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Bill Oram: The steep decline of Oregon women’s basketball raises big questions about Ducks and Kelly Graves

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Bill Oram: The steep decline of Oregon women’s basketball raises big questions about Ducks and Kelly Graves


Oregon women’s basketball head coach Kelly Graves during the matchup between the Ducks and the No. 18 Beavers at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon on Sunday, February 4, 2024.Sean Meagher/The Oregonian

Where is the bottom for Oregon women’s basketball?

Perhaps this doesn’t feel like the day for such a severe examination. The Ducks played their hearts out on Sunday and pushed their ranked rivals to the brink, losing 64-60 to No. 18 Oregon State.

It was their best performance in weeks.

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But if now is not the time to ask the big questions about coach Kelly Graves and his team, when will be?

The Ducks have lost five games in a row by an average of 12.2 points per game. Their 2-8 Pac-12 record puts them in a tie for last in the conference. Their next four games are against teams ranked in the top 25.

Predicting wins and losses can be a fool’s errand, but a nine-game losing streak not only is not out of the question, it is the likely outcome.

How did they get here?

Last summer, Graves told me that his program, which boasted the best team in America prior to the shutdown in 2020, was still viewed as “one of the elite programs” in the country.

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Would anyone agree with that now, with the Ducks, now 11-12 overall, facing the prospect of finishing with a losing record for the first time since Graves’ first season in 2014-15?

“We’re not used to being in this position,” Graves admitted. “All we can do is try to win the next one.”

It should be stressed that he could have easily been talking about a victory on Sunday.

The Ducks tied the game at 41 early in the fourth quarter and on four more occasions cut the Beavers lead to one. They could have done it again with 12 seconds left, but Phillipina Kyei, who scored 16 points and pulled down 18 rebounds, split a pair of free throws, giving OSU an opening to seal the win with two free throws from Talia von Oelhoffen.

Kyei, Chance Gray and Grace VanSlooten combined for 45 points. Do that more and they’ll lead the Ducks to some wins.

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But weird things happen in rivalry games.

Oregon and Oregon State have a way of delivering thrillers, year after year. This was the first time OSU swept the season series since 2010. If the game had swung the other way, it would have relieved some of the pressure in the short term. But it would have only been a blip on what has been a steep decline.

There are no clear answers.

Last season, the Ducks missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since Graves’ inaugural season in Eugene, when Oregon finished 13-17 and 6-12 in conference play.

“Our first year here we didn’t win a ton,” Graves said Sunday, “but obviously it was our first year. So that’s to be expected in a program that hadn’t won a lot.”

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It’s hard to digest because Graves has been such a consistent winner throughout his career. He won 10 straight conference titles at Gonzaga then took over a Ducks program in shambles and by his third year had it in the Elite Eight, an achievement that not for nothing coincided with the arrival of Sabrina Ionescu.

With Ionescu, the Ducks reached another Elite Eight, then a Final Four and were the favorites to win an NCAA championship in 2020.

“We obviously built something pretty special and we kind of let that go,” Graves said. “There’s a lot of different reasons.”

The Ducks are young, they’ve had injuries.

But it’s become an annual rite that Oregon’s top players jump into the transfer portal. Last year it was Endyia Rogers, Sedona Prince and Te-Hina Paopao. All five of the decorated five-star recruits who signed with Oregon in 2020, including Paopao, transferred and will finish their careers elsewhere.

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The momentum of Sabrina and her magic is all but gone.

Graves is positive by nature. He spoke Sunday of still believing that this year’s team was capable of “good things,” although it’s not clear what that would even mean at this point after having dug such a significant hole.

“We’re still working to win this year,” Graves said, “but I’m confident we’ll get the program back to where we want it to be.”

Graves has a career record at Oregon of 223-102. His track record would indicate he should get a lot of latitude to figure things out. He’s built up plenty of goodwill.

But he is 61. Coaching and recruiting in college basketball are tougher than they’ve ever been. He’s already rebuilt Oregon basketball from the ground up once. You can’t help but wonder if he really has the desire to do it all over again in the Big Ten.

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In a college sports landscape more competitive and cutthroat than ever, will he even get the chance?

There’s a lot to consider right now in Eugene, but that might be the biggest question of all.

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Timeline video traces SB 1008’s impact on Oregon juvenile justice, viewers can watch now

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Timeline video traces SB 1008’s impact on Oregon juvenile justice, viewers can watch now


Oregon’s juvenile justice system has been reshaped in recent years by a sweeping reform law that changed how the state handles minors accused of serious crimes.

Senate Bill 1008, which took effect in 2020, ended automatic transfers of juveniles into adult court and eliminated life without parole sentences for juveniles. The law also created “second-look” hearings and established parole eligibility after 15 years for certain offenders who committed crimes before turning 18.

To help explain the law and its impact, KVAL’s Frannie Pedersen put together a timeline video tracing the history of Senate Bill 1008, from the passage of Measure 11 in 1994 to the reforms that later reshaped Oregon’s juvenile justice system.

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The video breaks down how the law changed, why lawmakers pushed for reform, and how SB 1008 continues to influence Oregon’s justice system today. Viewers can watch the full video for a detailed timeline and explanation of the changes.



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New Jersey man sentenced in Oregon federal court for conspiring to distribute fentanyl

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New Jersey man sentenced in Oregon federal court for conspiring to distribute fentanyl


A New Jersey man was sentenced to federal prison last Friday for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon.

Mark T. Eager, 34, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.

“This defendant showed a blatant disregard for human life by trafficking fentanyl across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Bradford. “My office will continue to pursue those who profit from poisoning our communities, and we will use every available resource and partnership to combat fentanyl trafficking and keep Oregonians safe.”

“This investigation brought together law enforcement agencies from across the nation,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller. “Homeland Security Investigations special agents from Portland, Newark, and Houston contributed to the case, along with the Portland Police Bureau and HIDTA HIT officers, who were instrumental in identifying Eager. His 11-year sentence sends a clear message: no matter where you are in the country or the world, if you attempt to sell narcotics online to Americans, we will find you.”

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“Fentanyl trafficking poses a grave threat to communities across the United States, and Homeland Security Investigations is committed to working with our partners to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks responsible,” said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas. “This case demonstrates the power of interagency collaboration under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, leveraging resources from across the country to hold traffickers accountable and protect the American people. We will continue to pursue those who endanger lives through the distribution of dangerous synthetic opioids, and we remain steadfast in our mission to safeguard our communities from the violence and instability caused by transnational criminal organizations.”

“By following this offender’s digital trail, Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners nationwide executed federal search warrants, dismantled an active dark web fentanyl packaging operation and recovered deadly amounts of fentanyl, thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, and a trove of electronic devices and packaging materials,” said HSI Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas. “This case is a powerful example of how coordinated, data-driven investigations can disrupt dangerous networks and help protect our communities from lethal synthetic opioids.”

According to court documents, from November 2023 through June 2024, Eager and his co-conspirator sold fentanyl on the Dark Net and Telegram. Eager operated as the vendor WRSEH10 and marketed the fentanyl as “China White Synthetic Heroin.”

In June 2024, HSI agents executed search warrants on two residences associated with Eager in Kearny, New Jersey, and seized over 360 grams of powdered fentanyl, counterfeit M30 pills, drug ledgers, cellular phones, two computers, and drug packaging consistent with three deliveries that were sent to Oregon.

On September 4, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Eager with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl.

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On February 4, 2026, Eager pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.

HSI Portland and HSI Houston investigated this case with assistance from HSI Newark, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Interdiction Task Force (HIT). Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey assisted the U.S. Attorney’s in Oregon in obtaining the search warrants that were executed in Kearny.



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4 Takeaways From Oregon State Baseball’s Run At The Eugene Regional

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4 Takeaways From Oregon State Baseball’s Run At The Eugene Regional


Oregon State’s season came to an end in Eugene on Sunday evening, after a rocky 7th inning doomed them against the 11th-ranked Oregon Ducks. The Beavers put up a valiant effort to try and fight their way back from the loser’s bracket, but they couldn’t accomplish this incredible feat that they pulled off in 2025.

A Bad Start Changed Everything

Winning the first game of a regional is almost a must if you want to advance, and this is where things started to go south.

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After a nearly two-week layoff (since they didn’t have a conference tournament), OSU’s bats were rusty against a very solid left-hander in WSU’s Nick Lewis. Though the Beavers were able to put up a run early on, Lewis rolled with the punches and ended up throwing a complete game against the country’s seventh-ranked team. Though their bats came to life the next day, the uphill climb proved to be too much.

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Pitching Wasn’t the Issue

Oregon State came into this tournament with the nation’s best ERA, and their starting rotation was exactly as advertised.

After a good outing from Kleinschmit on Friday afternoon, Eric Segura threw a 6.2 inning gem in an elimination game against Yale. True freshman Trey Morris threw 117 pitches in the rout of WSU early Saturday, and Wyatt Queen was excellent against the Ducks off of short rest later that evening.

The Power Just Wasn’t There

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In today’s era of baseball where starting pitchers are so talented, it’s crucial to have guys that can get you runs with just one swing of the bat, especially when the man on the hill is striking a lot of people out.

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Throughout the entirety of this season, the Beavers have not been a club that hits for much power, and this makes things difficult in the postseason. In four games across the Eugene regional, Oregon State didn’t hit a single ball out of the park. In 2026 they only hit a total of 55 homers, a stark contrast from the 107 of 2025’s Omaha year.

They Ran into a Good Team With a Deep Pitching Staff

In Mark Wasikowski’s tenure with the Ducks, his team’s pitching has often been a crutch that holds them back from big postseason runs. This certainly doesn’t seem to be the case this year.

Throughout the regional that they hosted, Oregon starters looked nearly untouchable. Will Sanford struck out 14 batters and didn’t allow a run against Washington State. Yesterday against the Beavers, left-hander Miles Gosztola was phenomenal, bouncing back after allowing a run in the second inning. The Ducks also have great relievers in guys like Tanner Bradley and Devin Bell. With a lot of reliable arms to go to, it would’ve been difficult to beat Oregon twice.

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