Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Surging Defense Faces Big Test
02/06/20 | Women's Basketball, @GoDucksMoseley
Oregon has picked up the pressure on defense in recent weeks, but the Ducks will be challenged at home Friday by No. 12 Arizona.
When she gets up to top speed, jet-quick guard Aari McDonald of Arizona is an unstoppable force on the basketball court.
Lately, and somewhat improbably, the Oregon women's basketball team has become an immovable object in its own right.
The two are on a collision course, and will meet Friday in Matthew Knight Arena (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network). The UO women will look to extend an eight-game winning streak that's been fueled by lockdown defense and transition offense, while McDonald brings into the showdown an NCAA-best streak of 58 games with 10 points or more.
Oregon (20-2, 9-1 Pac-12) enters Friday ranked No. 3 in the NCAA, coming off a one-sided win Monday at Connecticut. Arizona, meanwhile, is up to No. 12 in the country, at 18-3 overall and 7-3 in conference play after last week's sweep of UCLA and USC.
For her efforts in those two games, McDonald was named national player of the week by the Naismith Award. The weekend homestand for Oregon ends Sunday with a chance for revenge against Arizona State, the only team to beat the Ducks in conference play this season. But the presence of McDonald and the surging Wildcats on Friday should have Oregon's full attention.
"You guard her with five players; you have to," UO coach Kelly Graves said, before going on to compare her with an explosive football running back such as former Oregon star LaMichael James. "She's sees a little opening, boom, she's through it and it's over. You're done."
McDonald leads the Pac-12 in both points per game (20.8) and steals per game (2.7). As Graves said, the Ducks will need a total team effort defensively to contain her. But they also have an elite on-ball defender of their own in graduate transfer Minyon Moore, who lately has carved out an invaluable role with her new team.
Through the first 14 games of the season, Oregon had five games with double-figure steals. The last of those was the loss to Arizona State on Jan. 10. The Ducks have since doubled their season total to 10 games with double-figure steals, having accumulated five more in just the last eight games alone.
And a huge factor in that has been Moore. She had six steals in just one game, last week at Utah.
"For a while we were struggling with Minyon, how to get her involved," Graves said of Moore, who is playing the same position as former UO guard Maite Cazorla, but with a significantly different set of strengths. "She's made it a lot easier, because defensively she just give us a huge spark. It allows us to play in the open court – and that's where she excels."
Moore had two steals at UConn on Monday, as did both Sabrina Ionescu and Taylor Chavez. The top three-point shooter in the Pac-12 this year, Chavez didn't get any shots to fall Monday, but she stayed on the court for 19 minutes due to tenacious defense; Chavez played all 10 minutes of the fourth quarter, with the Ducks looking to preserve a lead.
With Moore and Chavez setting the tone, Oregon is employing more fullcourt pressure more often than at just about any other point in Graves' six years as head coach in Eugene.
"It's allowed us to put more pressure on people," Graves said. "We trap; our steals are way up. They're way up since Christmas. And I think it's because of those two in the backcourt."
Giving minutes to Moore and Chavez for the sake of defense hasn't hurt Oregon on the other end. The Ducks still lead the country in offense, with 86.2 points per game. Moore is able to attack the rim by creating transition opportunities with her defense, and Chavez is a 50 percent three-point shooter, even if that didn't manifest itself Monday.
Along with the increased defensive pressure, the biggest key to Oregon's eight-game win streak has been the continued development of junior wing Satou Sabally. Though her three-point shot hasn't been falling reliably, Sabally is 49-of-54 from the free-throw line during the win streak, demonstrating an increased aggressiveness that Graves wanted to see.
Sabally also has three double-doubles during the win streak – including one Monday at UConn – after having just one prior to the wake-up call she and the Ducks got at Arizona State on Jan. 10.
"The biggest lesson we took from that game was definitely being aggressive, and that we were constantly the hunted one," Sabally said. "And that we're a beatable team; we're not unbeatable. We have to give our all and cannot be satisfied with people just talking about us."
For eight games, the Ducks have done that successfully. They get another test Friday night, against arguably the hottest player in the country when McDonald and the Wildcats come to Matthew Knight Arena.
Lately, and somewhat improbably, the Oregon women's basketball team has become an immovable object in its own right.
The two are on a collision course, and will meet Friday in Matthew Knight Arena (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network). The UO women will look to extend an eight-game winning streak that's been fueled by lockdown defense and transition offense, while McDonald brings into the showdown an NCAA-best streak of 58 games with 10 points or more.
Oregon (20-2, 9-1 Pac-12) enters Friday ranked No. 3 in the NCAA, coming off a one-sided win Monday at Connecticut. Arizona, meanwhile, is up to No. 12 in the country, at 18-3 overall and 7-3 in conference play after last week's sweep of UCLA and USC.
For her efforts in those two games, McDonald was named national player of the week by the Naismith Award. The weekend homestand for Oregon ends Sunday with a chance for revenge against Arizona State, the only team to beat the Ducks in conference play this season. But the presence of McDonald and the surging Wildcats on Friday should have Oregon's full attention.
"You guard her with five players; you have to," UO coach Kelly Graves said, before going on to compare her with an explosive football running back such as former Oregon star LaMichael James. "She's sees a little opening, boom, she's through it and it's over. You're done."
McDonald leads the Pac-12 in both points per game (20.8) and steals per game (2.7). As Graves said, the Ducks will need a total team effort defensively to contain her. But they also have an elite on-ball defender of their own in graduate transfer Minyon Moore, who lately has carved out an invaluable role with her new team.
Through the first 14 games of the season, Oregon had five games with double-figure steals. The last of those was the loss to Arizona State on Jan. 10. The Ducks have since doubled their season total to 10 games with double-figure steals, having accumulated five more in just the last eight games alone.
And a huge factor in that has been Moore. She had six steals in just one game, last week at Utah.
"For a while we were struggling with Minyon, how to get her involved," Graves said of Moore, who is playing the same position as former UO guard Maite Cazorla, but with a significantly different set of strengths. "She's made it a lot easier, because defensively she just give us a huge spark. It allows us to play in the open court – and that's where she excels."
Moore had two steals at UConn on Monday, as did both Sabrina Ionescu and Taylor Chavez. The top three-point shooter in the Pac-12 this year, Chavez didn't get any shots to fall Monday, but she stayed on the court for 19 minutes due to tenacious defense; Chavez played all 10 minutes of the fourth quarter, with the Ducks looking to preserve a lead.
With Moore and Chavez setting the tone, Oregon is employing more fullcourt pressure more often than at just about any other point in Graves' six years as head coach in Eugene.
"It's allowed us to put more pressure on people," Graves said. "We trap; our steals are way up. They're way up since Christmas. And I think it's because of those two in the backcourt."
Giving minutes to Moore and Chavez for the sake of defense hasn't hurt Oregon on the other end. The Ducks still lead the country in offense, with 86.2 points per game. Moore is able to attack the rim by creating transition opportunities with her defense, and Chavez is a 50 percent three-point shooter, even if that didn't manifest itself Monday.
Along with the increased defensive pressure, the biggest key to Oregon's eight-game win streak has been the continued development of junior wing Satou Sabally. Though her three-point shot hasn't been falling reliably, Sabally is 49-of-54 from the free-throw line during the win streak, demonstrating an increased aggressiveness that Graves wanted to see.
Sabally also has three double-doubles during the win streak – including one Monday at UConn – after having just one prior to the wake-up call she and the Ducks got at Arizona State on Jan. 10.
"The biggest lesson we took from that game was definitely being aggressive, and that we were constantly the hunted one," Sabally said. "And that we're a beatable team; we're not unbeatable. We have to give our all and cannot be satisfied with people just talking about us."
For eight games, the Ducks have done that successfully. They get another test Friday night, against arguably the hottest player in the country when McDonald and the Wildcats come to Matthew Knight Arena.
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