Takeaways from Oregon women's win against Seattle

Oregon has high expectations for itself this season, so much so that not even a 43-point victory can save the Ducks from scrutiny.

“We just didn’t sustain the effort, the intensity, the focus the entire 40 minutes,” coach Kelly Graves said after No. 20 Oregon dispatched Seattle 90-47 Saturday at Matthew Knight Arena.

“But,” Graves said with wry smile, “when we were good, we were pretty good tonight.”

They certainly were.

Five players scored in double figures for the Ducks (2-0), who led for the final 38 minutes, 30 seconds.

Freshman forward Grace VanSlooten had 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks; freshman guard Jennah Isai and senior guard Endyia Rogers each had 15 points and six rebounds; sophomore center Phillipina Kyei had 14 points; and senior guard Te-Hina Paopao had 10 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

“I loved the balance tonight,” Graves said.

An announced crowd of 6,175 — which included former star player Sabrina Ionescu, who sat courtside — was on hand for the 11 a.m. tipoff, and it didn’t long for the Ducks to give them a reason to cheer.

After falling behind 2-0, Oregon went to work, taking a 24-12 lead by the end of the first quarter and a 42-25 advantage by halftime.

Isai gave the Ducks a boost early as she came off the bench to record all of her points and rebounds in the first half.

“I want to bring whatever I can,” she said. “Rebounds, steals, points, whatever they need me for.”

Rogers also scored 10 in the first two quarters.

“Jennah was terrific,” Graves said. “Her and Endyia, they were maybe the only two players who could say they had a really good first half, and thank goodness they did.”

The Ducks were just as relentless in the second half and made an effort to get the 6-foot-8 Kyei in rhythm after she scored just two points on three shots in the first half. She had 12 points in the second half on 4-of-4 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.

“She’s still a work in progress and I thought early they did a good job of kind of pushing her off,” Graves said.

Kyei’s role and effectiveness continue to gain importance for Oregon, which took another hit to its depth in the post after already losing starting center Sedona Prince to a season-ending injury.

On Wednesday, Graves said freshman center Kennedy Basham will miss several weeks with a right knee injury that happened late in the season-opening win against Northwestern on Monday. She watched Saturday’s win from the bench with a brace on her right leg.

The Ducks are taking the injuries in stride, said Rogers.

“Everybody’s just embracing their roles,” she said. “Nothing’s really changed, honestly, because Grace can play that position and we can play small and run fast.”

Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. 

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This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: What we learned from No. 20 Oregon Ducks women's win against Seattle