PULLMAN, Wash. - Back came the Cougars, back from the 13-point deficit they faced with less than three minutes to play.
Was this to be another lost opportunity for Oregon in crunch time on the road?
"You have to credit Washington State," UO coach Bev Smith said when it was over. "Obviously they made some really clutch shots down at the end, and I think we let up defensively."
In the Ducks' previous five road games, Smith would have been able to stop there, having neatly summed up another narrow UO defeat. Sunday afternoon, she had the luxury of continuing.
"But we in turn shot the ball really well, as well," Smith said. "And so that helped us win a basketball game today."
A horrific season of road games came to a sunny conclusion for Oregon in the Palouse. The Ducks made a season-high 12 three-pointers, committed a season-low nine turnovers and held off the Cougars down the stretch for a 70-67 victory before 603 at Friel Court.
The victory ended Oregon's seven-game losing streak overall, and a seven-game streak of defeats on the road.
"I was so tired of losing," UO point guard Tamika Nurse said. "It takes its toll. When you get to a game like this, even though it's on the road and even though they'd just won a game, it was like, you can get this one. You have to get this one."
The Ducks (11-15, 5-10 Pac-10) were led by their quartet of guards, who played together for much of the second half. Nurse teamed with Taylor Lilley, Micaela Cocks and Kaela Chapdelaine to score 52 of Oregon's 70 points and commit just five turnovers.
Lilley and Cocks each made four three-pointers, and Chapdelaine added three as the Ducks exploited Washington State's zone defense. Lilley had 20 points to reach that plateau for the seventh time in her career, after averaging less than seven in Oregon's previous four games.
"Any defense where I don't have somebody in my face all the time is great," Lilley said.
The game wasn't without drama. Washington State (4-21, 1-13) mounted a 12-0 run in the final 2:43, scoring on six straight possessions after Oregon had taken a 13-point lead. But Nurse hit a pair of free throws with 20 seconds left, and the Cougars were unable to force overtime with a final three-point attempt, making them an even 50 percent from the floor (28-of-56).
The Ducks called it a fitting conclusion, after losing their previous five road games by a combined 15 points.
"I think right now a little bit of a monkey is off our back," Smith said.
Oregon came into the week allowing opposing teams to shoot 39.1 percent, then allowed Washington to shoot 46.2 percent on Friday. The Cougars were 10th in the Pac-10 in shooting at 33.1 percent entering Sunday, but made half their shots against the Ducks.
Perhaps, Smith said, the lax defense was a result of Oregon's emphasis in practice on improving its offense; the Ducks are ninth in the conference in scoring and shooting. But though the weekend as a whole was one of the worst of the season for Oregon on defense, it was that aspect of Sunday's game that ultimately turned it in the Ducks' favor.
Down 26-21 in the first half, Oregon extended its defense on the perimeter to spark a 10-0 run. The Ducks had six steals in the final 6:11 of the first half, and took a 40-33 lead into the break.
Nurse set the tone in the first half, diving for loose balls, aggressively seeking midrange jumpers and dishing out four assists with no turnovers.
"It was crucial that we actually pulled out a win today," Nurse said.
The Cougars closed the margin shortly after halftime, as Jasmine Williams scored twice on her way to an 8-of-9 shooting performance to make it 42-38. Oregon got some breathing room thanks to the shooting of Lilley and Cocks, and pushed the lead to 13 on a basket by Nicole Canepa to get to 66-53.
On Friday in Seattle, the Ducks lamented being unable to push their lead any higher than seven in the second half, allowing the Huskies to complete a comeback. Oregon wilted again in the final minutes Sunday, but had a big enough cushion to survive this one.
"I think Chap and Taylor and Micaela and Tamika just decided that we needed to win a basketball game," Smith said. "When they had that opportunity to take it, they did. That's huge. That's a big sigh of relief."