Oregon opened the 2020/21 campaign with a commanding 116-51 win over Seattle University at Matthew Knight Arena Saturday afternoon. While 2020 is the year of unpredictability, Oregon starting the season with a commanding win gave a sense of familiarity, the Ducks eighth consecutive win to open a season. Sabrina Ionescu, Satou Sabally, and Ruthy Hebard no longer dawn the Oregon green and yellow yet new faces establish themselves quickly. All 13 Ducks played today and nine Oregon players played their first minutes as Ducks today.

Before an official contest was even played Oregon Head Coach Kelly Graves raved about the shooting his squad offered and it manifested immediately from Maryland transfer Taylor Mikesell. Mikesell, a 42% career three-point shooter, drilled seven threes in a row just 16 minutes into her Oregon career. At the halftime break Mikesell was 7-8 from three-land and broke her own personal record for threes in contest, seven, with a new record of eight. Sedona Prince is the perceived center-piece of this year’s Oregon squad and she showed why. The 6’7 forward started hot with nine points in the opening six minutes. Prince ultimately finished 17 points and 6 rebounds and Graves felt she was a bit passive and could have had “10 to 15 more points.” Prince showed off her arsenal with an array of post-moves and a sweet shooting touch, giving validation to Graves comparison to NBA Center Nikola Jokic.

While Prince and Mikesell were the standouts from game one of the 2020/21 campaign every Duck eligible got involved. Five Ducks scored in double digits and as a team Oregon shot 53% and took care of the ball with just three turnovers. Graves experimented with many lineups including a ‘fab-five’ lineup of five highly recruited freshmen sharing the court together in the third quarter.  Oregon has a quick turnaround as the Ducks travel two hours north to take on the University of Portland Monday night.

Postgame Story- By: Adam Susman

Kelly Graves

Lydia Giomi

Taylor Mikesell