Hurst Reaches 1,000 Career Points In Win

EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon got big contributions from its veterans and valuable minutes for its newcomers Monday in a 109-38 nonconference women's basketball victory over McNeese in Matthew Knight Arena.

Sydney Parrish and Kylee Watson each scored 21 for the Ducks (6-3), and Ahlise Hurst hit 1,000 career points with 18 on Monday as six UO women scored in double figures. With 10 available players, UO coach Kelly Graves subbed in an entire fresh five for big chunks of the second half, with Phillipina Kyei and Shannon Dufficy leading the contributors off the bench with 12 points each.

"It was a fun game," UO coach Kelly Graves said. "We haven't seen north of 70 (points) in a long time. We finally saw the basketball go in the hoop a little bit. I thought the intensity right from the start was pretty good."

How It Happened: The Ducks were in control from the start, making 12 of their first 13 shots to build a 27-0 lead before McNeese State finally scored, with 2:54 left in the first quarter. Oregon ended up making 14 field goals in the period, with assists on 11 of those — five by Maddie Scherr. Parrish had 15 points in the quarter, and Watson made all three of her field-goal attempts.

"A lot of it had to do with the ball movement we had," Watson said. "A lot of my shots were wide-open shots."

The bench players started to get involved in the second quarter, though play wasn't as sharp — the Ducks went into halftime up 54-14, but with 10 turnovers already. When the third quarter opened with three more turnovers in a row, Graves subbed out his starters for the five remaining players in uniform. They immediately put together a 16-0 run that included six points each for Dufficy and Taylor Hosendove.

"You don't see that very often," Graves said of the wholesale lineup change, "but it worked. I thought the second unit came in a did a great job."

Up 84-25 entering the fourth, Graves again went with his starting five to open the period before subbing in a new unit midway through the quarter. Before going to the bench, Hurst made her sixth three-pointer of the night to give her exactly 1,000 career points, primarily while at New Mexico before joining the Ducks this year.

Hurst also dished out three assists in the period, on the way to six for the game. The Ducks were playing yet again without primary ballhandlers Te-Hina Paopao and Endyia Rogers, but Scherr dished out eight assists and Hurst added six, showing a knack for facilitating she didn't necessarily expect to contribute when she joined the Ducks.

"I know I'm capable of shooting," Hurst said. "To be able to add that to my game is good too."

Who Stood Out: Watson scored her career-high 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting and added seven rebounds with three steals and two blocks. Parrish filled it up with 21 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals, and Sedona Prince had 10 points with four rebounds and four blocks.

Kyei contributed not only 12 points off the bench but 13 rebounds with three blocks, and Dufficy had five rebounds plus 12 points.

What It Means: After losing three straight games without Paopao, Rogers and Nyara Sabally, the Ducks have now won three in a row without the trio.

"It's been really good for a lot of us, just to get that experience," Watson said. "We've had a lot of close-game experience that will benefit us in the long run."

Graves said Rogers will play Saturday at Kansas State once she's cleared in one final medical exam, and Sabally could be available for limited minutes as well.

Up Next: The Ducks begin a two-game road trip at Kansas State on Saturday (4:30 p.m., ESPN+).