The best game of the season for Tamika Nurse also came with a career first — fear from the free-throw line.
The junior point guard went to the line for the Oregon women's basketball team with six seconds on the clock and the game against Washington tied 64-64.
Though she looked calm and relaxed, that was hardly the case.
"I've never been more scared in my entire life," laughed Nurse, who later claimed to have never before been in a situation to win a game with free throws. "Maybe in high school, but not that I remember."
She has something to remember now.
Nurse made both attempts to put the Ducks up by two, and they held on to win 66-64 at McArthur Court on Saturday.
"You just gotta calm down, say you've done this 1,000 times and these ones are going to be just the same," Nurse said.
Nurse, who had started 40 of her 41 career games before being demoted in December, came off the bench again on Saturday to play 35 minutes. She recorded a season best in points with 17 and tied a season best in assists with six. She also grabbed a career-high eight rebounds.
"I like the way she played today," Oregon coach Bev Smith said.
"She was just very composed, very relaxed and didn't get tight. In fact, she had a really easy demeanor and our team kinda followed her. Her leadership tonight was very important."
However, it was her speed that wore down the Huskies.
"She's a phenomenal athlete," Washington coach Tia Jackson said. "The tempo just changes when she's in the game. She does an exceptional job for them."
It was a strong weekend altogether for Nurse, who also had six points, six assists and no turnovers in 21 minutes in a win over Washington State on Thursday.
"I've felt productive, and that's important for my confidence," Nurse said. "I'm having a easier time reading defenses, and we're getting shots and hitting shots."
Nurse was only 5-for-12 from the field and just 1-for-5 from the three-point line on Saturday. However, she more than made up for it from the foul line, making all six of her attempts.
She has now made 21-of-23 attempts in the Ducks' seven Pac-10 games to lead the conference with a free-throw shooting percentage of .913 in league games.
Her ability to make free throws definitely played into her decision-making when she had the ball in her hands on the Ducks' final possession against the Huskies.
"It was like ‘OK, there's 16 seconds, play one shot and see what happens.' At that point, we had nothing to lose because it was tied," she said.
With that, Nurse drove in and drew the foul from Sara Mosiman.
"I did see Taylor (Lilley) had a post on her on the wing, but I was at the top of the key," Nurse recalled.
"So I said just take it and see if you can get it in or get a foul and hit some free throws and end this game."