Junior Lexi Bando scored 18 of her 20 points from behind the arc to propel the Ducks to victory Sunday afternoon.
Oregon beat Lamar 84-67, and Bando went 6-for-7 from 3-point range. The guard has immediately benefited from the Ducks’ improved depth at the guard position this season, which helped her get open and ready for passes.
“She looked great, and we’ve got now a couple of great playmakers,” head coach Kelly Graves said.
The first quarter was all Oregon, and Graves went to his bench to provide depth. Bando was perfect from behind the arc in the frame, hitting three triples to lead the Ducks with nine points at halftime.
Sabrina Ionescu — the program’s highest-ranked recruit — helped control the tempo with sophomore Maite Cazorla and redshirt junior Megan Trinder.
“I felt really great being out there. It’s the first time I’ve felt really confident,” Trinder said.
The second quarter saw Lamar keep pace with Oregon as the Ducks ended the half leading 43-33. All six healthy freshmen saw minutes during the second quarter.
“I made that conscious effort to get everybody in the first half,” Graves said. “Kind of get those nerves out of them.”
In the third quarter, Oregon went on a 24-6 run with Bando sinking three more 3-pointers from Ionescu, Trinder and Cazorla.
“We just want to play fast and consistent,” Bando said. “It’s awesome because there are so many guards that just have great vision on the floor. They’re going to hit you when you’re open.”
Oregon pulled away and led 71-45 at the end of the third. Up until that point, Oregon had hit 12 of its 22 attempted 3-pointers.
“We must have gotten up close to 30 in the third quarter,” Graves said. “I thought we really put together our best quarter of the night and then kind of gave it back in the fourth.”
The Ducks let off the gas pedal during the fourth quarter with Bando absent from most of the quarter’s action. Ionescu launched multiple 3-point attempts, but could not get any in, finishing the game 3-of-12 from 3-point range.
“It’s just one of those nights,” Trinder said of Ionescu. “She’ll probably be in the gym after this putting up threes.”
Oregon went deep with its rotation. Every player who was dressed saw minutes on the court in what was the first glimpse of the Ducks’ rotation.
“We all know what our strengths are and our weaknesses,” Trinder said. “It is hard with 13 players… but I think we did a really good job of staying composed.”
The Ducks earned points from 12 of its 13 players. Graves does plan to cut down his rotation as the Pac-12 schedule approaches.
“We’re going to have to tighten it up,” Graves said. “We’re going to try and play as many players as we can early on and see. It’s going to all shake out at some point. I anticipate by Christmas — certainly by the time we open Pac-12 play — that we’re going to be settling in on a 9-10 rotation.”
Oregon plays again on Friday at 6 p.m. at Matthew Knight Arena against Cal State Bakersfield.
Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow
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