University of Oregon
Michigan State
Tough Test Awaits From Michigan State
11/21/16 | Women's Basketball, @GoDucksMoseley
After starting 3-0, the UO women will be challenged by the size and strength of the Spartans at home on Tuesday (8 p.m., Pac-12).
After his team committed 20 turnovers and 20 fouls in its opener, Oregon women's basketball coach Kelly Graves challenged them to improve on those areas. In their next game, the Ducks had just 10 turnovers, and 14 fouls.
After opening her freshman campaign by needing 18 attempts to hit five three-pointers, guard Sabrina Ionescu put in extra practice time working on her shot. On Sunday, when the Ducks improved to 3-0 by beating Texas-San Antonio, Ionescu hit five three-pointers on just seven attempts.
So far in 2016-17, the Ducks have shown a propensity for making incremental progress. On Tuesday, they'll have an opportunity to take a more substantial leap forward.
The Ducks will host No. 24 Michigan State on Tuesday in Matthew Knight Arena (8 p.m., Pac-12 Network). It will be the first of four nonconference games for Oregon against teams from "Power 5" conferences, tied for the most in the Pac-12, Graves said.
"It's going to kind of show us where we're at, and it's going to expose our strengths and weaknesses," UO junior Lexi Bando said. "I think we're all really excited to play though. It's a really big game, and I think it'll show us how we're going to do this year."
Michigan State began the season with three wins at home, then kicked off a five-game road trip by winning Friday at Western Michigan. The Spartans returned six letterwinners and two starters from a team that went 25-9 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
Oregon, with six players measuring 6-foot-3 or taller, is tied with Kansas State and Texas as the tallest teams in the country, by that metric. The advantage Tuesday won't be much – the Spartans have five players 6-3 or taller.
"They've got to put their big-kid uniforms on, and play a lot more physical," Graves said of his team. "The size isn't going to be as big of an advantage for us, so they're going to have to get low and be tough. I firmly believe we can win this game; there's no doubt in my mind. But we've got to be physically and mentally ready to do so. This is a big test. And we need it."
Oregon's front line features 6-5 center Jacinta Vandenberg, a senior who is the only upperclassman in the rotation. She was joined Sunday in the starting lineup by freshman Ruthy Hebard, who responded with five points and seven rebounds, after providing 23 points and 17 boards off the bench against Cal State-Bakersfield.
Sunday's win over UTSA also featured six points and five rebounds for another freshman forward, Mallory McGwire. Michigan State's front line is headlined by 6-4 senior Taya Reimer, who averages 13.0 points and 7.8 rebounds. Jenna Allen, a 6-3 sophomore, adds 13.0 points and 10.0 rebounds off the bench.
"They're big, they're strong, they execute really well and they run a lot of different sets," Graves said. "They defend like you think a Big Ten team would defend. It's going to be a really good test for this young team."
Both the Ducks and Spartans also get production on the boards from guards. Oregon's leading rebounder with 7.7 per game is Ionescu, who also leads the Ducks with 17 points per game. Michigan State senior Branndais Agee is averaging 10 rebounds per game, after grabbing a career-high 15 in Friday's overtime win at Western Michigan.
One thing that figures to change Tuesday is Oregon's playing rotation. In the first three games, Graves used all 14 available players by halftime. He doesn't figure to have that luxury against an opponent the caliber of Michigan State.
Thus, three or four Ducks may see their minutes reduced significantly, if not completely. Bando said she expects her teammates to handle the situation with maturity.
"I think our team is very team-oriented. It's always, the team comes first," Bando said. "Very unselfish players on our team; that's what I love about our team. But we are going to need people that aren't in the rotation sometimes to come in and change the game for us.
"Coach told us (Saturday), each one of you guys is going to come in and win games for us this year. Having (a smaller rotation) helps you get in the flow of things. But at any given point, people could be subbing in. You just have to be ready."
