By this point you have surely seen the video from earlier this week of Rockets guard James Harden crossing up Clippers opponent Wesley Johnson and then stopping to glare at the fallen guard before draining a 3-pointer.
But in the final minutes of Friday’s Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament game between No. 6 Oregon and Colorado, Ducks freshman Aina Ayuso did Harden one better. She embarrassed not one but two opposing defenders on the way to a nifty layup.
HIGHLIGHT | Freshman Aina Ayuso breaking ankles! #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/OgSK528ZYw
— Oregon Women’s Basketball (@OregonWBB) March 2, 2018
Dayum. Ayuso obliterated the ankles of that first defender (who we will not name, out of the goodness of our hearts), then schooled the help defender who dared over-commit to contesting the shot. Finally, she finished off the play with a fairly difficult runner. That’s some good stuff.
Ayuso, if you were wondering, is not even one of Oregon’s best players. She has averaged only 8.2 minutes and 2.3 points per game this season and probably would not have been on the floor late in Friday’s game had it not been a Ducks blowout. Still, she provided the highlights of Oregon’s day and maybe its season.
The Ducks wound up winning 84-47 to advance to Saturday’s Pac-12 semifinal against UCLA and Cal. Anyone on the Bruins or Bears who winds up in front of Ayuso has now been warned: Watch out for that crossover.