SEATTLE — Sami Whitcomb understands that basketball is a game of ups and downs, but this was a little ridiculous.
In the final 1 minute, 26 seconds, the Washington sophomore went from looking like the game’s hero — three separate times mind you — to potentially becoming the goat on a pair of occasions.
Ultimately, however, Whitcomb can savor the positives of the game’s wild finish, because the Huskies survived with a 61-60 comeback victory over Oregon at Hec Edmundson Pavilion Friday night.
“I don’t think I’ve had it so back-and-forth like that before,” said Whicomb, who finished with 13 points, four assists and three steals. “Usually it’s ups or downs, not an up and then a down and then an up and then a down and then an up. That was very frustrating… But I knew that my teammates would have my back and that it wasn’t going to matter in the end.”
The Huskies trailed for almost all of the second half, but never by more than seven points. The Huskies went on a 6-1 run to tie the score on an Andrea Plouffe jumper with 2:04 remaining. After a pair of Taylor Lilley free throws gave Oregon a two-point lead, Whitcomb sank a 3-pointer to give Washington its first lead of the half.
Whitcomb came up big two more times, stealing an inbounds pass then making two free throws to give Washington a three-point lead. Her involvement in the game was far from over, however.
With Washington clinging to a one-point lead, Whitcomb was called for a charge with 15 seconds remaining. Plouffe helped her teammate out on the other end, however, taking a charge as Lilley drove to the hoop with 7.1 seconds remaining.
Whitcomb was then fouled on the ensuing inbounds pass, but missed both free throws, giving Oregon one last chance. The Ducks failed to get off a shot, however, as Ellyce Ironmonger’s shot attempt, which missed anyway, came after the buzzer.
“The last couple minutes were crazy,” said sophomore forward/center Laura McLellan, who finished with a team-high 14 points.
The 14 points were a career high for McLellan, who made six of eight field-goal attempts to help Washington to a 22-11 advantage in bench scoring.
“I know she can do it,” Washington coach Tia Jackson said of McLellan’s big game. “She is instant offense down on the block… She has suction cups for hands and she finishes everything.”
Heading into the locker room at halftime trailing by one point, the Huskies must have felt like they had the lead.
After nearly coming back from double-digit deficits in two road games last week, Washington only dug itself a manageable hole in this game.
As they had done in those two road losses to UCLA and USC, the Huskies started slow against the Ducks, making three of their first 10 shots. Oregon led by as many as seven point early in the half, but the Huskies responded with an 11-0 run that gave them a four-point lead.
From there the teams traded the lead back and forth for the remainder of the half, and Oregon went into the locker room with a 34-33 lead.
And while the Huskies didn’t complete their road comeback attempts, knowing they could rally in the second half helped their confidence on Friday.
“We know we can always come back,” said Jackson, whose team is now 2-13 when trailing at halftime. “The UCLA game tells us we can come back from anything. To be down 22 there and bring it all the way back within three… We’ve been there, done that.”
Oregon, which started out 4-3 in Pac-10 play, has now lost seven in a row, with its last win coming over Washington in Eugene. The Huskies, who host Oregon State Sunday, improved to 10-15 overall and 5-8 in conference.
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