Freshman guard Jaz Shelley played a huge role in the No. 3 Ducks’ 79-48 win over No. 19 Arizona State Sunday afternoon in Eugene.
The Moe, Australia native played a highly effective brand of basketball, boasting 14 points and an assist through 19 minutes of play. Shelley went 5-5 from the field and 4-4 from three in perhaps the best showing of her collegiate career.
Arizona State’s defensive game plan was to play tough in the paint in an effort to neutralize Ruthy Hebard and Satou Sabally. The two forwards were successful nonetheless, putting up 11 points a piece. The Sun Devils emphasis near the rim allowed the Ducks plenty of room to shoot from the 3-point line, where they went 13-25 in the game.
“I think we knew going into the game, as part of our game plan, that a lot of the attention is going to be focused on Ruthy [Hebard] rolling out and ball screens,” said Ducks forward Erin Boley, who like Shelley, put up 14 points in the matchup. “So a big part of it is that we have shooters coming in looking for that shot.”
Oregon head coach Kelly Graves credits Shelley’s high work ethic and attentiveness to detail for Sunday’s performance.
“She was the first one in the gym this morning,” said Graves of Shelley. “She came in before our shootaround at 9:00 and she was shooting on her own. Her and Sabrina [Ionescu] and a couple of our coaches. So I think she was serious about this and it paid off out there.”
Shelley added a much-need edge to the team’s defensive game as well, combining with Taylor Chavez at the top of the zone to suffocate the high-powered Sun Devil offense. Chavez and Shelley were in constant communication on the defensive side, complementing each other’s games to create an effective duo in the zone.
“I like playing with Taylor at the top,” said Shelley. “I think we read each other really well and she’s always, if I’m at the top of the zone, talking to me behind me.”
This fierce competitiveness on the defensive end help to hold the Sun Devils starting five players all under double-digit points. The last time the two teams met, the Ducks defense fell short, allowing four of the Arizona State starters to reach double-digit totals. On Sunday, leading the Sun Devil starters was forward Ja’Tavia Tapley, with only eight points scored on the day.
“Last time we played ASU, we played a really consistent three quarters and we kept them to really low scoring,” explained Shelley of the team’s defensive performance. “But I think, in the fourth quarter, they ended up scoring 30 points. So we just really limited their offense.”
With 10 straight wins under their belts, the Ducks will head to Los Angeles to take on the No. 10 UCLA Bruins in hopes to ride their momentum into March.
