Oregon
Women's basketball: Purdue drops 5th straight, falls to Oregon 69-53
Purdue women’s basketball was unable to change its fortunes on the west coast, falling to Oregon 69-53 on Wednesday night in Eugene. The Boilermakers have now lost five straight games dating back to December 21st and are 0-6 a third of the way through Big Ten play this season.
The latest loss in the streak also marks Purdue’s seventh loss by 16 or more points this season, after having eight losses of double-digits all of last season.
The offense took awhile to show itself in Eugene, as Purdue and Oregon combined to shoot 2-10 in the early going, where it was a 2-2 game until the 5:57 mark. That’s when sophomore guard Sophie Swanson entered the game and provided scoring for the Boilermakers, having a quick five points to hand Purdue a 7-2 advantage at the 5:05 mark of the first quarter.
The Ducks then responded, outscoring the Boilermakers 11-2 over the final three minutes of the quarter, thanks to contributions from Peyton Scott and one time Purdue portal target Nani Falatea.
Purdue shot a respectable 45% from the field, but nine turnovers, leading to nine Oregon points was the difference in the opening frame.
The ball security woes compiled with shooting troubles in the second quarter for Purdue, who saw the deficit grow. The Boilermakers were 1-5 from the field and had five turnovers over the first five minutes of the quarter, while Oregon extended its lead to eight at the 4:55 mark.
Purdue went nearly nine minutes without a field goal in the second quarter as a Reagan Bass triple ended the drought with 49 seconds left in the first half, after Oregon had pushed the lead to 12. The Ducks responded quickly with a three of their own to take a 35-23 lead into the break.
Oregon quickly got the lead to a then high 14 to start the third quarter before three straight scores by Lana McCarthy and Rashunda Jones chopped that lead down to eight with 7:26 to play in the third. After a back-and-forth few minutes, McKenna Layden made it a seven point game with her second triple of the night.
That would be as close as the Boilermakers could get for the rest of the night. Oregon would then outscore Purdue 11-2 down the stretch of the third quarter, with the help of Deja Kelly and Phillipina Kyei who scored 13 combined in the quarter, to take a 52-36 lead into the fourth.
Despite best efforts from Rashunda Jones and McKenna Layden, the Boilermakers were unable to claw their way back into the game, watching Oregon coast to a convincing win in Matthew Knight Arena.
Another woeful offensive performances doomed Purdue’s chances of snapping its five-game losing streak, having 23 turnovers (leading to 25 Oregon points), as well as shooting a combined 42% from the field and 25% from three-point range.
Rashunda Jones led the way in the scoring department for the Boilermakers, with a team-high 17 points on 8-10 shooting from the field, as well as four rebounds and three assists. Jones returned to the starting lineup on Wednesday and has averaged 12.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists over the last three games.
McKenna Layden has come into her own of late, putting together the best performance of her young career, despite the loss. The sophomore had nine points and a career-high nine rebounds, which also paced the Boilermakers on the night. Over her last three games, Layden is averaging 7.6 points and 6.0 rebounds in an expanded role.
The transfer trio of Reagan Bass, Ella Collier and Destini Lombard were held in check in a frustrating night for the bunch, combining for just ten points on 27% shooting from the field and one assist.
Purdue will remain out west with a battle against Washington on deck for Saturday evening, where Katie Gearlds and company will look to get back in the win column for the first time in 2025.
The Oregon Ducks are set for one of the biggest timelines of their recruiting cycle, as many top targets are nearing commitments. This time around, the Ducks have a ton of top targets still remaining on their board compared to past seasons, as the Ducks have eight total commitments at this time.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff still need to land a safety commitment, but three-star safety Elijah Butler out of Maryland recently included the Ducks in his final six schools.
Oregon Target Elijah Butler Makes Exciting Recruiting Announcement
Butler announced his top six schools ahead of a crucial part of his recruitment, according to a graphic by Leyton Roberts. The Ducks made the cut alongside the Maryland Terrapins, Virginia Tech Hokies, Auburn Tigers, Florida Gators, and the Alabama Crimson Tide. The talented prospect would be a great addition for any of these teams, as they could all use a safety prospect at this point in the recruiting timeline.
Butler is from the state of Maryland, which makes the Terrapins one to watch.
It is also worth noting that he has been labeled as one of the best players in the state of Maryland, as he currently ranks as the state’s No. 9 prospect, according to Rivals. This is important as the Terrapins have always made solid attempts to land their in-state stars, including last season when they landed one of the better players in the state’s history, Zion Elee.
As of now, the prospect hasn’t been predicted to land with any of these schools, which means it is likely still a tight race entering the official visit schedule. He has yet to schedule an official visit with all of the schools he has listed in his top six, as he is still missing three key official visits. Butler has scheduled official visits with Alabama, Auburn, and Florida, according to 247Sports. This means he still needs to set one with Oregon, Virginia Tech, and Maryland if he wants to take one to each school.
If the Ducks are able to get Butler on a visit, then they would likely be in a more favorable position to land his commitment, as it currently. seems they are one of the trailing teams from this list. It seems highly unlikely that the Ducks will gain his commitment unless they get him on an official visit, which is still possible at this point, as plenty of top prospects across the nation are still scheduling their official visits.
As of now, the Ducks have 27 prospects set to take an official visit, according to 247Sports. Among all of the prospects who have scheduled a visit thus far, only one of the players is listed as a safety. That player is a three-star target, Junior Tu’upo. This leads one to believe that the Ducks could try to get Butler on a visit, or at a minimum, pitch their program to the prospect from St Frances Academy.
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BLUE RIVER, Ore. (KATU) — The founder of a former disaster relief nonprofit is being sued for allegedly diverting nearly $837,000 in donations and grants for personal gain.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed the lawsuit Thursday against the founder and executive director of Cascade Relief Team (CRT), Marcus Brooks. In the complaint, Rayfield calls CRT “a sham.”
Brooks is accused of stealing donations and government grants meant for disaster relief following wildfires and flooding in 2020, and using it for personal expenses including casino visits, travel, vehicles, and more.
CRT was founded in 2020 and was hired for cleanup and relief services following the Labor Day Wildfires that burned over 1 million acres across Oregon.
In Blue River, an unincorporated community in the McKenzie River Valley, the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire destroyed nearly 800 homes and burned more than 173,000 acres.
I am angry that my community was taken advantage of
Just months after the fire, long-time Blue River resident Melanie Stanley said CRT stepped in and promised help to the community.
“For us, it was…like a savior at that point,” Stanley said.
Stanley was the manager for the Blue River Resource Center and worked for Brooks to help facilitate recovery efforts. She said CRT operations slowly became questionable.
“None of us knew the level at which all of this stuff that finally came out was at,” Stanley said. “We knew that there was some stuff that had started to look hinky or feel hinky, or there was just some lack of communication that was happening. There were some other things that were happening, and so we just all were kind of guarded.”
In fall of 2023 the nonprofit was reported to have run out of money, and Brooks allegedly fired staff without disclosing the organization’s financial conditions and did not notify donors or beneficiaries. Stanley was one of those people fired.
The state now claims the funds that were meant to go towards communities like Blue River, never made it out of Brooks’ hands, including donations given by Blue River neighbors.
“I am angry that my community was taken advantage of, and I am angry that they now have to worry about trusting when something else happens, because we know something else is going to happen,” Stanley said. “We hope to God it’s never anything as big or as bad as what has happened, but you know, we also have learned that groups like Locals Helping Locals…they are our foundation, and they are because they’re us.”
The state is seeking to recover the money, permanently bar Brooks from serving in a leadership role at a charitable organization and dissolve the nonprofit.
Stanley said Brooks’ actions have tainted reputations.
“We as a community and as the people from the community who helped kind of put all of these things together, we did what was asked of us,” Stanley said. “We did help clean things, and we did help get things to provide, you know, more progress and get things moving forward, and we did good work, and so I just really hope that this is not overshadowed.”
According to Stanley, Blue River’s recovery now stands at 50%.
“We will be very picky from here on out about who and what groups gets let in to help with anything,” Stanley said. “And sadly, it may be to our detriment, but he did more damage now, as far as reputations go, and for that I’m angry. I’m very angry.”
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