EUGENE, OREGON

DUCKS 109 - AGGIES 52

Sabrina Ionescu surpassed the 2,000 point mark and finished one rebound shy of her 19th triple-double in Oregon’s 109 to 52 victory over Utah State.

The #1 Oregon Ducks (2-0, 0-0) rushed past the Utah State Aggies (1-2, 0-0) and were able to provide some quality reps for their young bench who finished with 31 points. The Ducks never trailed, were a perfect 14-of-14 from the line, hit 17 three-pointers, grabbed 45 rebounds and stole the ball nine times.

Coach Kelly Graves cycled through the roster which led to a handful of awkward moments we wouldn’t normally expect from the Ducks, but even with a couple of scoring slumps throughout the game Oregon was still able to run away with it.

The crowd of 8,334 were well aware that the Triple-Double Queen fell just short of another one (16 PTS - 12 AST - 9 REB), but the game was hardly a letdown as Sabrina Ionescu is now fourth behind Bev Smith, Jillian Alleyne, and Alison Lang; Lang currently holds the record at 2,252 points, meaning it’s likely Ionescu will finish her senior year with yet another program record. Ionescu went down with a charley horse during the game, but quickly re-entered the game and appeared to be fine.

But Ionescu wasn’t the only one with a career day. Ruthy Hebard tallied her 41st double-double (19 PTS - 15 REB) and became the fourth player in program history with 1,000 rebounds. The senior has 1,009 career rebounds and in her most recent game the Aggies couldn’t do anything to prevent her taking over the boards through rebounds and layups.

OREGON DUCKS

*Taylor Chavez (26 min): 25 PTS - 3 REB - 3 AST - 1 BLK - 1 STL - 9/13 FG - 6/9 3PT - 1/1 FT

*Ruthy Hebard (27 min): 19 PTS - 15 REB - 5 AST - 3 BLK - 2 STL - 1 TO - 8/12 FG - 3/3 FT

*Sabrina Ionescu (33 min): 16 PTS - 9 REB - 12 AST - 1 STL - 2 TO - 6/13 FG - 2/6 3PT - 2/2 FT

*Erin Boley (27 min): 9 PTS - 5 REB - 1 AST - 1 BLK - 1 STL - 2 TO - 3/8 FG - 3/7 3PT

*Minyon Moore (26 min): 9 PTS - 3 AST - 4 STL - 2/4 FG - 1/1 3PT - 4/4 FT

Jaz Shelley (16 min): 15 PTS - 1 REB - 3 AST - 2 TO - 5/7 FG - 3/4 3PT - 2/2 FT

Lydia Giomi (16 min): 8 PTS - 4 REB - 1 AST - 1 BLK - 3/4 FG - 2/2 FT

Morgan Yaeger (10 min): 5 PTS - 1 AST - 2/5 FG - 1/3 3PT

Holly Winterburn (9 min): 3 PTS - 1 REB - 1 AST - 2 TO - 1/3 FG - 1/2 3PT

Lucy Cochrane (10 min): 2 REB - 1 AST - 3 BLK

UTAH STATE STARTERS

*Steph Gorman: 13 PTS - 5 REB - 1 AST - 5/14 FG - 3/5 3PT

*Lindsey Jensen-Baker: 11 PTS - 3 REB - 2 AST - 5 TO - 3/11 FG - 1/4 3PT - 4/4 FT

*Marlene Aniambossou: 10 PTS - 5 REB - 1 TO - 3/8 FG - 4/6 FT

*Hailey Bassett: 10 PTS - 3 REB - 1 TO - 5/12 FG

*Faith Brantley: 5 PTS - 3 REB - 1 AST - 1 STL - 2 TO - 2/5 FG - 0/2 3PT - 1/2 FT

Minyon Moore has made an immediate impact for the Ducks as her speed and aggressive defense have pushed the tempo in all of their outings so far. Erin Boley hit three triples and grabbed five boards.

Satou Sabally’s absence due to international play has opened the door for Taylor Chavez and the sophomore did not disappoint against Utah State. Chavez hit six triples and scored a career high 25 points. With production like this, expect her to be the first off the bench to provide a burst of speed.

Oregon’s starters once again proved their quality on the court, scoring 78 of the team’s 109 points, but buried beneath the fireworks of the starters is the impressive showing from the bench, including three freshmen.

Jaz Shelley and Holly Winterburn once again put some points on the board, while Lucy Cochrane blocked three balls near the end of the game. WInterburn hit a triple late in the first quarter and Shelley finished five of seven from the floor with three triples.

Ruthy Hebard may be an unstoppable machine in most games, but she’s even more effective when she has some time to rejuvenate. That’s why the recent emergence of Lydia Giomi as a scorer and rebounder could be key for surviving the season.

Giomi the junior played good minutes against Team USA, tallied 18 points and nine rebounds against Northeastern, and against the Aggies scored eight points and grabbed four boards. She’s on track to eclipse her 2018-19 season point total of 63 within the next three or four games.

NEXT UP: Texas Southern

11/16, Saturday, 2 PM, Oregon Live Stream, Eugene