89-51 final. Some thoughts from Eugene:
1) Hebard has now had two very mediocre games in a row--taking shots outside her comfort zone (which is admittedly limited) and rushing others. Don't know what's up, if anything, but she hasn't been the model of consistency she's been for the past 2 (or 3) years. In fact, the team looked best to me when they played Sabally (inside), Boley, Ionescu, and 2 other guards. Satou plays inside a lot for Germany, she's a very good rebounder, and she has a nice post up game, with a lot of versatility. I hope the team starts taking advantage of that more often. (She was terrific in the second half today.)
2) Boley remains something of a mystery to me. It's obvious that she has worked very hard on her conditioning and it has paid off in terms of quickness and better defense. But she is still (to me) much too passive too much of the time. She was better this game overall, with some nice midrange work and several deflections/steals on defense, but I wish she had the energy the freshman Winterburn has.
3)
@nwhoopfan is right: the team hasn't been firing on all cylinders consistently in almost all the games so far. The 3rd quarter today, like the second half of the USA exhibition, provided a glimpse of what that might look like, but once January begins a glimpse won't be enough.
4) I think Winterburn may well turn out to be the most important of the Oregon freshman this season. She is the best cutter on the team, has great hands, and is a fearless bundle of energy on the court. Like Shelley, she seems very mature--maybe a product of playing as an amateur in a European pro-league. In any case, she's fun to watch.
5) 10,700 in the seats.
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