Oregon Women’s Basketball: Ducks Face Test vs Team USA
Team USA has had some early games vs college teams, including Stanford and Oregon State, but face the number one team in the country on Saturday.
It’s being billed as the Best in the Country vs the Best in the World. Of course one would think Team USA has a superior squad even to college team standards. One player in particular, Kelsey Plum will face off against a familiar foe in Oregon. Plum has spent the last few seasons with the Washington Huskies before joining Team USA.
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Oregon will play the exhibition game down a few players including Lydia Giomi who is nursing a broken nose and also Sedona Prince, who has yet to be cleared to play by the NCAA. She is also recovering and according to Head Coach Kelly Graves will not be available until Pac-12 play begins at the earliest. Satou Sabally is also out with the German National Team. With three players out, the load will increase for Ruthy Hebard this afternoon.
Fouls could play a big part in the game making it more of a challenge for Oregon. Team USA has already faced several college teams including Stanford, Oregon State and a game on Thursday that was a 30-point win over Texas A&M. While it will be a challenge and fun for all involved, including Sabrina Ionescu who said she will be more starstruck with the opposition. It will be a good gauge for an Oregon team with aspirations of the Final Four when the season starts next week.
I will be keeping an eye o how Team USA defends Ionescu in particular. She has so many options when it comes to scoring. If she can stay out of foul trouble herself, Oregon could make a game of it.
The Oregon Women’s Basketball team hosts Team USA at Matthew Knight Arena on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 4 pm Pacific Time