Tag: Oregon women’s basketball

Sabrina Ionescu says Oregon’s win over Ohio State motivated WNBA Finals Game 2 performance

Sabrina Ionescu used the Oregon football’s win over Ohio State for motivation in her finals series against the Minnesota Lynx.

An athlete like Sabrina Ionescu doesn’t need a lot of motivation to excel at her sport, especially since her New York Liberty are in the WNBA finals.

But watching her favorite college football team, the Oregon Ducks, win a big game like they did on Saturday, didn’t hurt either.

After the Liberty tied the series 1-1 with the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday — a game where Ionescu scored 15 points and five assists in the 80-66 win — she was asked about the Ducks’ win over Ohio State.

“After they won with the way they did, today I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to wear my Oregon shoes’,” she said. “I wanted to embody that tough, gritty win that they pulled off. A lot things didn’t go right for them and they continued to kind of fight and stay together and grind out a really big win and I was, ‘all right and I wanted to bring that energy with me today on the court.'”

Ionescu and the Liberty now travel to Minnesota for Game 3 of the series where they’ll try to take control and get one step closer for their first WNBA championship.

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Sabrina Ionescu knocks down wild shot in Liberty win over Storm

Sabrina Ionescu keeps on doing unreal things on the floor as he made a shot while laying on the floor in the Liberty’s win in Seattle.

Just when you think Sabrina Ionescu has done it all on the floor, she manages to top herself yet again.

In the 98-85 win at Seattle where she finished with 25 points and eight rebounds, Ionescu went down to her knees for one of those boards and two of those points.

On a running lay-in attempt, Ionescu fell to the floor and as the ball came down, it somehow ended up in her hands. Amid some traffic in the lane, Ionescu didn’t have time to get up, so she put up a shot from her knees and it went in.

By now, it’s just another highlight in her illustrious career. Ionescu is coming off winning the gold medal in the Paris Olympics and she is leading the New York Liberty to the WNBA’s best record of 27-6. They are the favorites to win the championship, something that’s still not on Ionescu’s resume.

Yet.

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Big Ten announces men’s and women’s basketball tourney sites through 2028

The Big Ten men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will make their Vegas debut in a few years.

Joining the Big Ten Conference is going to mean more travel for all of Oregon’s athletes for the regular season as well as postseason tournaments.

The conference has had a tradition of holding both basketball tourneys in the Midwest such as Indianapolis and Chicago. But for the first time ever, the league will be bringing its postseason tournament out West to a familiar setting of Las Vegas.

But for a bit.

Both tourneys will be in Indianapolis in 2025, but then The Big Ten announced basketball tournament locations for 2026-28. The women’s tournament will remain in Indianapolis in 2026 before moving to Las Vegas in 2027 and Detroit in 2028.

The Big Ten will host the men’s tournament in Chicago for the 12th time in 2026, return to Indianapolis in 2027, and head to Las Vegas in 2028. This will mark the first time Big Ten Tournaments will be held in Las Vegas or Detroit in the conference’s history.

“We look forward to partnering with the cities of Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Las Vegas as they host the Big Ten Basketball Tournaments from 2025-28,” said Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti in a press release. “Each city will be an exciting postseason opportunity for our student-athletes, coaches, and fans, both locally and from across the country.”

Oregon had success in most seasons when the postseason was held in Vegas. It’ll be interesting to see how the Ducks fare in sites not so close to home, but that is going to become the norm from now on.

Sabrina Ionescu keeps on setting records in The Big Apple

Thirteen may be Sabrina Ionescu’s lucky number as that’s how many 30-point games in her career, setting a New York Liberty record.

It took her just four seasons to break this record and by the time she’s done, it may be a mark that’s never broken.

Former Duck and current WNBA superstar Sabrina Ionescu just set the New York Liberty franchise record with 13 games where she scored 30 or more points. Cappie Pondexter was the previous record holder.

In the 82-74 win over Orlando, Ionescu scored 30 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out six assists. New York is now 21-4 in what is its best season in franchise history.

It’s also been a career season for Ionescu as she leads the Liberty in scoring (19.8 ppg) and assists (6.1).

Her teammate, Brianna Stewart, has 10 games where she has scored 30 or more for the Liberty. It’ll be interesting to see who ultimately holds the record once everything is said and done.

Both Ionescu and Stewart and the entire WNBA will take a break as their best players will go to Paris and play for Team USA in the Olympics later this month.

Kelly Graves hires assistant Jerise Freeman as recruiting coordinator

Kelly Graves hires assistant Jerise Freeman as recruiting coordinator after spending the last three seasons at Utah.

Recruiting is always a dicey situation, especially in this climate of the transfer portal and players changing teams on a yearly basis. Oregon women’s basketball has faced their own challenges in the last few seasons, but hopefully that comes to an end with the hiring of Jerise Freeman as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

Freeman comes to Oregon after spending the last several seasons at Utah where she filled the same position.

“We are so excited to add someone of Jerise’s caliber to our staff,” Graves said. “Her energy is contagious and her recruiting and coaching resume speaks for itself, as she has experienced tremendous success at two different Power 5 programs. She is a great fit for our team and community and we cannot wait to get to work.”

According to Freeman, joining the Ducks is a dream come true.

“I am thrilled to embark on this new journey with Oregon women’s basketball,” said Freeman. “I feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to learn from and work with Coach Graves and his amazing staff. Joining the vibrant Eugene community fills me with absolute joy, and I cannot wait to contribute to the program’s success.”

A native of Wichita, Kan., Freeman’s collegiate playing days began at Seward County Community College, where she helped her team to a combined 67-8 record over two seasons. Freeman finished her playing career at Pacific (Calif.), averaging 13.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game her senior season. She earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology with a focus in criminal justice from Pacific in 2007.

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Watch: Sabrina Ionescu shares special moment with news that she made Team USA

Sabrina Ionescu will play for Team USA in the 2024 Olympic Games this summer and will wear No. 6.

Sabrina Ionescu was named to the 12-player Olympic women’s basketball roster this past weekend and it was revealed that she will wear No. 6 when the team begins play in France next month.

This will be Ionescu’s first time playing in the Olympics, but likely not her last.

With all of the controversy of Caitlin Clark not making the team, what has been missed is that this might be the best roster ever put forth by Team USA and they will be overwhelming favorites to win the gold medal.

Ionescu is having the best year of her professional career in the WNBA as she is averaging 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists a game for the New York Liberty.

Fellow former Duck Satou Sabally will also be in the Olympic Games as she will play for the German National Team.

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Oregon women’s basketball named one of biggest transfer portal winners in 2024

According to On3, Oregon women’s basketball is a huge winner in rebuilding the roster through the transfer portal.

Oregon Ducks women’s basketball coach Kelly Graves will be the first to say that the 2023-24 season didn’t go as planned.

The Ducks were 11-21 last season and won just two conference games. To add insult to injury, there was a mass defection of the roster into the transfer portal, leaving coach Graves to completely rebuild the roster.

But as it turns out, that may have been a blessing in disguise. Graves and his staff got down to work and searched the entire country, and then some, to fill out the roster with talent and possibly return the Ducks to past glory.

According to On3 (subscription required), the Ducks have been a huge winner where the portal is concerned. This is writer Talia Goodman’s assessment of Oregon’s off-season.

“The Oregon Ducks lost five players to the transfer portal this offseason, including two starters. But they were slowly but surely able to add a class of seven additions, including UNC star Deja Kelly, Texas sophomore Amina Muhammad and BYU’s Nani Falatea,” she said. “The high-major additions averaged a total of 51.4 points per game in their last full season, and Kelly was one of the biggest recruiting wins in the portal this season.”

Although the former Tar Heel will be a Duck for just one season, she’s the type of talent that could help a program turn things completely around very quickly.

“Kelly has one year of eligibility remaining and averaged 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists last season at UNC. She’s made consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in each of her four years as a Tar Heel,” Goodman wrote. “She was named to the first-team All-ACC for the third year in a row after last season and was named a WBCA All-America region finalist for the third year.”

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North Carolina transfer guard Deja Kelly commits to Oregon out of transfer portal

Deja Kelly, a four-year guard at North Carolina, has committed to the Oregon Ducks after entering the transfer portal this offseason.

It’s been a rough few seasons for Kelly Graves and the Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team. This year’s Ducks ended the season on a 14-game losing streak, won just 11 games all season, and for the second year in a row, Graves lost all of his top players to the transfer portal.

But at last, Graves and the Ducks have won a round in the transfer portal by picking up Deja Kelly, a fifth-year senior guard who earned All-ACC honors three times at North Carolina.

Kelly’s strong season with the Tar Heels, a season in which she averaged 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game, came to a disappointing end. For the second year in a row, UNC was knocked out in the second round of the NCAA tournament, this time in an 88-41 rout by the South Carolina Gamecocks, the eventual national champions.

After the damage the transfer portal has done to Oregon’s roster, Kelly is coming to a team in a desperate search for a best player, and with her college experience, Kelly leading the Ducks’ backcourt seems like a natural role for her to fill.

When she gets the ball in her hands, Kelly is always looking for ways to score, whether it’s with a drive to the rim or a jump shot she creates for herself. Her 16.3 points per game in 2023-24 is an impressive number, but she didn’t score with efficiency, shooting 34.6% from the field in 2023-24, which is, hopefully, something she can improve for her final season at Oregon.

Kelly isn’t the only transfer Graves has brought in this offseason, and she will fill the 15th and final roster spot on next year’s team. Another exciting transfer addition for Oregon is Alexis Whitfield, a 6’2″ forward who averaged 15.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game at Santa Barbara last season, and she is a potential pick-and-roll partner for Kelly.

Point guard Peyton Scott out for the season with knee injury

Oregon point guard Peyton Scott suffered a season-ending injury Monday night.

Oregon Ducks’ guard Peyton Scott will miss the remainder of the 2023-24 season after suffering a knee injury in Monday’s game against Northern Arizona, head women’s basketball coach Kelly Graves announced Wednesday.

The Oregon point guard was chasing down a loose ball early in the season opener with the Lumberjacks. Her knee twisted as Scott went down to the floor where she was later helped off.

A native of Lynchburg, Ohio, Scott spent four seasons at Miami (Ohio), leaving as the program’s No. 4 all-time scorer with 1,871 points. She earned all-MAC recognition four times, including second-team honors in back-to-back seasons (2020-21, 2021-22). Scott is fourth in Redhawks’ history with 36 20-point scoring efforts and 676 career-made field goals.

She’ll likely be able to receive a medical redshirt and return to the Duck program for 2024-25.

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Satou Sabally named as a WNBA All-Star once again

For just the second time in her four-year career, Satou Sabally is a WNBA All-Star.

The Unicorn strikes again.

Satou Sabally, the former Oregon Ducks women’s basketball standout and all-conference performer and current Dallas Wings starter, was named to the WNBA All-Star team for the second time in her short four-year career.

She was named an All-Star for the first time in 2021.

Sabally is having her best season as a WNBA player as she is averaging career-highs with 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds a game. She is also shooting nearly 30 percent from the three-point stripe and 42 percent from the field.

The Wings are currently 6-7 in the young season and hovering around for a possible playoff spot.

This year’s WNBA All-Star Game will be held in Las Vegas on July 15.