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Oregon Women’s Basketball: Ducks Take Perfect Record Into 2021, Host USC

By Justin Phillips

CORVALLIS, OREGON - DECEMBER 13: Nyara Sabally #1 of the Oregon Ducks pulls down a rebound as Aleah Goodman (L), Taylor Jones #44, and Savannah Samuel (R) of the Oregon State Beavers look on at Gill Coliseum on December 13, 2020 in Corvallis, Oregon. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)
CORVALLIS, OREGON - DECEMBER 13: Nyara Sabally #1 of the Oregon Ducks pulls down a rebound as Aleah Goodman (L), Taylor Jones #44, and Savannah Samuel (R) of the Oregon State Beavers look on at Gill Coliseum on December 13, 2020 in Corvallis, Oregon. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images) /
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The Oregon Women’s Basketball team will end the 2020 season ranked in the top ten and undefeated at 7-0. Kelly Graves will look to start out 2021 on a positive note vs USC on Friday.

The team in  2020 has been able to find a way to add to last season’s success. The Ducks spent part of the holiday on a bus two days before Christmas. The team would usually fly to take on an opponent, but a five-hour bus ride up to Washington to take on the Cougars was rewarded with a positive ride back to Eugene with a win last week..

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Oregon brings a 26 game winning streak into their first game of the new year on January 1st vs the USC Trojans. It is currently the longest active streak in the country dating back to last season and Oregon is undefeated at 3-0 at home so far this season. The offense has paved the way for Oregon despite losing key players who pushed the pace last season.

Erin Boley has continued to impress with her play. She went a perfect 5 for 5 from three-point range vs Washington State. The Ducks have also had 10 different players scoring in their first 7 games of the season, some gaining valuable early-season experience. Last week, the Washington State Cougars pushed Oregon and the Ducks found a way to push back.

The Cougars took a halftime lead, but the Ducks came back in the second half led by Jaz Shelley and Erin Boley to come away with the victory. The Ducks played from behind for more than 31 minutes of the game and found a way back to a 69-65 win.

Nyara Sabally has been one of the many bright spots for the team this season. He leads the team pulling down better than 8 rebounds per game. Two seasons worth of injuries have been worth the wait for the younger Sabally sister. She is also averaging 12 points per game and hitting better than 66 percent from the floor, good enough for third-best in the Pac-12 this season.

The USC Trojans have struggled to start the season, but have won back to back games. This will also be a short road trip as the scheduled game Sunday at Oregon State has been postponed due to COVID-19. The Trojans shot effectively their last time out.

Long Beach State allowed the Trojans to hit better than 50 percent from the floor. The Trojans also led the rebounding battle 35-30 and outscored Long Beach State in the third quarter 20-10 leading to a win,

Jordan Sanders will be the player to watch for USC. She put up 23 points vs Long Beach State. It was her second straight 20 point game.

The Oregon Ducks and USC Trojans are set to meet on Friday, January 1st at 6 pm Pacific Time. The game will be broadcast on Pac-12 Network.