Nearly seven minutes had elapsed in the third quarter when Sofia Bell took a pass at the top of the key, drove onto the right wing, and elevated for a layup that would have extended Oregon’s large lead in its 76-58 win over Nevada.
Having barely played to that point, it was Bell’s second shot of the game.
Perhaps nothing better illustrated the Ducks’ offseason makeover than Bell, a key mainstay and top scorer from a year ago being relegated to the role of a player who simply can have an off game.
“Sofia, you know she’s steady,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “I appreciate what she does on both ends of the court, you know what you’re gonna get night in and night out with Sofia Bell.”
Bell didn’t need to play a starring role given the abundance of talent around her. Deja Kelly, who took her spot as a primary ball-handler, was a two-way force with her scoring, touch and active defense. Amina Muhammad showed her impressive two-way skillset with 11 points and four steals. Phillipinna Kyei got the crowd going with two blocks.
It was another effective introduction for a new and vastly improved team Wednesday night at Matthew Knight Arena, Oregon rolling to a 76-58 victory over Nevada.
A year removed from a season where head coach Kelly Graves often saw his team struggle to put the ball in the basket — or was forced to play whatever scorers he did have 40 minutes — he watched several Ducks have little trouble adding all sorts of contributions.
Kelly was a force all game long, hitting yo-yo jumpers with feathery touch. Peyton Scott added an impressive and-one reverse layup in the first half as well as 12 points. Katie Fiso added an off-hand layup after blowing by the Wolfpack defense.
“Deja, she comes in with so many accolades, but I’m telling you, she does a lot of the dirty work, she drew a charge last game and is just really coachable,” Graves said. “I can see why she’s so highly regarded by everyone in the country.”
Oregon struggled during the opening and closing quarters, trailing by a basket after ten minutes and being outscored 18 to 12 in the fourth quarter. But the Ducks brushed off the slow start to pull away in a 28-point second quarter, allowing Graves to give just about everybody on the roster a chance to shine.
“I’m pleased we won the game, unfortunately, I feel that in the second half, we kinda went through the motions, traded baskets most of the third quarter, and then in the fourth quarter we kinda just went dead,” Graves said. “We played a lot of the kids, and maybe that was a factor.”
Even just two games in, it’s clear that Graves has quite the assortment of players who can contribute on any given night. Ari Long, who had nine points on 3-5 shooting on opening night, was held scoreless. Sarah Rambus, who had an efficient 10 points two nights ago, finished with just two baskets in 14 minutes.
Wednesday was Kelly’s time to shine, she finished with 21 points and was 9-13 from the field. The Ducks went 6-20 from 3-point range but were tenacious all game long adding 12 total steals.
At some point, maybe this Sunday against No. 12 Baylor, Graves will likely have to cut his rotation down to a smaller number. But as of Wednesday, he’ll have to settle for being less than satisfied with an 18-point win.
“Nevada is a good team, they returned most of their players, they are a bit ahead of us in terms of what they have in them,” Graves said.
“It’s super exciting for us, and for the community,” Scott said about the Sunday matchup with the Bears. “But I think we aren’t going to make it bigger than it is, we are going to focus on Oregon and take it one game at a time.”
