Sabally Raising The Bar As Sophomore

Among the qualities that make Satou Sabally elite are her athleticism, and her length, and her accuracy from three-point range.

To that list we can add another: Sabally is coachable. She certainly proved as much last week when Oregon women's basketball opened Pac-12 play.

"Satou we've challenged at the start of Pac-12 play to be more of a force on the boards," UO coach Kelly Graves said last week after the Ducks' conference opener against Washington. "And she certainly was."

Sabally responded to her coach's goading by grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds against the Huskies. She added another seven Sunday against WSU, along with 25 points, and is up to 5.6 rebounds per game entering the Ducks' road trip that begins at USC on Friday (8 p.m., Pac-12 Network).

A year after averaging 10.7 points and 3.8 rebounds and being named Pac-12 freshman of the year, Sabally is raising her game as a sophomore. A .370 shooter from three-point range last year, Sabally is in similar territory from long range this season, at .357. But her overall field-goal percentage has skyrocketed from .461 as a freshman to .533 as a sophomore, her free-throw percentage is up 70 points and Sabally is grabbing almost two more rebounds per game.

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"Last year I was still trying to figure out, what can I do?" Sabally said. "Where am I most comfortable? And I didn't want to make mistakes — even though I still did. This year I'm more confident. I know what I can do."

Sabally's assertiveness driving to the hoop was on full display last week. Just four of her 16 made field goals were three-pointers; many of the rest were aggressive moves to the basket.

Any defender close to Sabally's size probably can't match her quickness. Any defender fast enough to keep up probably is giving up several inches.

"Sometimes I don't think she realizes how good and effective she is, and how she changes the game when she steps out there — at both ends of the floor," UO junior Sabrina Ionescu said after the win over WSU. "…. She is, confidence-wise, the best she's ever been. Scoring, facilitating, getting stops on defense — she's riding a good wave for us right now."

The wave didn't break when it hit the Pac-12 beachhead. Sabally said that, as a freshman, it felt like a "big difference" transitioning from nonconference games to Pac-12 play. Last week, she said, "was way more of a flow. I was more excited and I knew what's coming."

Still, her coach didn't want her getting too comfortable. Hence the challenge from Graves, for Sabally to improve her contributions in ways that go beyond scoring, particularly on the boards.

"When she does that, we become an entirely different team," Graves said.

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Sabally's career-high 12 rebounds came against a plucky UW squad that never stopped battling. The Ducks needed eight three-pointers from Erin Boley to hold off the Huskies, not to mention Sabally's 12 rebounds — which included six at the offensive end.

"She's 6-4," Ionescu said. "If she crashes the boards and gets rebounds, she's getting putbacks, she's getting us opportunities we don't necessarily have if I go rebound, or somebody else does."

Sabally's increased comfort level as a sophomore is enhanced by Boley's addition to the lineup. A year ago, with the smaller Lexi Bando in the lineup, Sabally was played the '4' position, trailing plays and popping out for three-point attempts. The taller Boley can handle the '4' this season, moving Sabally into her more natural '3' spot.

"I'm much more confident on the wing," She said. "I guess that plays a big role in that."

Add it all up, and the Oregon women have a more confident, more mature, more well-rounded threat in their sophomore Sabally. On a team of stars, she's shining as bright as any as the Ducks enter the start of their first Pac-12 road trip Friday.