Oregon head coach Kelly Graves and his team are riding the energy Sabrina Ionescu’s’ buzzer-beater provided last Sunday at No. 20 Cal.
“That was a big shot,” Graves said at Wednesday’s practice. “Hopefully a win like that springs us to bigger and better things.”
Ionescu’s shot capped off an unbelievable comeback in the game’s final 12 seconds to give the Ducks their first win in Pac-12 play. Ionescu, a Bay Area native, won’t soon forget the game-winner in an arena filled with family and friends.
“It’s definitely the talk on campus,” said Ionescu. “That’s definitely one I’ll remember.”
However, Ionescu and her teammates know that there is work ahead, starting on Friday as the Ducks travel to Los Angeles to face off against USC. The game is the first of a weekend trip to Southern California. The Ducks will play at No. 17 UCLA on Sunday afternoon.
“We have two big games this weekend that we need to get under our belt,” said Ionescu.
The freshman guard continues to rehab her broken thumb, which caused her to miss a month of play, before returning against Stanford last week.
“She knows what she can and can’t do,” said Graves. “That’s what makes her special.”
USC looks to get back in the win column following three consecutive losses to Utah, Washington and Washington State. USC was picked to finish 9th in the conference’s preseason coaches’ poll.
Junior Kristen Simon leads the offensive attack for USC. She averages 15.7 points a game and 9.7 rebounds. Freshman Minyon Moore has been a weapon coming off the bench for USC, second to Simon with 12.2 points.
“Physical, tenacious defensively,” said Graves of USC. “They just want to make you play fast.”
USC edged Oregon 74-67 when the Ducks played at the Galen Center last year to open Pac-12 play. A win at USC would be the program’s first since 2010.
In their last meeting at Matthew Knight Arena, Oregon edged out USC 69-60, thanks in large part to Maite Cazorla’s 26 points. With the emergence of strong freshmen classes on both sides — Oregon’s recruiting class ranked No. 3 in the country by espnW HoopGurlz, USC ranked No. 12 — there will be many new faces expected to make an impact.
Alongside Ionescu, fellow freshman Ruthy Hebard is having a strong season for the Ducks, leading the team in both points (13.8) and rebounds (8.4).
Oregon and USC match up evenly in points (76.8 points for Oregon to 74 for USC), field goal percentage (46.9 percent to 45.2), 3-point field goal percentage (40.5 percent to 38.3) and free throw percentage (69.3 percent to 69.8).
Sitting at 1-3 in conference play, Oregon is tied with six other teams, including USC, for seventh place in the Pac-12.
“Every team is going to give you a game in the Pac-12,” said Ionescu.
Follow Cole Kundich on Twitter @ckundich