Ionescu, Shelley Lead Ducks to Road Win

Saturday, December 14

Long Beach, CA

1:00 PM

University of Oregon

8-1,0-0Pac-12

Long Beach State

3-7,0-0Big West

Oregon

Long Beach St.

12/14/19 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Oregon 81, LBSU 45 Updated Season Stats

By: Nate Krueger

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Sabrina Ionescu and Jaz Shelley combined for 38 points on Saturday afternoon to lead the No. 3 ranked Oregon women's basketball team to an 81-45 win over Long Beach State at the Walter Pyramid.

Ionescu erupted for 15 points in the opening quarter and finished with a game-high 21 while adding 12 rebounds and seven assists. Shelley enjoyed a big game off the bench, going 5-of-8 from three-point range for a season-high 17 points to help the Ducks improve to 8-1 on the season.

How it Happened: It was all Ionescu in the first quarter, as the senior went 6-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc to stake the Ducks to a 31-12 lead through the first 10 minutes.

Oregon led just 11-10 midway through the first when Ruthy Hebard and Satou Sabally notched back-to-back buckets, and Ionescu scored UO's next seven points before a pair of triples by Shelley. With one second left in the frame, Ionescu drilled a deep three from the left wing – right in front of Kobe Bryant, who was sitting courtside throughout the game – to give the Ducks a 19-point advantage.

Mamba mentality ??

Thanks for coming, @kobebryant! #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/mE6FC1p2RC
— Oregon Women's Basketball (@OregonWBB) December 15, 2019

The Ducks cooled down in the second quarter, outscoring LBSU just 15-14 to take a 20-point lead into halftime. Taylor Chavez scored five points as part of an 11-0 run to put Oregon up 29 with 4:48 left in the half, but LBSU went on an 11-2 run to close out the period.

Shelley hit two more threes in the third period to lead the Ducks, who held LBSU to just nine points in the frame. A pair of lay-ins by Hebard made it 56-30 at the 5:28 mark, and Shelley was good from deep to make it a 28-point lead with 2:58 left. LBSU answered with a bucket 18 seconds later, the final score for either team in the third.

Ionescu was the only Oregon starter to play in the fourth quarter as Kelly Graves gave his bench some extended action. Holly Winterburn went 3-of-4 from the floor for seven points, Shelley added five more points and freshman Lucy Cochrane scored four while playing the entire period. Cochrane's first two free throws of her career capped an 8-0 run and gave Oregon its biggest lead of the game at 42 points.

Who Stood Out: Ionescu finished with a season-high for points and notched the 42nd double-double of her career, and Shelley added three assists to go with her 17 points. Chavez and Hebard both went 4-of-4 from the floor for nine and eight points, respectively, and Winterburn added nine points and four rebounds. Sabally had six points and seven rebounds in just under 13 minutes of action. Ten of Oregon's 11 active players scored at least two points.

Notable: Ionescu moved into the Oregon all-time top 10 in both rebounds (831) and steals (171), and she recorded double-digit rebounds for the 30th time in her career … The Ducks matched their season-high with 13 steals, including three from Ionescu … Oregon improved to 2-0 on the road this season.

Up Next: The Ducks will fly home and will face a quick turnaround with an 11 a.m. showdown against UC Riverside coming up on Monday in Matthew Knight Arena.