Oregon needed to be the aggressors in this game.
And these aggressors got their confidence back by securing the win against familiar foe South Dakota State in a 95-56 victory.
Coming off their first loss of the season, the Ducks needed to reassemble after their shortfall in the Virgin Islands.
Practice this week gave the team time to focus on the new task at hand: a Sweet 16 rematch against a South Dakota State team that gave them trouble in the NCAA Tournament last year.
Last year, the Ducks scraped out a win in a gritty battle against the Jackrabbits, but Sunday’s game was different. Although the outcome was the same, it was a different type of win.
Oregon came out ultra aggressive on defense in the first quarter, which is something they needed against SDSU’s ball-moving, strong-cutting offense.
They locked in on that aspect, holding down the Jackrabbits to 37% shooting from the floor and 33% from beyond the arc.
Oregon also implemented a tempo, three-quarter-court press for the first time this year to take time off the shot clock and force long, panicked passes. With the lockdown defense and press, Oregon forced seven turnovers and swiped three steals all in the first quarter.
“We worked on it all week,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “it’s actually something we’ve wanted to do but haven’t really had the opportunity to do it, or the confidence in it. We made that a commitment this week, and it got them out of sync.”
Switching between a man and zone defense throughout the game made SDSU out of rhythm and never got comfortable with the defense that the Ducks threw at them.
This was a massive change in the Ducks’ play from the Virgin Islands, where, if they implemented a press, opponents would have scored once they brought it past halfcourt.
Paralleling their efforts on the defensive end, the Ducks came out firing offensively, taking a 12-3 lead early in the first. Their hot 64% shooting and 58% from 3-point land lifted the team to a 15, then 20, then a 30-plus lead towards the end of the game.
One thing is for certain: Oregon can shoot the ball.
“We only took 24 threes, which is more in-line with what we typically do,” Graves said. “I think we’ve gotten really three-happy, and, not tonight. I thought tonight we took the right ones.”
Not only did they shoot it well, but they shared the ball to where multiple people contributed to the scoreboard.
Five Oregon players scored in the double-digit range, including Ruthy Hebard with a huge 22-point game in which most of the production came inside the paint.
Sabrina Ionescu had a Sabrina night, breaking records yet again.
Today, she broke two big ones.
The Wade Trophy Winner took the crown for Oregon’s all-time record in 3-pointers with 286 and the all-time leader in double-doubles with 109. She concluded the game with a quiet 12 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.
Holly Winterburn also cut in on the action, scoring a season-high 17 points off the bench and took advantage of her playing time. Not seeing much time this year, she let the ball fly and felt that she was taking the right shots at the right time.
“I was really impressed with Holly tonight, not just because of her shooting ability. She played within herself and didn’t force things,” Graves said.
The team is back on the road again for its next game in Southern California against Long Beach State on Dec. 14 before opening a five-game homestand.
Follow Carly on Twitter @carlyebisuya.
