Oregon forward Nyara Sabally expected to play at Washington

Late in the Oregon's victory against Connecticut, Nyara Sabally was in so much pain, she had to be helped off the court.

But it appears the injury wasn't as serious as it looked.

Oregon women's basketball coach Kelly Graves told reporters on Thursday that he expects Sabally to play at Washington Friday night.

"She practiced today for most of it," Graves said. "So I think we're good to go there."

Sabally had her leg rolled up on by teammate Maddie Scherr with less than five minutes left to go. She limped off the court and did not return to the game and was later seen with a bag of ice on her knee.

Sabally dealt with a knee injury earlier this year that forced her to miss seven consecutive games after Oregon's victory against Oklahoma in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. She returned to the Ducks lineup Jan. 2 for their win over Carroll College.

Having Sabally back will be a massive bonus for the Ducks. She is the team's second-leading scorer (15.3 points per game) and leading rebounder (7.0) despite missing eight games.

Oregon (10-5, 2-1 Pac-12) will be going for its fourth victory in a row against a Washington (5-5, 0-2) team that has struggled in conference play. Despite the Huskies record, Graves says he expects a close game.

"I think it's going to be nails," Graves said. "I think they're a good team. Coach (Tina Langley) does an awesome job. We'll see how it plays out."

Contact Register-Guard sportswriter Antwan Staley at astaley@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @antwanstaley.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon forward Nyara Sabally expected to play at Washington