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 good times keep on rolling for the Oregon Ducks in the recruiting world. Dan Lanning and the Ducks scored a massive commitment from five-star quarterback Will Mencl out of Chandler, Arizona.
Oregon had been rumored to be leading the race for Mencl’s services for months, but the No. 1 quarterback in the country, per Rivals, cleared the air and committed to the Ducks on Wednesday evening. Mencl chose the Ducks over Auburn and Penn State, both of which battled hard for him down the stretch.
However, Mencl has been connected to Oregon for a long time. While he was offered last fall before breaking out in his junior season, Mencl has been a fan of the program long before he popped up on the Ducks’ recruiting radar. In a post shared by Rivals recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong, Mencl was announced as a quarterback for the Ducks when he was a kid at the 2019 NFL Draft fan experience in 2019.
Now, Mencl is ready to don the green and yellow for real and make his childhood dreams come true. The Ducks have made a point to get Mencl on campus as often as possible and as recently as last week. The continued connection between both sides is ultimately what made the decision easy for the nation’s top passer. Mencl said he told Lanning and the Oregon staff about his decision on Sunday.
“The biggest thing was the relationship with the staff,” Mencl said after committing. “I feel like that continued to grow over time, especially when I first got there last spring. Being able to sit down with Coach Koa, really being an underlooked guy at that time, and kind of blowing up my junior season. And then, the path to the NFL. You can’t deny what they do with quarterbacks and the type of scheme they run. I felt like that was the best fit for me and my family to get to the next level.”
Koa Ka’ai, Oregon’s new quarterback coach, made waves earlier in the offseason after his recruiting test about ice cream flavors went viral, but that doesn’t appear to have scared Mencl off. In fact, the two have a close connection that Oregon hopes will translate to success on the field in the near future.
“My relationship with Coach Koa, I feel like that is super, super strong,” Mencl told Rivals. “I’ve had a lot of discussions with Coach Lanning about the culture there and how they’re going to continue to sustain greatness throughout the program.”
Mencl exploded onto the national recruiting scene with a massive junior season for Chandler. He completed more than 70% of his passes for 3,815 yards and 33 touchdowns against five interceptions in his junior season, leading Chandler to a state title berth. He also rushed for 741 yards and an additional 17 touchdowns.
The Ducks expect to have some competition for Mencl to compete with when he joins the team for the 2027 season, with Dylan Raiola and Akili Smith Jr. already on the roster and competing for a role as the backup. Oregon has gone to the transfer portal as well in recent seasons, finding success with Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and now Dante Moore.
Oregon has recruited well at quarterback in the past, establishing an NFL pedigree that attracted Mencl. Maybe he will be the one to buck the trend and give the Ducks a true, homegrown product under center.
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‘Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,’ a Wine Enthusiast contributor said of an Oregon wine
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Wine Enthusiast released a list of the top 40 sparkling wines around the world in 2026 – highlighting two bottles of bubbly from Oregon.
“While it can seem like you need a fortune to enjoy high quality sparkling wine, you honestly don’t. Excellent affordable bubbles are being produced around the world, often in places you might not expect. Each of the selections on our inaugural Top 40 Sparkling Wines list delivers personality, freshness, and celebration for under $75,” Wine Enthusiast wrote.
Wine Enthusiast divided its list into separate sparkling categories including, Champagne, Italian Bollicine, American sparkling and bottles $25 and under.
Snagging a spot on the American sparkling list: Corollary Wines in McMinnville.
Corollarly’s 2021 Momtazi Carbonic Rosé Pinot Noir scored 96 points from Wine Enthusiast.
“This is a Peter Max print of a wine, with vivid aromas and flavors to match the wine’s electric Kool-Aid color. It is filled to the brim with aromas and flavors of macerated strawberries, candied rose petals, apricots, and a bitter note similar to watermelon rind. Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,” wrote Wine Enthusiast contributor Michael Alberty.
The second Oregon winery to earn a spot on the list: Lytle-Barnett in Dundee.
Wine Enthusiast also gave Lytle-Barnett’s 2018 Brut Rosé Pinot Noir Chardonnay 96 points.
“Bubbles as persistent as an eight-year-old with a question deliver aromas of dried rose petals, macerated strawberries, and a touch of fresh hay and talc. This 70/30 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend is packed with flavors of lemon zest, Honeycrisp apple slices drizzled in caramel, and a dollop of raspberry,” Alberty wrote.
The nods to Corollary and Lytle-Barnett come as the wineries recently helped launch Method Oregon, a nonprofit made up of 50 Oregon wineries aiming to turn Oregon into a global sparkling wine destination.
A 73-year-old man was sentenced on Tuesday to 20 years in prison for the 1983 killing of his then-girlfriend. It was a case that went unsolved for more than 40 years.
The sentence was announced by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield.
In July 1983, Teresa Peroni, 27, was reported missing after attending a party in the Selma area of Josephine County southwest of Grants Pass. She was last seen walking in the woods with her boyfriend Marcus Sanfratello.
Authorities deemed Peroni’s disappearance suspicious, but they lacked evidence to bring charges against anyone.
In 1997, a human skull was found on private property near where Peroni disappeared. In 2024, authorities in Josephine County reopened the case. In addition to re-interviewing witnesses, they collected new DNA evidence to build a case against Sanfratello.
With the DNA, experts at the University of North Texas confirmed the skull was Peroni’s.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Man arraigned on murder charge in Oregon for death of then-girlfriend in 1980s cold case
A grand jury indicted Sanfratello of second-degree murder, on June 27, 2025.
Police arrested Sanfratello in Chico, California the next day. He was then extradited to Oregon to face the charge of murder.
Under a plea agreement, Sanfratello pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter.
He will serve at least 10 years in prison, Oregon’s attorney general’s office said.
“For Teresa Peroni’s family, this has been a 43-year wait for an answer they never should have had to wait for,” Rayfield said in a news release. “Cases like this remind us of why we don’t give up. It doesn’t matter how many years have passed — if someone took a life, we’re going to keep working until we can hold them accountable.”
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