6/03/19 Emerald Media - Duck Season | 2019 Review

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Duck Season

2019 Review

Oregon sports exceeded expectations in many ways this year, despite major setbacks and heartbreaking losses. Here are some selected features from the Ducks’ rollercoaster seasons that highlight their 2018 and ‘19 performances.

Duck Season 2019

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Duck Season 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOOTBALL Overtime redemption for Oregon football

MEN’S BASKETBALL Men’s basketball’s emotional Elite Eight

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL A historic season for women’s basketball

SOFTBALL Oregon softball stays afloat

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FOOTBALL Ducks running back CJ Verdell (34) celebrates after scoring the winning touchdown during the game against Washington.

NO. 17 OREGON UPSETS NO. 7 WASHINGTON IN REDEMPTION-FILLED OVERTIME THRILLER

BY MAVERICK PALLACK • PHOTOS BY BEN GREEN ree weeks after a devastating loss, when it seemed every card was against them, the No. 17 Oregon Ducks made all the right moves to upset the No. 7 Washington Huskies 30-27 in overtime, walking off with a 6-yard rushing touchdown by redshirt freshman CJ Verdell. ere were three seconds left on the clock.

Washington kicker Peyton Henry took aim for a potential 37-yard game-winning field goal. Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal chose to use both his timeouts to ice Henry. After the fi rst kick was pushed right and the second was good, Henry was given his 4

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third and fi nal attempt to end the game.

If Henry made it, the Huskies would win. If he missed, the game would head into overtime. e sideline and crowd did their best to get in Henry’s head, but all anyone in green and yellow could really do was hope and pray.

“It’s really not fun,” Cristobal said. “It’s something you’ve watched since you were a kid. … You always ask, ‘Why do you ice the kicker? Why do you actually do that?’ Well, if we have a timeout, I’m gonna keep doing that. … You don’t have any other plays.”

Henry lined up for the kick and it was wide right.

e Ducks were given a lifeline. ey would get a chance to not only defeat their rival Washington for the fi rst time since 2015, but to get their fi rst overtime victory since October of 2015.

In overtime, it took a few big plays to send Autzen into a frenzy.

After the defense held the Huskies to a field goal — thanks to a run that was stuffed by Austin Faoliu and an incompletion by Washington quarterback Jake Browning — the offense took the field looking to put at least three points on the board.

Unlike the Stanford overtime drive, Oregon did not panic when trailing. e Ducks ran two times up the middle but were forced into a third-and-11 situation.

Despite Dillon Mitchell being the most obvious target (119 receiving yards and a touchdown on the day), quarterback Justin Herbert still found his go-to guy for a clutch 17-yard gain. “ at’s a play we run 20 times in practice,” Herbert said. “So I knew he was gonna get open.”

Two plays later, on third and 6, Verdell took the

handoff to win the game. is, of course, comes just three weeks after Verdell had a heartbreaking fumble at the end of the Stanford loss. Saturday, however, Verdell didn’t need any consoling thanks to his 111 yards and two touchdowns.

“I always say things happen for a reason,” Mitchell said. “We were just out there sitting with CJ before we came in. I was defi nitely just looking at him, remembering the Stanford game and how bad it was. He was talking about how, at the end, people were trying to pick him up. … I was happy for him.

I defi nitely was.” e Stanford game could have been catastrophic, but players did not allow that result to beat them twice. e team came back and won what could be the program’s best victory since the 2015 Rose Bowl.

“I’ve been here for a lot of games, and I think that’s probably one of the best experiences that I’ve ever been a part of,” Herbert said. “For us to fight back like that and not lose focus was unreal. It’s great to celebrate with these guys.”

Ducks running back Travis Dye (26) cuts upfi eld during the game against Washington.

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MEN’S BASKETBALL Virginia forward Mamadi Diakite (25) sends the ball up the court.

REBOUNDING, LATE TURNOVERS KEEP DUCKS FROM BEATING VIRGINIA, REACHING THE ELITE EIGHT

BY JACK BUTLER PHOTOS BY BEN GREEN

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — ey all grieved differently.

Oregon assistant coach Tony Stubblefield wandered out of the locker room and around the hallway for awhile before re-entering. Kenny Wooten got choked up while answering a question from the media. Freshman Louis King used some expletives before laying on the ground, refusing to answer questions from the media until swayed otherwise.

Oregon’s improbable run in the NCAA Tournament had just come to end. e No. 12 Ducks took No. 1 Virginia to the wire, but the Cinderella-esque run didn’t make the loss any easier.

“We did all the right things, just got the wrong result, and that’s how it went,” Wooten said.

Oregon’s two flaws in an otherwise impressive game kept them from defeating No. 1 Virginia and advancing to the Elite Eight. Virginia pummeled the Ducks on the offensive glass in the fi rst half, and when the game was close in the second half, Oregon’s offense faltered and the Ducks fell 53-49.

“We put ourselves in a position to win,” head coach Dana Altman said. “Some bad turnovers, late shot clock, we just didn’t have the possessions that we needed. Feel really bad that we didn’t get it done, but I am really proud 6

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Oregon forward Francis Okoro (33) buries his head in his legs as time expires during Oregon’s Sweet 16 loss to Virginia.

of them for fighting their tails off the last month.”

Oregon knew Virginia would attack the glass entering the game, but the Ducks fell behind on rebounds late in the fi rst half. e Cavaliers grabbed four of their seven fi rst-half offensive rebounds in the fi nal ten minutes. Virginia capitalized with six second chance points in the fi rst half to lead Oregon 30-22. “ at killed us at the beginning of the game,” Oregon center Francis Okoro said. “I still feel like those rebounds really hurt us.”

Oregon climbed back into the game in the second half. e Ducks’ defense was on par with Virginia’s. e Cavaliers boasted the No. 2 offensive efficiency rating in the country, but the Ducks held them to 35.7 percent from the field in the game.

“I thought we were playing hard,” Altman said. “I thought we had them out of rhythm. … I thought we were in pretty good shape.”

And the Ducks were. Oregon cut the lead to one with 14 minutes, 47 seconds left with a Paul White corner 3-pointer. Afterwards he turned to the Oregon section and roared. e once 15-12 Ducks were close with one of the top teams in the country.

Virginia answered and went up by five, but Oregon made another run. Freshman forward Louis King hit two 3-pointers to put Oregon up 42-40 with 8:32 left.

Virginia clamped down on defense. e nation’s No. 2 defense brought it when the Cavaliers needed it, and Oregon’s offense was full of bad possessions. e Ducks had four turnovers over the next five minutes. e Ducks were stripped twice while driving to the basket and Virginia forced a shotclock violation. Oregon also went ice cold. e Ducks couldn’t get anything to fall, and they were also taking rushed shots. Oregon went 0-for-7 from the field after retaking the lead.

“We just took a few possessions off, and when you’re playing a team of that skill, of that talent, you can’t take any possessions off,” guard Will Richardson said. “ ey made us pay for them, and it cost us down the stretch.”

After an impressive run from mediocrity to Pac-12 Tournament champions and Sweet 16 participants, Oregon’s season ending with a loss to a No. 1 seed doesn’t look so bad.

“I’m happy I went to war with my brothers,” King said.

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WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

FROM LOCAL HEROES TO NATIONAL LIMELIGHT

BY SHAWN MEDOW • PHOTOS BY DEVIN ROUX TAMPA, Fla. — Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said that “one of these things is not like the other” at this year’s Final Four. e No. 2-seed Ducks are in their fi rst ever Final Four. ey’re up against No. 1-seed Baylor, which is in its fourth Final Four — all under head coach Kim Mulkey. On the other side of the bracket is women’s basketball royalty with UConn and head coach Geno 10

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Duck Season 2019

Auriemma, and the defending national champions Notre Dame, coached by Muffet McGraw.

“I think we belong here,” Oregon forward Ruthy Hebard said. “I’ve believed in my team all these three years. It’s really great to see we’re next to Notre Dame and next to UConn but hopefully someday somebody will be saying, ‘Wow, we’re next to Oregon.’ at’s what we’re trying to do here.”

The Ducks celebrate the win over Mississippi State to advance to the Final Four.

Oregon has been in the national spotlight all season long — much of this is due to star point guard Sabrina Ionescu. e Ducks are getting used to it, and they’re also getting used to it at home.

Following Oregon’s return to Eugene from the Portland Regional, the team went out to ice cream at Prince Pucklers, which is down the road from its home arena.

“Everybody in the ice cream parlor and in the area were clapping,” forward Lydia Giomi said.

Before Oregon set out for Tampa Bay on Tuesday, Ionescu, who was talking on her phone and wheeling

her luggage, crossed Villard Street to get to Matthew Knight Arena where the team bus waited. She was honked at and waved to by a fan in his car. Ionescu gave him wave back. en, an 18-wheeler drove by, the driver lowered the window and called out to Ionescu, who once again acknowledged her fan.

“You can’t go anywhere,” Giomi said. “You can’t go to the grocery store, a restaurant without being recognized.” at’s a big change from what Giomi says she used to experience when she fi rst arrived on Oregon’s campus two years ago.

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YOU CAN’T GO ANYWHERE. YOU CAN’T GO TO THE GROCERY STORE, A RESTAURANT WITHOUT BEING RECOGNIZED.” LYDIA GIOMI

“Everyone thought we were volleyball,” Giomi said. “But now everyone knows who we are.”

Now on campus, the team is correctly identified.

Much of that has to do with the advertising campaign dubbing the team “Wonder Ducks.”

“We have students come up to us all the time,” Giomi said. “It really shows what this program and this coaching staff is capable of. And it also speaks to the culture of this team.” e team is even making waves in NBA press conferences, with Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry giving Ionescu and the Ducks a shoutout this week.

Ionescu’s impact on the program can’t be understated. She’s up for the national player of the year award and she’s been named a First-Team AllAmerican and the Pac-12’s player of the year for the second straight season.

“I will tell you that it all starts with Sabrina.

What a talent. What a joy to watch if you’re not having to play against her,” Mulkey said. “ e thing that I love more than her talent is I love the way she competes. She’s got that ‘umph’ in her. She makes everybody around her better. She’s just a special, special talent.” is Final Four appearance has launched this program to new heights that were only imagined during these players’ recruiting processes. e national praise the team is receiving is not going unnoticed.

“It just shows this program is amazing,” Giomi said. “ is coaching staff is capable of so much, this team is capable of a lot and it also speaks to the culture of the team and that culture of the coaching staff expects.”

Ionescu knows the eyes are on her. e junior might just be the biggest name in women’s collegiate basketball right now. And now, she and her team will step on its biggest stage.

“Now it’s game time,” Ionescu said. “We’re focusing on the game. We’re not really going to change who we are. We’re going to enjoy and be appreciative of the position we’re in.”

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Oregon guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) attempts to dribble past a Mississippi State defender.

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SOFTBALL

SOFTBALL’S 2019 SEASON AFTER A MASS EXODUS OF LAST YEAR’S PAC-12 CHAMPION TEAM, OREGON SOFTBALL COMPLETED A SEASON WITH FEW GLIMMERS OF HOPE.

BY MAVERICK PALLACK • PHOTO BY BEN GREEN In the summer of 2018, Oregon’s athletic department made the decision to move on from softball head coach Mike White and hired Oklahoma assistant coach Melyssa Lombardi.

Despite the loss of White and important seniors, the Ducks had many returning pieces to not only make it back to the Women’s College World Series, but threaten to win it.

Pac-12 pitcher-of-the-year Megan Kleist, and two fi rst-team Pac-12 selections in Miranda Elish and Maggie Balint, were poised to dominate the circle in quest of a championship.

“You think of softball, what do you think of?

You think of pitching,” Lombardi said during her introductory press conference. “To have three number ones, you can go a long way with three number ones.”

However, instead of continuing its dominant decade, the Oregon softball team went through a torturous year, losing an All-American team full of fan-favorites, and 30 of 52 games on its way to recording its fi rst losing season since 2009.

Reported drama in the athletic department paired with a new, relaxed NCAA transfer rule, led to a mass exodus. is included freshman Alyssa Pinto leaving for Mississippi as well as Elish, catcher Mary Iakopo, outfielder Shannon Rhodes and 2018 postseason hero Lauren Burke following White to Texas. Kleist also announced her intention to sit out the 2019 season to play at Louisiana-Lafayette in 2020. In a span of six days in January, outfielder Alexis Mack, fi rst baseman Mia Camuso and Balint all chose to sit out 2019 in order to play elsewhere in 2020.

At least in Balint’s case, concerns with the administration was a weighing factor.

“I don’t feel comfortable here,” she told Baseball America. “I feel like I’m by myself and I feel like

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Duck Season 2019

the athletic director didn’t have my back. I feel completely alone and I’ve never felt this way before on the softball field.”

In order to replace those major losses, especially in the circle, Lombardi brought in transfers Jordan Dail and Maddie MacGrandle.

To pile on, senior Darya Kaboli-Nejad was injured and done for the season and freshman transfer Terra McGowan had her eligibility appeal denied by her former school, Arizona State. In order to add depth to the roster, Lombardi added five walk-ons on February 3. MacGrandle also left the team midway through the season, leaving just Dail and walk-on Kailey Krueger as pitchers on the roster. e team could have easily quit, but rather than do so, they started the season 6-0 including a win over No. 8 LSU. A 12-game losing streak quickly erased the 11-4 start, but the Ducks continued to battle, even defeating the No. 1 team in the country in UCLA. Given the depleted Ducks’ well-documented struggles, their successes became even more important.

Seniors April Utecht and Cherish Burks and sophomore Shaye Bowden made the most of their fi rst chances as everyday players. Dail threw two no-hitters and started the fi nal 17 games of the season. Junior outfielder Haley Cruse and freshman third baseman Rachel Cid even pitched in order to give the Ducks, and Dail, some much needed relief.

Although there was no postseason, the 2019 season will surely be one to remember given the unprecedented number of changes the entire program was dealt. “ ere’s so many positives,” Lombardi said following the season fi nale loss to Arizona State. “I think this team will always be known for their fight and them willing to put the team before themselves.”

The Oregon softball program faced a number of challenges this season stemming from a coaching change, with Missy Lombardi taking over for Mike White.

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