Sunday, December 31
Eugene, Ore.
1:00 PM
University of Oregon
13-2, 2-0P12
94
vs
83
Washington
6-7, 0-2P12
1
2
3
4
F
Washington
10
25
20
28
83
Oregon
27
18
25
24
94
NCAA Has New Triple-Double Queen
12/31/17 | Women's Basketball
Oregon sophomore Sabrina Ionescu had her NCAA record eighth triple-double Sunday, giving coach Kelly Graves his 500th career victory in a win over Washington.
EUGENE, Ore. — Sabrina Ionescu set an NCAA record with her eighth career triple-double, helping the UO women give head coach Kelly Graves the 500th victory of his career as the Ducks beat Washington, 94-83, on Sunday afternoon before 3,322 fans in Matthew Knight Arena.
Already at 24 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, Ionescu passed to Lexi Bando for a corner three-pointer with 1:50 left in the game for Ionescu's 10th assist. She reached eight career triple-doubles in 48 career games, breaking the record of seven she had shared with Penn State's Suzie McConnell (128 games, 1985-88) and Louella Tomlinson of Saint Mary's (125 games, 2008-11).
"It's pretty surreal, to be honest," Ionescu said. "I don't think I really realized that I just broke it. But I'm just happy that we won tonight and got better, and that Coach Graves got his 500th win. That's important to him and important to us, and to all his teams from the past."
How It Happened: The Ducks (13-2) set a blistering tone from three-point range, with Ionescu making one on each of Oregon's first two possessions. Two days after leaning on Ruthy Hebard's presence because shots weren't falling in the first half against Washington State, the UO women had no such issues Sunday, going 5-of-8 from three in the first quarter to take a 27-10 lead.
Oregon continued to pour it on in the second, with Ionescu sinking another three for a 37-18 lead. Hebard gave the Ducks their biggest lead of the game at 41-21, scoring on back-to-back possessions. Washington closed within 10 at halftime, though, making its final five shots — four from three-point range — to get within 45-35.
Ionescu took it to the basket for a layup to open the second half, and made yet another three-pointer for a 52-37 UO lead early in the third quarter. Three times, the Huskies closed within 10 again — at 58-48, 65-55 and, early in the fourth quarter, 70-60. UW finally got within single digits a couple times in the fourth, with sophomore Amber Melgoza scoring 23 of their 28 points in the quarter. But ultimately, the only drama was Ionescu's pursuit of the triple-double record, which she secured on the assist to Bando with less than two minutes remaining.
Who Stood Out: Ironically enough, Ionescu set the NCAA record on an afternoon when she wasn't particularly sharp. The sophomore scored her 24 points on 8-of-23 shooting, including 6-of-18 from three, and had seven turnovers to go along with her 14 rebounds and 10 assists. Hebard added 23 points and 11 rebounds, helping Oregon dominate the boards, 44-24. Bando scored 20 on 5-of-9 three-point shooting, and freshman wing Satou Sabally dished out seven assists while scoring 13.
What It Means: A year after opening Pac-12 play 0-3, with Ionescu missing time due to injury, the Ducks are 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2009-10.
Quotable:
Head coach Kelly Graves
On winning his 500th career game
"It's pretty special. I've been really blessed to coach great players. I've never scored a point, made a rebound or gotten an assist. I've just had great players, and I've been really blessed for a long time. But this is pretty cool."
Sophomore guard Sabrina Ionescu
On setting the NCAA record
"As long as we continue to win, that's what's important to me; the triple-doubles just come. … It was nice to be able to start off the Pac-12 games healthy and at full force. It was hard last year; we had to dig ourselves out of a hole at 0-3. We're excited to be 2-0."
Senior guard Lexi Bando
On shooting the ball better than Friday
"I think what we've just been doing is coming out hard. That's so important to start the game like that. We're really buying in, and trying to focus on getting shots up early and getting defensive stops."
Up Next: The Ducks go on the road in conference play for the first time, beginning at Southern California on Friday (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
Already at 24 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, Ionescu passed to Lexi Bando for a corner three-pointer with 1:50 left in the game for Ionescu's 10th assist. She reached eight career triple-doubles in 48 career games, breaking the record of seven she had shared with Penn State's Suzie McConnell (128 games, 1985-88) and Louella Tomlinson of Saint Mary's (125 games, 2008-11).
"It's pretty surreal, to be honest," Ionescu said. "I don't think I really realized that I just broke it. But I'm just happy that we won tonight and got better, and that Coach Graves got his 500th win. That's important to him and important to us, and to all his teams from the past."
How It Happened: The Ducks (13-2) set a blistering tone from three-point range, with Ionescu making one on each of Oregon's first two possessions. Two days after leaning on Ruthy Hebard's presence because shots weren't falling in the first half against Washington State, the UO women had no such issues Sunday, going 5-of-8 from three in the first quarter to take a 27-10 lead.
Oregon continued to pour it on in the second, with Ionescu sinking another three for a 37-18 lead. Hebard gave the Ducks their biggest lead of the game at 41-21, scoring on back-to-back possessions. Washington closed within 10 at halftime, though, making its final five shots — four from three-point range — to get within 45-35.
Ionescu took it to the basket for a layup to open the second half, and made yet another three-pointer for a 52-37 UO lead early in the third quarter. Three times, the Huskies closed within 10 again — at 58-48, 65-55 and, early in the fourth quarter, 70-60. UW finally got within single digits a couple times in the fourth, with sophomore Amber Melgoza scoring 23 of their 28 points in the quarter. But ultimately, the only drama was Ionescu's pursuit of the triple-double record, which she secured on the assist to Bando with less than two minutes remaining.
Who Stood Out: Ironically enough, Ionescu set the NCAA record on an afternoon when she wasn't particularly sharp. The sophomore scored her 24 points on 8-of-23 shooting, including 6-of-18 from three, and had seven turnovers to go along with her 14 rebounds and 10 assists. Hebard added 23 points and 11 rebounds, helping Oregon dominate the boards, 44-24. Bando scored 20 on 5-of-9 three-point shooting, and freshman wing Satou Sabally dished out seven assists while scoring 13.
What It Means: A year after opening Pac-12 play 0-3, with Ionescu missing time due to injury, the Ducks are 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2009-10.
Quotable:
Head coach Kelly Graves
On winning his 500th career game
"It's pretty special. I've been really blessed to coach great players. I've never scored a point, made a rebound or gotten an assist. I've just had great players, and I've been really blessed for a long time. But this is pretty cool."
Sophomore guard Sabrina Ionescu
On setting the NCAA record
"As long as we continue to win, that's what's important to me; the triple-doubles just come. … It was nice to be able to start off the Pac-12 games healthy and at full force. It was hard last year; we had to dig ourselves out of a hole at 0-3. We're excited to be 2-0."
Senior guard Lexi Bando
On shooting the ball better than Friday
"I think what we've just been doing is coming out hard. That's so important to start the game like that. We're really buying in, and trying to focus on getting shots up early and getting defensive stops."
Up Next: The Ducks go on the road in conference play for the first time, beginning at Southern California on Friday (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
Team Stats
WASH
ORE
FG%
.500
.480
3FG%
.440
.368
FT%
.833
.800
RB
24
44
TO
15
15
STL
9
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
6
FTM
2
Pts
23
FGM
11
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
5
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballKelly Graves | Selection Sunday
Monday, March 17
Deja Kelly, Peyton Scott & Phillipina Kyei | Selection Sunday
Monday, March 17
Peyton Scott & Ari Long: "A good, competitive basketball game."
Thursday, February 27
Kelly Graves: "We've played really well."
Thursday, February 27
