BERKELEY, Calif. — Oregon coach Kelly Graves has never been a believer in moral victories.
But on Friday night after his team’s 81-60 loss to No. 10 Stanford, Graves and his staff maintained a positive tone with their young team.
“We played with more intensity than we did last week,” Graves said. “Let’s face it, we shoot a little bit better and who knows.”
The Ducks had their worst shooting performance of the season at 33.8 percent (23-of-68). Oregon shot 36.5 percent in its loss to Washington State on New Year’s Day.
“Our starting guards go 6-for-28,” Graves said. “You’re not going to beat many people (shooting that way).”
Oregon, however, was thankful to have freshman standout Sabrina Ionescu back in the starting lineup. With Ionescu back, the Ducks were able to recapture their nonconference intensity.
It was also the first time this season Oregon has started three freshmen in the lineup.
Mallory McGwire earned the starting nod before Oregon’s game against Washington State. She said Oregon’s Bay Area visit was as close as she will get to a homecoming. Her parents had planned on making the drive from Reno, Nevada, but snowy weather kept them home. Her sister Morgan, who plays at Santa Clara, watched her post a career-high 16 points on Friday. She also had 11 rebounds.
“I had my first start last week against Washington State,” McGwire said. “Kind of got the nerves out in that game. This game I knew we had a solid scout. I just followed our scout and did what I could on offense and defense.”
McGwire helped Oregon fill in offensively in the post. Stanford from the beginning focused on limiting Ruthy Hebard’s offensive game.
“I think it kind of took her out of her game, at least for a little while,” Graves said. “It just wasn’t her night, but I thought Mallory McGwire did a nice job picking up the slack for her. I think that’s a combination that people should get used to seeing.”
Ionescu, a Bay Area native, said after the game that she was eager to play after missing four games. She tallied 14 points, eight assists and seven rebounds against Stanford.
“I was excited,” Ionescu said. “I came home. My first Pac-12 game of my freshman year. I was really excited to come out and play in front of my family and friends.”
Oregon’s heralded recruit said she hasn’t recently gotten an x-ray on her broken thumb.
“It’s not too bad,” Ionescu said of her injury. “I just have to deal with it. Everybody has to go through injuries. I should have come out and played better.”
In No. 20 Cal, Oregon will face one of the Pac-12’s top offensive teams. Kristine Anigwe ranks No. 2 in the conference in scoring with 23.5 points a game. Anigwe anchors the Pac-12’s top shooting team at 49.2 percent. Oregon ranks 10th in field goal defense.
Ionescu said the Ducks took a step forward against No. 10 Stanford. She’s hoping that translates to Sunday.
“Regardless of the outcome, the intensity we played with and how hard everyone played was definitely different than the last two games,” Ionescu said.
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne
