Freshmen shine as Oregon women's basketball opens season with win over Carroll College
There has been no shortage of hype surrounding Oregon’s 2022 signing class in the leadup to this season.
Tabbed by ESPN as the No. 2 class in the country, Kelly Graves landed a group that featured two 5-star and two 4-star signees. It’s a rich infusion of talent for a program that saw significant roster turnover in the offseason.
On Friday, that star-studded group made its collegiate debut and showed plenty of promise as the Ducks cruised to a 72-41 exhibition win over Carroll College at Matthew Knight Arena to open their season.
The Ducks shot just 3-of-21 (14%) from three-point range and 28-of-67 (41%) from the field. But they generated 17 turnovers and turned the ball over just six times against a Fighting Saints squad that went 11-4 in the NAIA Frontier Conference last season.
“We can’t play our next game the way we started this game, or else we’ll be behind by a lot,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said. “That’s why you wanna get this kind of out of the way early on. I give Carroll a lot of credit; they’re a good team. They really are. They run their stuff well. They’re hard-nosed. They’re tough. They’re well-coached.”
In her Oregon debut, Grace VanSlooten finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks while shooting 6-of-12 from the field. The 6-foot-3 forward showed off an impressive offensive repertoire and carried the Ducks through some early shooting struggles.
“I think Grace kind of showed off everything that she’s got in her arsenal,” Graves said. “She can go coast-to-coast, made great decisions. Really good on the boards. Great inside. Attack the basket a few times. … I thought she had a pretty good first game, no question.”
Freshman Jennah Isai had 12 points and a team-high three assists in just 17 minutes. Endyia Rogers added 11 points, and Te-Hina Paopao had 10.
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Oregon wasn’t necessarily firing on all cylinders early in the evening. It trailed the Fighting Saints 11-10 after the first quarter and shot just 3-of-13 from the field during the opening period.
But the offense found its footing midway through the second quarter. The Ducks closed out the first half on a 16-6 run and got some big contributions from Rogers before the break.
Once the second half began, the Ducks began to pour it on. They outscored the Fighting Saints 26-12 in the third quarter, and freshman Chance Gray got her first bucket of the night on an acrobatic layup through traffic.
“Chance, I think, was pressing a little bit,” Graves said. “She’s been electric for us, and I anticipate she will be. But, you know, it was her first night.”
All 10 of Oregon’s players got on the scoresheet and played at least 14 minutes. VanSlooten played a team-high 28 minutes.
The Ducks will play their next game Monday, Nov. 7 when they host Northwestern at 3 p.m. in Eugene.
