From the beginning on Tuesday night, Oregon had its offensive groove.
No. 24 Michigan State, on the other hand, did not.
Oregon opened an 18-point lead just two minutes into the second quarter, and didn’t let up, upsetting Michigan State 88-55 to improve to 4-0 on the year.
The Ducks shot 53 percent from the floor while holding the Spartans (4-1), picked to finish third in the Big Ten, to 32 percent shooting.
The Ducks also outrebounded the visitors 40-33 and outscored the Spartans 47-16 in bench points.

“I am really, really proud and impressed with my team today,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “I thought right from the get-go, we set the tone that we were going to work harder than them.”

By halftime, Oregon’s lead was 37-18. The Ducks forced 16 first-half turnovers with 11 assists on 16 made field goals.

Freshman Ruthy Hebard tallied her second career double-double with a team-high 15 points and 10 rebounds. Lexi Bando added 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting while Morgan Yaeger recorded 10 points off the bench.

“Our defensive intensity tonight was tremendous,” Bando said. “There were so many turnovers happening and steals. I think that’s what got the momentum going.”

With a narrow 10-8 lead in the first quarter, the Ducks engineered a 16-0 run, capped by a layup from Sabrina Ionescu, who finished with eight points and three rebounds. Oregon held the Spartans to 4-of-15 shooting from the field in the first quarter.

In the third quarter, the Ducks piled on the points, outscoring Michigan State 28-8. Hebard had 10 points in the third quarter alone, leading to a commanding 65-26 lead.

The Ducks recorded their largest lead of the game at 72-28 after a Maite Cazorla drained a 3-pointer. The sophomore had seven points and nine assists in the win.

“I didn’t anticipate the way it went, but I thought this was a game we were going to win,” Graves said. “I think our kids were just ready for the challenge. They stepped up big time.”

Graves used all 14 available players in the win. He highlighted Mar’Shay Moore, who played nine total minutes without scoring, after the win.

“She was working her butt off in a 40-point game,” Graves said. “That speaks to her character and the character of the team.”

Graves, who now owns four wins over ranked opponents as Oregon’s coach, said he told his seven-member freshman class that games like Tuesday are “why they came here.”

The freshmen scored 49 of Oregon’s 88 points on Tuesday night.

“Hopefully it’s a spring board to bigger and better things,” Graves said.

The Ducks won’t have much time to celebrate the win. They boarded a bus to Portland following the game and will fly to Hawaii on Wednesday morning for three games in the Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Honolulu.

Oregon faces No. 7 Mississippi State on Friday, followed by Hawaii on Saturday and San Jose State on Sunday.

“They’re going to go in with a little bit of confidence,” Graves said of his team.

Added Bando: “We can’t get cocky, but I definitely think if we can play how we did tonight, I think we’re going to be really good.”

Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne