Oregon women’s basketball started its 2016-17 season with a 89-36 win over Northwest Christian in an exhibition game which featured 13 different Ducks, including the six healthy freshmen.  
As expected, Oregon dominated the entirety of the game. Freshman Sabrina Ionescu stood out above the rest with eight points, eight assists and six rebounds in her Matthew Knight Arena debut.
“I think everyone was anxious to play,” Ionescu said. “I woke up two hours before my alarm went off.”
Oregon had no trouble getting points and with the Ducks’ height advantage over the Beacons, rebounds came with ease. The Ducks outrebounded their opponent 46-26.
Oregon’s bench also played a big role with freshman Morgan Yaeger making 6-of-7 field goals for 15 points.
“Everyone contributed on the team tonight,” Bando said. “Every player brings something different and I think that’s really unique.”
Along with Yaeger, Mar’Shay Moore put on an impressive show, coming off the bench to score 11 points after making 5 of 7 attempts. The senior was successful on multiple plays driving up the court with immense speed.
“That’s what she does,” Graves said. “She’s an elite defender and an elite driver; she’s as quick as she comes. She gives us a dimension that we don’t have.”
With a multitude of players getting minutes, it is not yet obvious who Graves will feature most consistently.
“[It’s] hard to get any kind of continuity going because you have so many different lineups,” Graves said. “There’s going to be some miscommunication and some mistakes.”
The freshmen shined bright, especially Ionescu who had an outstanding overall performance, but her passing game got the crowd of 2,133 excited. Even with Ionescu and Yaeger’s top-notch performances, some jitters among some of the freshmen were certainly noticeable.
“With the freshmen I saw two things,” Graves said. “No. 1: I saw some players who made some mistakes, and that happens, but I also saw some really good players with a lot of talent.”
The win was Graves’ first chance to showcase his No. 3-ranked recruiting class, per espnW, with only Sierra Campisano out due to injury. Graves said that Campisano could return as soon as next week.
“I rebounded for [Campisano] after practice today after our shoot around and I don’t think she missed a shot for about eight minutes,” Graves said.
Oregon will have to adjust this season to life without Jillian Alleyne, who was in attendance at the game. The Ducks have options and with the plethora of players featured Saturday, Oregon looks to be in good shape.
“This is a good group, there’s no doubt about it.,” Graves said. “I got a big old smile on my face because I think we really have a nice basketball team.”
Oregon kicks off nonconference play on Nov. 13 when Lamar pays a visit to Eugene.
Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow