EUGENE, Ore. — Bella Murekatete scored 20 points, Jessica Clark scored six of her career-high 14 in overtime and Washington State defeated No. 21 Oregon 85-84 on Sunday, the Cougars’ first win over a ranked team since 1998.
Washington State won despite giving up a 14-point lead in the final four minutes, allowing the tying free throws with 0.1 left in regulation and surviving an Oregon shot in the closing seconds of overtime.
The Cougars never trailed in the extra session that started with a Clark layup for a 78-76 lead. Charlisse Leger-Walker made it 85-81 with a free throw with 25 seconds to go.
Te-Hina Paopao hit a three for the Ducks and then the Cougars threw the ball away, giving Oregon a chance to win with 12.8 seconds to go. Paopao’s shot rolled off the rim and Johanna Teder corralled the rebound as time ran out.
Leger-Walker scored 17 points for Washington State (13-3, 3-3 Pac-12 Conference), Teder had 15 and Ula Motuga had 14 with 10 rebounds.
Endyia Rogers scored 33 points, making 6 of 8 three-point attempts, for Oregon (13-5, 4-3), Chance Gray added 22, Paopao 11 and Grace VanSlooten 10.
Washington State, which trailed by 10 midway through the third quarter, opened the fourth quarter with a 13-2 run for a 63-53 lead. It was 71-57 with 4:16 to go but after making 14 straight shots they missed their last four and the Ducks went on an 11-2 run to get within five.
The Cougars, who played poorly down the stretch with six turnovers in the last four minutes, made 2 of 3 free throws for a 76-71 lead with 7.8 seconds left. Then Rogers hit a three, the Cougars turned it over on an inbounds pass and Murekatete fouled VanSlooten as time was running out.
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