Katie Fiso’s Late Heroics Save Oregon After 21-Point Collapse Against Illinois
EUGENE - With the game on the line, Katie Fiso had choices. The Oregon freshman guard could’ve dished to Ehis Etute down low.
She had shooters spaced out on the perimeter. But with the Ducks trailing by one and the clock winding down, Fiso trusted her instincts-and her left hand.
Driving into the lane with under 13 seconds to play, Fiso veered to the left side of the key and floated a soft bank shot off the glass. It dropped. Oregon took the lead back, and this time, they held on, surviving a wild second-half collapse to beat Illinois 76-73 Wednesday night at Matthew Knight Arena.
“I trusted my work,” said Fiso, who finished with 16 points and nine assists. “I put a lot of work in, and I ended up making the shot.”
It was a moment that captured the grit and growth of a Ducks team still finding its identity. For head coach Kelly Graves, it was the right decision at the right time.
“We had the people in the right spots,” Graves said, “but Katie had a great look, and that was a spectacular shot.”
The Ducks (18-7, 6-6 Big Ten) exhaled after the final buzzer. This one nearly slipped away-and not just in the usual “they made a run” kind of way.
Oregon led by 21 at halftime, up 45-24, and looked in full control. But the third quarter told a different story.
The Ducks went ice cold, shooting just 2-for-11 from the field and getting outscored 27-6. Illinois flipped the script, turning a blowout into a dogfight. By the fourth quarter, Oregon found itself trailing 64-56, and the wheels looked ready to come off.
Graves called a timeout with five minutes remaining. The Ducks were unraveling.
“We just lost our poise,” Graves admitted. “I know it wasn’t looking good, but that’s kind of when we started to make things happen.”
One of those sparks? Ehis Etute.
The sophomore forward had been limited by foul trouble in the third quarter-two quick fouls sent her to the bench and gave Illinois room to operate. But when she returned in the fourth, she made her presence felt.
Etute scored seven of her 20 points in the final frame, finishing with nine rebounds and a game-high +24 in her 28 minutes on the floor.
Her impact was undeniable. When she was on the court, Oregon looked like a tournament team. When she sat, Illinois surged.
Still, the Illini made their push. After Etute picked up her fourth foul with 7:26 left and Oregon clinging to a 54-53 lead, Illinois went on an 11-2 run to go up eight. That’s when Graves hit the reset button with a timeout, and the Ducks regrouped.
“There’s no quit in them,” Graves said of his team.
That resilience has been hard-earned. Earlier this season, Oregon dropped four straight games-several of them heartbreakers.
But those growing pains are starting to pay dividends. Fiso pointed to those losses as learning moments that helped the Ducks stay composed when this one got tight.
“I feel like we’re growing, we’re learning as a team,” she said. “We’re getting a little bit more mature.”
The next step? Putting together a full 40 minutes.
Oregon looked dominant in the first half, building a 21-point cushion behind crisp ball movement and active defense. But against quality opponents, one strong half won’t cut it.
And the road ahead doesn’t get any easier.
With six Big Ten games left, the Ducks are still fighting for an NCAA Tournament spot. Every game matters now, and there are no freebies.
Oregon hosts No. 9 Ohio State on Sunday and Nebraska on Feb.
- They’ll also face No.
24 Washington twice-on the road Feb. 15 and again at home to close the regular season on March 1.
“We don’t have any gimmies,” Graves said. “We’ve got three left on the road, three left at home.
All our home games are against teams that are going to be in the NCAA Tournament. We’ve still got a tough road ahead.
We’ve got to continue to get better, but this was a big win tonight.”
Big indeed. Not just for the standings, but for the confidence of a team learning how to win the hard way.