Green lights shone, music blared, a quality crowd filled Matthew Knight Arena and ushered the Ducks (1-0) home and into their new era as a Big Ten team.
So, it was up to Ducks coach Kelly Graves, the team’s revamped roster, and a defense they have boasted about all preseason to become what mattered most.
Nearly an hour later, with Oregon rolling up a 20-point halftime lead in its 93-63 win over Cal Baptist (0-1), Graves faced a different dilemma: How much could he experiment before the buzzer ran out on the Ducks commanding opening night win over Cal Baptist?
He certainly had opportunities, but to get to that point he relied heavily on his likely catalysts this season. Peyton Scott (16 points) and Elisa Mevius (14) led the scoring for the Ducks. Deja Kelly went just 3-10 with the field but was impactful in other ways, adding seven rebounds and eight assists.
A plethora of players rotated in and out throughout the contest, with Graves able to keep his starting five fresh, showing just how deep this new-look Ducks team is.
“We want to use our depth as a strength, our versatility as a strength,” Scott said. “We don’t want it to be ‘Oh I’m not getting minutes’.”
Mevius was particularly impactful, adding three steals and hounding the Lancers in full-court press defense.
“She’s a menace,” Graves said of Mevius. “We sure are glad to have her on our team.”
By the end of the beatdown, the Ducks had emptied their bench with 12 different players adding points, including four in triple figures. The win is the Ducks 65th in their last 67 non-conference home games.
“I feel really good about the effort tonight, against a tough opponent,” Graves said.
“We want to be able to roll 10 deep, 12 deep,” Scott added.
Oregon parlayed its size advantage into a stifling defense that held the Lancers to 36.7% shooting. The Ducks were also surprisingly collected for a team that welcomed nine newcomers who addressed the Ducks’ needs for shooting, defense and veteran savvy.
“We have a standard,” Scott said. “We want our defense to dictate everything we do.”
Monday’s contest felt like more of a continuation of the Ducks preseason than it did a real barometer for their future success. Still, with his team enjoying its first win in 295 days there was plenty for Graves and company to be happy about.
“We’ve got a tough group, they sacrifice themselves,” Graves said.
Graves also mentioned that Kelly, the Ducks’ biggest addition of the offseason, drew a charge.
Getting more reps for future contests was the only reason that the Ducks’ starters lingered around for more time than was really necessary. Freshman Katie Fiso was able to get an extended stay on the court in her Ducks’ debut.
“Anytime you have multiple weapons out there it’s huge,” Graves said. “We don’t have to worry about anyone playing 40 minutes a night, that’s not a thing anymore.”
Cal Baptist was 28-4 last season and made the NCAA Tournament, however, it looked disjointed and seemingly dispatched rather early with such a lopsided score.
Oregon went 13-31 from 3-point range and won the turnover battle 18 to 5. CBU was picked second in the WAC preseason coaches poll but struggled on the interior against a more physical and determined Oregon team.
Every Ducks starter produced a highlight. Amina Muhammad showed toughness while warding through defenders on her way to a layup. Kelly ran the offense efficiently, hitting a wide variety of shots. Alexis Whitefield jumped in front of a pass for a steal. Sofia Bell added nine points and showed great touch from range. Scott hit a 3-pointer on her first shot attempt in nearly a year.
“Having so many guards is going to help us get down field and help our bigs get out there,” Scott said.
Grace Schmidt (16 points) was the main scoring catalyst for the Lancers, adding most of her baskets on the interior where the Ducks missed the presence of a completely healthy Phillipina Kyei.
Sarah Rambus showed impressive touch and hit a midrange jumper which extended the lead to a then-game-high of 28 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter. The substitutions and wacky floor combinations that later for the Ducks extended that mark to 30 against the overmatched Lancers’ bench.
For almost everyone on the roster, it was a field day practically from the start.
Things figure to get far more dramatic later this week when Oregon hosts Nevada and then No. 12 Baylor in the Ducks’ first real test of the season.
