#TheGameBallđ Womenâs Basketball Edition.
Saturday morning, the Oregonâs Women Basketball team opened their season in a fan-less MATT Knight arena against the visiting lady Seattle RedHawks, and the Ducks came away with a 116-51 victory to start the season at 1-0.
*image property of goducks.com
This being the inaugural edition of #TheGameBallđ Womenâs Basketball, we will look at a couple team stats before we move on to the choices. The Ducks never trailed in the game, leading 39-14 after the first quarter. The Ducks' bigs out-rebounded the RedHawks 58-28, while the Duck bench had 58 bench points This was very surprising seeing how, for the past several years, the Ducks had depended on Sabrina and the Duck starters for the majority of their points. This team plays fast and doesnât look all that different from other Graves' teams past, even with a whole bunch of new faces.
Now for my choices for player of the game also known as #TheGameBallđ. First, leading the Ducks in rebounding, Lydia Giomi had a team high/game high 13 rebounds along with 15 points. Giomi only played spot minutes the past couple of seasons but looks to contribute in a much bigger role off the bench during the upcoming 2020-21 season. Next, redshirt freshman Sedona Prince did not disappoint in her first minutes as a Duck. Prince scored 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists in only 18 minutes. You can see why Coach Kelly Graves is so excited about the possibilities for Prince in the Duck Offense and Defense. Lastly, and my pick for #TheGameBallđ, is Junior transfer Taylor Mikesell. Mikesell, who was granted a waiver by the NCAA to play immediately, was easily the Ducks' best player on Saturday. Mikesell led the team in scoring with 28 points, on eight 3âs along with 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Mikesell looks primed and ready to fill the shoes left by Sabrina Ionescu, albeit huge shoes, Mikesell should be able to lead this Duck team back to the NCAA tournament for a deep run.
At first glance this Lady Duck basketball team looks to be the deepest team Kelly Graves has had in his tenure as the Lady Duckâs coach, and, if I had to guess, this team will be very good and fun to watch. #GoDucks