amina Muhammad pass to the paint before tallying a second straight steal on the following possession. The Huskies swished in a triple to clinch their largest lead up to that point.

The Ducks continued to fight but never regained the lead. Former Husky Alexis Whitfield rolled in a layup with 2:40 remaining to cut it to one possession but missed a crucial attempt a minute later. Ari Long fouled battling for a rebound and the lights dimmed on Oregon’s chances of coming back.

Kelly was the hero when the two sides faced off in Eugene in February, sealing a one-point victory from the stripe. Daniels knew who the Ducks were looking to find in crunch time on Sunday.

Daniels swatted away Kelly’s layup on the left side of the hoop to energize the Husky crowd with 1:13 left.

Oregon finished the game 0-for-6 from the floor as Washington split the season series.

The Ducks head to Indiana next for the Big Ten Tournament, which runs from March 5 through March 9. They’ll need to play in the first round after the latest loss, with only the top nine seeds receiving a first round bye.

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Oregon softball (11-1) continued its historic start to the 2025 season by defeating California (6-3) in a gritty 5-4 performance.

The Ducks trailed 2-0 in their first game of the weekend entering the bottom of the first. Elise Sokolsky started inside the circle but only lasted 2 ⅔ after early struggles.

Freshman catcher Emma Cox cut into the first-inning deficit with an RBI double at the bottom of the inning. Fellow freshman Rylee McCoy gifted Oregon the lead on the next at-bat. She homered to left field on a full count and with an out away from the end of the first.

Sokolsky pitched a three-up, three-down second inning, but her nerves returned in the third. The Golden Bears recorded three hits, a stolen base and a game-tying run.

Oregon head coach Melyssa Lombardi made the pitching change and sophomore Taylour Spencer retired the top of the inning.

McCoy seemingly tacked on a fourth Ducks run in the bottom of the third. Instead, the umpires called it foul and she hit a flyout.

The 2024 Golden Glove winner Paige Sinicki still gave Oregon the advantage on the following at-bat. She hit a triple down the left field line and two came in to score as she slid to third.

Cal continued to stay close. Alyssa Herrera sent a rocket over the left field wall to bring it back to a one-score game in the fourth.

Lyndsey Grein finished the game on the mound for the Ducks after a one-inning stint from Spencer. Oregon shut out the Golden Bears with Grein on the mound but couldn’t add to its lead.

Grein was one out away from pitching a no-hitter in her 3 ⅓ innings pitched but allowed Cal’s leadoff hitter to tally a two-out double. The Golden Bears’ fourth batter of the inning hit a flyout and the Ducks escaped with the victory.

Oregon is set to play the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader at 12:30 p.m. It’ll face off against No. 5 Tennessee in the second of five games at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.

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Washington only had four seconds to work with on the baseline inbound after the Ducks forced a jump ball. 

The Huskies (14-11, 5-8 Big Ten) tossed the ball to Devin Coppinger in the mid-range. Her contested shot attempt hit the side of the rim. The clock hit triple zeros and Oregon women’s basketball (17-8, 8-6 Big Ten) earned a much-needed 68-67 victory.

Big defensive stops are what clinched Oregon a spot in the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday night. Its performances on the offensive end of the floor are what’s keeping games so close — and it’s what has the Ducks on the bubble of making the NCAA Tournament.

Deja Kelly iced the game from the free throw line after she drew the fifth foul on Washington’s leading scorer Sayvia Sellers with 18 seconds left. Fifteen makes at the charity stripe propelled Oregon to victory despite shooting 42% from the floor and 21% from downtown.

“I knew I had to step up and make,” Kelly said about her late-game free throws. “I’ve been in these situations before so just really using that to my advantage.”

The Ducks’ defensive pressure improved as Wednesday’s contest went on. The Huskies tallied eight of their 15 turnovers in the fourth quarter.

“I loved our second-half intensity defensively,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “We just picked it up. I thought in the first half we were reactionary.”

Just a few days prior, Oregon handed the undefeated No. 1 team in the nation, UCLA  (23-0, 11-0 Big Ten), its second narrowest margin of victory of the season. The Ducks forced 18 turnovers in that game and held the Bruins without a field goal for the final 5:41 of the first quarter.

The path was there for Oregon to hand UCLA its first loss of the season, but the offense simply wasn’t there. The Ducks are shooting 34.9% from the floor and 20.8% from beyond the arc in their eight losses this season.

Oregon’s performance on the offensive end of the floor was just good enough to seal the win against Washington. Still, the final score was separated by just one point against the 13th team in the Big Ten standings in a home game.

“A lot of those close wins, how many times have we been on the defensive end,” Graves said. “That’s what’s carried us.”

The Ducks are holding the best players on opposing teams below their scoring averages. The Bruins’ Lauren Betts, one of the frontrunners for the Naismith Player of the Year award, scored single digits for only the second time this season on Sunday.

The Oregon game plan is working on one end of the floor. It was good enough against Washington — but it hasn’t been enough to earn the team victories against the best teams in the nation. The shots have to fall at some point.

“If you’re open, you’re in range and you’re on balance, let it fly,” Graves said. “One of these days, it’s just gonna really click and this team’s going to even take off more.”

It’s a sprint to the finish line for the Ducks. Three of the final four games are on the road but all of their remaining opponents are currently unranked. Oregon now knows it’ll play in the Big Ten Tournament in March — but nothing is guaranteed past that.

“Coach keeps telling us it’s home stretch so this is where we really got to double down. We’re really starting to peak a little bit. We have to,” Kelly said. “We’re going to keep moving forward and take it one game at a time because we got a lot more games to play.”

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Peyton Scott poked the ball away from Ella Collier with 2:26 left in the first half and sprinted to the hoop from halfcourt.

Scott flipped in the layup despite being hacked by the defender on the way up. She let out a roar as the official’s whistle blew — both of which could barely be heard over the crowd’s deafening applause.

Each time Oregon (13-5, 4-3 Big Ten) started to lose its grasp on the advantage in Wednesday’s 69-53 win against Purdue (7-10, 0-6 Big Ten), the defense came up with a big stop to shift the momentum back in its favor.

“I think turnovers were the key,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “It’s really kind of funny because we’re not in the in-your-face kind of super athletic defense but we just kind of get hands on a lot of balls.”

The Ducks have recorded double-digit steals in eight of their last 11 contests. Their 11 games with 10 or more steals this season are already more than the last two seasons combined. Oregon is 9-2 in those games.

Wednesday’s matchup began sluggish and the Ducks trailed by as many as five points in the first quarter. Scott hit her first two field goal attempts but the rest of the team started 0-for-8. 

A 7-0 Oregon scoring run changed that. Nani Falatea and Sofia Bell rushed to halfcourt to double-team Amiyah Reynolds. A steal resulted in a Falatea 3-pointer to tie the game at nine apiece. 

The Ducks never looked back.

“Our defense ignites our offense,” Deja Kelly said. “We like to push. We like to get out and run, [so for] us to force that many turnovers — we really just stuck to our gameplan.”

Oregon forced 17 first-half turnovers, four of which occurred in its early first-quarter run. The Ducks notched 11 steals in the first half alone.

This Oregon roster wasn’t designed to be a monster defensive team. Besides Phillipina Kyei — whose 6-foot-8 frame towers over opponents — the team doesn’t have many shot blockers. The Ducks only recorded one block in the game against the Boilermakers.

Instead, Oregon’s perimeter defense has sparked its conference wins. 

“We’re holding teams in the 50s and low 60s pretty consistently, forcing a lot of turnovers,” Graves said. “That’s going to do well for us, ultimately, for in the long run.”

The three-quarter court press led to six players tallying multiple steals for the Ducks on Wednesday. Meanwhile, six Boilermakers turned the ball over multiple times.

Oregon is averaging 10.3 steals per game which is currently the most since the 2013-14 season and good for fourth in the Big Ten. It is third in the Big Ten in steals per game since the start of conference action.

The Ducks still have a little over half the conference season remaining. More tough tests lie ahead, with No. 1 UCLA and No. 8 Maryland later to come at Matthew Knight Arena, but Graves iterated how crucial the current stretch is.

“This is an important week for us,” Graves said. “We got a chance to move up the standings a little bit and be more relevant in the race, so we just got to continue to take care of business at home.”

Veteran players led Oregon volleyball in its 2024 season which extended all the way to the Sweet 16. When the Ducks’ season ultimately ended on Dec. 12, so did the collegiate careers of several of their most formidable players.

Head coach Matt Ulmer will likely recruit some big names from the transfer portal this offseason, but if there’s anything the final stretch of the season proved, it’s that Oregon has several young players ready to step into the spotlight.

Noemie Glover was one of the Ducks’ leaders in its NCAA Tournament run. In only her sophomore season, Glover was third on the team in blocks per set, third in block assists and fourth in total kills.

With Oregon graduating big contributors in Michelle Ohwobete and Onye Ofoegbu, it’ll require Glover’s role to increase next season.

Glover showed she’s up to the task, as she played her best volleyball at the end of the season. She recorded double-digit kills in seven of the last nine matches of the season, including a season-high 15 kills to go along with six blocks against a ranked Purdue.

Another key cog in the Ducks’ future is setter Cristin Cline. She redshirted the 2023 season while she learned from former All-American setter Hannah Pukis. 

Cline stepped into the starting lineup in 2024 and guided Oregon’s attack. She averaged over 10 assists per set and recorded 23 service aces over the course of the season.

The Ducks’ are also expected to return their setter’s favorite target: star outside hitter Mimi Colyer. 

Having Colyer back for her senior season will give Oregon some continuity with lineup changes on the horizon. She’s been the team’s leader in kills for each of the past three seasons. 

The program has come close the past three years but has yet to secure an elusive Final Four berth under Ulmer’s tenure. With the Ducks having one season of the Cline-Colyer connection under their belt and the rise of Glover’s production, the potential for another deep tournament run hasn’t gone anywhere.

Oregon women’s basketball (7-3, 0-1 Big Ten) already had one top-25 win under its belt at Matthew Knight Arena this season — but No. 6 USC (8-1, 1-0 Big Ten) posed a different kind of challenge.

The Ducks played a Big Ten conference game for the first time ever on Saturday. An inaugural victory wasn’t in the cards as Oregon fell 66-53 to the sixth-ranked team in the nation, led by the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year Juju Watkins.

“Disappointed on the loss, but I was encouraged by our fight,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “We played a lot more desperate in that second half.”

It was a messy start to the game. The Trojans struggled to shoot the ball, going on a three-minute scoring drought. Oregon had the opportunity to pull ahead early but turned the ball over three times in that span.

Finally, the Ducks found their rhythm.

A pair of Peyton Scott buckets and a Sofia Bell triple forced USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb to take time with 5:45 left in the first.

“We knew it wouldn’t be easy,” Gottlieb said. “It started off a little slow, and I thought our response to the beginning of the first quarter was really exceptional in an area of growth that we’ve been looking towards.”

Watkins was coming off her season-high in points on Tuesday against California Baptist. She set a Trojans’ record of nine 3-pointers in that game.

But Oregon held Watkins without a field goal to give it a narrow 13-12 advantage at the end of a rough shooting quarter for both sides.

That quickly changed once she got going, hitting four of her next five shots to abruptly put the game in favor of USC by 14 points.

By halftime, the Trojans had a 21-point advantage and Watkins ended with 15 first-half points, The Ducks shot 2-for-18 in the second quarter and were outscored 28 to six.

“I think our energy, our communication, kind of all fell off,” Oregon guard Deja Kelly said. “Just heading into that second quarter obviously, they took advantage of that from the 3-point line, interior as well.” 

Oregon entered the game without a loss at Matthew Knight Arena this season. The crowd got louder and louder with every first-quarter bucket on Saturday but seemed to grow frustrated as the Ducks’ chances of continuing the home winning streak dwindled.

A glimmer of hope remained when Watkins picked up her fourth foul as soon as the third quarter started. Kiki Iriafen recorded her third foul shortly after but Oregon couldn’t go on a run with the two on the bench.

“Every time that I’m not in the game, I’m confident that my team is going to hold it down,” Watkins said. “Because that’s what we prepare for, that’s what we’re trained to do. So props to them.”

The Ducks continued fighting until the final whistle. Ari Long had a scoring burst at the end of the third quarter and Kelly led the team with 16 points. They just couldn’t cut into the deficit.

“We had some unsung heroes. Ari Long came in, did a great job tonight,” Graves said. “She’s been working hard practice and she kind of gets labeled a shooter, but we’ve noticed she’s more than that.”

Oregon shot just 15 percent from beyond the arc, which played a major role in the loss. The Ducks ended up scoring more points than the Trojans in every period except for the massive second quarter which ultimately decided the game.

“In our three losses this year, I think we’re six for 46 from the 3-point line,” Graves said. “Against three NCAA tournament teams, you’re not going to win.”

Oregon has now lost three of its last four games after starting the season 6-0. The Ducks will take a 10-day break before returning to Matthew Knight Arena on Dec. 17 to play Air Force.

Indianapolis, Indiana is where No. 1 Oregon (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) can officially etch its name into the Big Ten history books.

But the championship game the Ducks prepare to play in has its own storied history.

The first Big Ten Championship game was held in 2011. There were only 11 members of the Big Ten prior to that season, compared to the overwhelming 18 universities that fill the conference today. 

Wisconsin won the inaugural game against Michigan State 42-39. The future Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson threw three touchdown passes to win the first Big Ten Championship MVP award. A quarterback has won the award in seven of the 13 games, but it’s been a non-quarterback who’s won the last four times. 

Before 2011, the conference champion was determined by who had the best regular season record. The Badgers also won the first-ever regular season title all the way back in 1896.

Michigan and Ohio State have historically dominated the conference in football. The two own the most regular season titles by far since the conference formed with 45 and 39 respectively. The Ohio State Buckeyes have the most Big Ten Championship game wins overall with five while the Michigan Wolverines have won the last three. 

For the first time since 2017, it won’t be Ohio State or Michigan winning the conference title. Typically, the winner of the Ohio State versus Michigan rivalry clash goes on to the title game. With the Wolverines having a less successful season than usual but still upsetting the Buckeyes 13-10 last weekend, neither will make the trip to Indiana.

No. 3 Penn State (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten) will instead be the Ducks’ opponent. The Nittany Lions have won the conference championship in their only other appearance in the title game. That was back in 2016 when they defeated Wisconsin 38-31.

The Pac-12, just like the Big Ten, started its championship game in 2011. From 2011 to 2023, Oregon had the most appearances — six, which is the same as the Buckeyes and the Badgers – who are tied for the most in the Big Ten Championship. The Ducks also had the most Pac-12 Championship wins in that time frame with four overall.

Oregon ruled the Pac-12, but now has the opportunity to start a legacy in a new conference on Saturday.

In recent history, the winner of the Big Ten Championship has gone on to have success in the College Football Playoffs. The Wolverines are the most recent example, winning the National Championship last season. The Buckeyes also won both the conference title and national title in 2014 when it beat Oregon in the National Championship. 

From 2019 to 2022, the winner of the game either lost in a CFP semifinal or final.

The Big Ten Championship seems to be a good omen for the CFP. The Ducks accomplished their first perfect regular season since 2010 — but the real work is just getting started.

A win on Saturday would put Oregon in the CFP quarterfinals and check the next box on its way to a desired National Championship victory.

Oregon women’s basketball didn’t have many joyous moments in the past two seasons. 

When head coach Kelly Graves was interviewed on the Big Ten Network following the program’s first Top-25 victory in over a year, his smile returned. 

The entire Ducks team interrupted Graves’ interview to jump around him in celebration. He held his hands into an “O.” 

“See what I’m dealing with every day,” Graves said playfully to the camera.

The previous two years seemed like an eternity for a program that had become accustomed to success since Graves’ arrival a decade ago. Between injuries plaguing the roster, star players transferring out and a record 14 straight losses to end the 2023-24 season, it appeared that Oregon’s days of consistently making the NCAA Tournament had ended.

But Graves and his staff got to work in the offseason gathering commitments from top players in the transfer portal. It has paid off with a perfect record through four games, including a 76-74 win over No. 12 Baylor University.

“I just think we needed to freshen things up,” Graves said before the start of the season. “We’ve done that in roster turnover and in coaching responsibilities.”

Among the transfers into the program was Deja Kelly, one of the top point guards in the portal. She was a three-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team selection with the University of North Carolina. Kelly’s transfer to the Ducks was the first signal that the energy was about to shift within the program.

Oregon has added strong veteran leadership with the additions of Kelly and Alexis Whitfield, as well as the return of Peyton Scott from injury.

“[The seniors] are hungry,” Graves said ahead of the team’s exhibition game on Nov. 1. “A lot of them haven’t been to the NCAA Tournament and this gives them one last chance to do so and I certainly think we’re a good enough team to get there.”

In the previous two seasons when the team didn’t make the postseason, the roster was smaller and the stars were younger. The Ducks, at times, struggled to have enough healthy players required to play a game.

Not only does Graves have a bigger roster this season, but he expressed that he feels comfortable playing 12 players a game.

“We wanted to do a lot more defensively, put a lot of pressure on people, plus we have the depth to do it,” Graves said following the first win of the season. “We didn’t have that. We weren’t in that position in the past.”

Endyia Rogers and Te-Hina Paopao were two of Oregon’s top players in 2022-23. They both transferred the following season. Last year, it was sophomores Chance Gray and Grace VanSlooten who led the team. Again, they both left.

Graves didn’t just stop at getting new stars from the portal this time. This season, the Ducks appear to have what they didn’t in the past two: supplementary scoring. Seven different Ducks reached double figures in the opening four contests.

A win like the Oregon had against the Bears on Nov. 10 didn’t feel possible the last two years. The difference is that this team seems to be buying into what Graves is telling them.

“We’ve kind of talked to them all year about, ‘Hey, we can be a really really great team,’ but until you see it and until you get a win like this, you may not believe it,” Graves said after the Baylor victory. “So they’ve got that now in the back of their heads.”

This Ducks’ squad is engaged even when they’re on the bench. They’re animated in the postgame huddle. 

And for the first time in a long time, Graves has a team that believes it can be a top team in the Big Ten and make a postseason run.

Onye Ofoegbu and Cristin Cline rushed toward the net as their team led by just two points in what ended up being the third and final set in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The ball bounced back to the other side of the court for the Ducks’ tenth block of the evening.

Defense ended up being the difference in No. 13 Oregon’s (21-6, 13-5 Big Ten) 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-21, 25-22) over Michigan (17-12, 7-11 Big Ten).

The Ducks took care of business in the last match at Michigan State. They came into Ann Arbor on Saturday looking to continue their winning streak into the final matchups of the regular season.

Oregon got off to an early advantage following three quick attack errors by the Wolverines. Opposite hitter, Valentina Vaulet chipped into the Michigan deficit with three kills in a short period of time to make up for the errors. Vaulet starred for the Wolverines with 14 kills and 10 digs but accounted for 41 of Michigan’s 120 attacks.

The Wolverines tied it at 9-9 in Set 1 but from there the Ducks regained the advantage and never looked back. Oregon recorded 5.5 of its 11 blocks in the first period.

Mimi Colyer also picked up five of her team-leading 14 kills in the first set. She just moved to tenth all-time on the Ducks’ kills list in the last outing against Michigan State and continued her strong play on Saturday.

Set 2 started in an even more dominant fashion in favor of the Ducks. Michelle Ohwobete went on a 3-0 run on her own, picking up two kills and a service ace in the process.

Michigan tightened the gap with an 11-4 scoring burst. In the end, back-to-back kills by Ohwobete sealed the second for the Ducks.

Ohwobete tallied 12 kills on .435 percent hitting and seven blocks. Ofoegbu and Colyer led the team with seven and five blocks, respectively.

The Wolverines didn’t allow Oregon to get out to the same lead in Set 3 as it did in the first two. It was a back-and-forth third set — until the block assist by Ofoegbu and Cline gave the Ducks their largest advantage on the third. Noemie Glover finished the match with her eighth kill of the day. 

Oregon is set to play its final home match of the regular season on Wednesday in a tough opponent in No. 8 Purdue (22-6, 13-4 Big Ten). The Ducks have struggled against opponents ranked higher than them this season, going 0-4. They, however, have won all but two games at home but the two losses were to the top-2 teams in the nation.

The first set against the Boilermakers will come at 7:30 p.m. at Matthew Knight Arena.

Before No. 1 Oregon football even played its first game to spark what’s been a dominant season, its mascot went on his own tour of the nation.

The Duck spent the offseason traveling across the country to visit the program’s new foes in the Big Ten Conference.

When the mascot returned to Eugene to begin the football season, the shenanigans were just getting started. The Oregon Duck is notorious for its costume entrances which range from Batman to trolling Colorado coach Deion Sanders.

The Duck has been just as creative as ever with his pregame fits this season. Below, the top five outfits of 2024 are ranked from worst to best.

5. Napoleon Dynamite

The Oregon mascot made its Big Ten debut against Michigan State on Oct. 4.

He dressed in a curly wig, fake glasses and a “Vote for Pedro” shirt as he did the dance from the 2004 film “Napoleon Dynamite.”

While it was funny and had an uncanny resemblance to the character, it was a bit underwhelming in comparison to the other outfits on this list — especially considering it was the program’s first-ever appearance in Big Ten Conference action.

4. Dancing With The Stars

The Duck made his case to be on a future season of the hit series “Dancing with the Stars” in his Nov. 9 entrance.

The mascot was just as flashy as ever, despite the energy in the stadium being lower than usual for Oregon’s game against a four-win Maryland squad. The Duck wore a bedazzled jacket as he spun around its partner.

The hype surrounding this appearance wasn’t as high as others on this list. Still, The Duck showed that there’s competition for best dancer among Big Ten mascots.

3. Greatest Showman

Oct. 12 was a day that immediately belonged in the history books for Oregon athletics and college football.

Oregon football defeated Ohio State 32-31 in a top-3 thriller at Autzen Stadium — but the day got even better when The Duck arrived for his performance of “The Greatest Mascot.”

It was an ode to Hugh Jackman’s character in the musical film “The Greatest Showman.” The mascot was welcomed onto the field by the marching band, jugglers and dancers on stilts.

The Duck and his friends went full out on the commitment to performance, which earns it the third spot on this list.

2. Minion

This one wins the title of cutest entrance. 

An Oct. 26 date with Illinois was Oregon’s final game before Halloween — meaning it was a perfect opportunity for The Duck to reveal this year’s costume.

The mascot dressed as a yellow minion from the movie “Despicable Me.” Over a dozen kids who were also dressed as minions chased after The Duck during its entrance onto the field.

Not only did this outfit pay tribute to another beloved cinematic character, but it also included the youth of the Oregon fanbase.

1. Mr. Potato Head

The first-place spot goes to what The Duck wore in the second home game of the season: a  Mr. Potato Head costume.

This one snagged the top spot because it combined humor with an outfit that made sense to the team’s matchup. After all, Oregon faced off against Boise State University which is located in the Potato State.

The program’s performance versus the Broncos wasn’t its most convincing outing of the season. Oregon did win 37-34 against a team now ranked 13 in the nation, however, and it never looked back.

Perhaps the Mr. Potato Head outfit was a good luck charm at the beginning of an undefeated season.