It took more than three seasons to happen, but senior guard Camber Ellingson finally moved from the bench to the scoreboard.
The Baker City-native played a career-high nine minutes, beating her four minutes against Wyoming on Nov. 28, 1998. She scored a career-high five points on 2-for-3 shooting, grabbed one rebound and also dished an assist.
This could only mean one thing Friday night at McArthur Court: It was not a good day to be a Portland Pilot.
The No. 14 Oregon women’s basketball team used its depth to beat Portland convincingly, 80-56, in front of 5,002 at The Pit. The Ducks (3-0) built a 39-18 lead by halftime and never let the Pilots (2-1) get back in the game.
Head coach Jody Runge said Oregon — which won its 23rd consecutive home opener — still has room for improvement.
“We need to learn to play hard all of the time,” Runge said in a released statement. “We had some people who weren’t playing as well as I’d like.”
However, a couple of Ducks played increased roles in the win.
Junior forward Ndidi Unaka came off the bench and scored 15 points on 5 of 6 shooting, while also collecting four rebounds, three assists, three blocks and five steals. Unaka scored nine of her points near the end of the first half.
“I just like to step in wherever I have a chance to play,” Unaka said. “Playing against big players like [Jenny] Mowe, [Angelina] Wolvert and [Brianne] Meharry in practice is hard, but it makes me better.”
“Ndidi did a great job for us tonight,” Runge said. “She has been working really hard in practice and had some big things happen tonight. She played with great intensity and it’s great to see her rewarded for her hard work.”
The other Duck to step up was Ellingson, who scored her first-ever points outside of an exhibition game.
“I was shocked,” Ellingson said. “I had no clue [Runge] was going to throw me in there with 8 minutes to go, but it was fun.”
Oregon outshot Portland 53.1 percent to 35.5 percent. Both teams had trouble taking care of the ball, as the Pilots and Ducks committed 27 and 26 turnovers, respectively.
Sophomore point guard Kourtney Shreve led Oregon in scoring with 15 points, but shot just 3-for-9 from the field and had six turnovers to her single assist. Wolvert, who has been dominating the low-post this season, finished with six points, four rebounds and pairs of assists, blocks and steals.
Senior guard/forward Lindsey Dion, who returned to the lineup about two weeks ago after tearing knee cartilage, led the Ducks with six rebounds despite playing just 10 minutes.
Oregon missed its first six shots before Meharry made a layup with 16:32 left in the first half, sparking a 9-0 run as the Ducks took a 9-3 lead.
The Pilots scored four of the next five points, but Oregon went on a 16-0 run through the next seven minutes. Portland shot 0-for-9 from the field and committed eight turnovers during that span.
The Ducks’ lead in the second half was never less than 16 points.
Oregon next plays Santa Clara at the Papé Jam at the Rose Garden in Portland at 6 p.m. Saturday.