No. 7 Oregon Women’s Basketball put together a complete performance on Friday, December 21, decimating the UC Irvine Anteaters in a 115-69 blowout inside Matthew Knight Arena. Sabrina Ionescu stole the spotlight with her second triple-double (13 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 assists) in as many days, but plenty of Ducks had memorable performances in the monstrous victory. Satou Sabally led all scorers with 27 points on 11-16 shooting, chipping in 6 boards to boot, while Ruthy Hebard earned a first-half double-double to finish with 23 points (11-12 from the floor), 15 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Both teams came out firing from the field, as Oregon went 12-15 shooting in the first frame and UCI shot a clean 50 percent (10-20). The Anteaters protected the ball and hit the offensive glass, forcing three turnovers and nabbing three of their own misses. That effort and some hot shooting from guard Andee Ritter and forward Jordan Sanders helped UCI take a 39-28 lead two minutes into the second quarter. However, similarly to Oregon’s win over Air Force on the previous day, the Ducks stored their best for closer to half. UO closed with six straight to end the second, then shot out of the halftime gates on a 12-2 tear.

Ionescu collected her triple-double late in the fourth quarter, rebounding a missed free throw to extend her NCAA record to 14. While they played smaller roles than Ionescu, Sabally, and Hebard, Erin Boley and Maite Cazorla both put up nice stat lines as well. Boley, the transfer from Notre Dame, scored 17, and Cazorla put up 13 points to go with 10 assists for a double-double. UCI falls to 9-2 with the loss, as Oregon (11-1) gets head coach Kelly Graves back from suspension and now focuses on the upcoming Pac-12 slate. Washington (7-5) will seek to rebound from a 103-56 home drubbing by Mississippi State when they visit Matthew Knight on January 4.

GAME STORY (by Sean MacPherson)



POSTGAME AUDIO

Acting Head Coach Mark Campbell, Guard Sabrina Ionescu,
Forward Ruthy Hebard