LONG BEACH, Calif. — Head coach Kelly Graves was yelling at superstar guard Sabrina Ionescu as she dribbled the ball down across half court.
“Keep it! Keep it!”
She did. She waved off an on-ball screen and put her head down to start her one-on-one isolation. She put the ball in her right hand for a one-dribble crossover into her left for a stepback jumper from the top of the key. Swish.
Sitting right there as she sank it was none other than Kobe Bryant, as he grinned and clapped as she sunk the sweet jumper.
Her coach, teammates and hundreds of fans at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach were happy that she kept that ball. Ionescu ended the day just shy of a triple double with 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to lead the team.
Her double-double stood out amongst the scorers for Oregon, as 10 different Oregon players got on the board in Saturday’s win against Long Beach State 81-45.
Despite the high-scoring game and various scorers, Oregon turned the ball over a season-high 23 times. Most were unforced errors made by lazy passes and mental lapses on the offensive end.
“We’ve lead the nation in, I think, fewest turnovers the last couple years and I don’t know what’s happening,” Graves said. “I got on them at halftime and obviously it didn’t work because we had even more in the second.”
Although the 23 turnovers were a big lapse offensively, the Ducks used their defensive pressure and hot shooting to make up for it to build their largest lead to 42 points.
Jaz Shelley had a stellar night, contributing a season-high 17 points on five 3-pointers off the bench.
“Gradually I’m getting more confident each game, so I feel like I let the shots come to me even more,” said Shelley. “My teammates found me open shots so it was so much easier to knock them down when my teammates provide that for me.”
Shelley is finding her groove after another successful game against South Dakota State, and is still trying to find her niche and role within the team.
“She’s a good player,” Graves said. “Had Minyon not transferred that would have been our starting point guard, so she’s used to playing at a high level.”
The message out of the team huddle after halftime: Finish.
Even with the tumultuous amount of turnovers throughout the game, Oregon still shot 60% from the field and held Long Beach to 34% to end the game.
Oregon had to finish without their starting forward Satou Sabally, who left the game in the first half and did not step out on the court after.
“She kinda hit her shoulder and she’s fine,” Graves said. “There was no sense in pushing it.”
The Ducks will get a days rest before heading back home Monday for a five-game homestand, starting with UC Riverside and starting Pac-12 conference play for their first game of the new year.
Follow Carly on Twitter @carlyebisuya.
