NFL
By: Ty Reeves
The UConn Huskies traveled across the country to take on the Oregon Ducks in a mid-season battle against two powerhouse programs in Women’s College Basketball. The Huskies went into the game without Senior Christyn Williams who contracted Covid-19 days before the contest. Oregon came off a massive win against No.7 Arizona days before welcoming the Huskies to Matthew Knight Arena.
From the opening jump, it was all UConn. With a couple of buckets from Olivia Nelson-Ododa and a killer bucket from Caroline Ducharme, the Huskies would jump out to a 10-0 lead to start the game. However, the Ducks would claw their way back into the game with Sydney Parrish and Nyara Sabally hitting consecutive threes.
Both teams would struggle to score towards the end of the first quarter with UConn missing 11 of their final 12 shots. Oregon would come back after being down 10 to take a 15-14 lead after the first ten minutes of play.
Oregon would keep their foot on the gas with Te-Hina Paopao leading the Ducks to a 24-14 lead with just over 6 minutes to play in the second quarter. The Huskies finally got the lid off the basket with Nelson-Odada finishing the tough layup in traffic. Sedona Prince would be the X factor in the second quarter for the Ducks scoring 12 points in the second quarter.
Oregon continued to score at will and take a 39-24 lead into halftime over the Huskies.
The Huskies would come out of halftime with the same energy they started the game with. They matched their point total from the second quarter in the opening minutes of the half. Every time UConn seemed to get themselves back into the game, the Ducks would respond with a momentum-shifting bucket to stop them in their tracks. The Ducks would keep control of the game and take a 62-41 lead into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter was a push-and-pull match-up for both teams. Olivia Nelson-Odada would continue to impress down low for the Huskies, but the deficit created by Paopao and the Ducks was too large to close. Oregon would beat the Huskies 72-59 and take down their second top 10 program in 48 hours.
Put the nation on notice. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/135EhZC3Sd
— Oregon Women’s Basketball (@OregonWBB) January 18, 2022
Paopao led the way for the Ducks finishing with 22 points on the night. UConn was led by Caroline Ducharme who finished with 22 points. Nelson-Ododa added 17 for the Huskies and also eclipsed 1000 career points during the game. Also, Oregon will face off against Washington in their next game while UConn will travel back to the east coast to take on Seton Hall.
ONO for 1K
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) January 17, 2022
