Oregon's Furious Comeback Not Enough as Ducks Fall to Colorado 86-83 in 2OT Thriller

The Ducks trailed by as many as 14 in the final period before forcing overtime, but Colorado triumphed in the second overtime.

Author:
Graham Metzker
Publish date:
Feb 24, 2022 12:08 AM EST

First Quarter

It was a sloppy start to the game in Boulder. Endyia Rogers provided the only excitement early on with a coast-to-coast layup to tie the game at 4-4 at the first media timeout.

Rogers chipped in four more points in the quarter. But it was Colorado who took the lead into the second quarter thanks to a Lesila Finau three-pointer with four seconds left in the first. Finau’s late shot gave Colorado the narrow 11-10 lead.

Second Quarter

Finau made a nice step-back move for her second three-ball of the night, despite shooting just 24.4% from behind the arc on the season. Colorado ran a very balanced attack, with six Buffaloes on the scoresheet four minutes into the second.

Oregon found success through frontcourt leaders Nyara Sabally and Sedona Prince. But the Ducks missed their first 12 three-point attempts before their first make.

Rogers finally hit Oregon’s first three from the left corner with 1:25 left in the half. In the meantime, Colorado shot an efficient 52.9% from the field in the second and took a 31-24 lead into halftime.

Rogers led all scorers with 11 points, while Finau led Colorado with 9 points and a season-high three triples in the first half alone.

Third Quarter

Prince started the third quarter, and it greatly benefitted the Ducks. She hit the first bucket of the new half, starting the game 3-3 from the field.

Prince and Sabally playing together drew more attention inside, which finally opened up the perimeter for the Ducks. Rogers cashed her second three-pointer of the night to help cut the Colorado lead to four.

Oregon’s offense went on a 10-2 run capped off by Ahlise Hurst’s corner three to give Oregon the 36-35 lead – its first lead since the first quarter.

The Ducks fell back into their shooting slump, missing eight straight shots after Hurst’s three. Mya Hollingshed added two layups to lead her team on a 12-2 run to end the third with a strong 47-38 lead.

Fourth Quarter

The offenses were rolling to start the final quarter. Frida Formann started the Buffaloes off with a three, and Hollingshed added one of her own to make it 55-41. Kelly Graves was forced to call his penultimate timeout less than two minutes into the fourth.

Hurst was determined to bring the Ducks back, hitting three three-pointers in the quarter to put her squad back in striking distance at 58-51 Colorado.

Sabally scored seven straight points for Oergon, then Rogers hit a layup and two clutch free throws to send the game to overtime.

Overtime

It was raining from downtown to start overtime. Colorado center Quay Miller hit a corner three first, but Rogers and Te-Hina Paopao hit back-to-back three’s to catapult Oregon ahead 78-75.

Sabally missed two free throws, and Miller took advantage and hit a layup to put Colorado up. But Rogers came back down with a wide open layup to send it to double overtime.

Double Overtime

The Ducks missed four straight shots to begin the period, allowing Colorado to get out to a 84-80 lead halfway through the second OT.

Rogers went coast-to-coast, losing a defender with a behind-the-back dribble and using a "Eurostep" for a layup for a season-high 28th point. With a chance to tie the game with 4.7 seconds remaining, Sabally missed her fourth free throw of the night to let Colorado escape with an 86-83 win.

Colorado got two clutch free throws from Jaylyn Sherrod, who led Colorado in points with 17, in the final tenth of a second.

Oregon drops to 18-10 and 10-6 in Pac-12 play. The Ducks' regular season finale will be against Utah on Saturday in Salt Lake City. If the Utes knock off Oregon State on Thursday in Salt Lake City, the Ducks' would need a win on Sunday to clinch a first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament next week.