Hebard hits all 10 shots, No. 4 Oregon routs Colorado 102-43
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Oregon treated its scouting report on struggling Colorado as anything but a matchup of first vs. worst in the Pac-12.
And it didn’t take long for the Ducks to put their game plan into action.
Ruthy Hebard made all 10 of her shots and scored 24 points as No. 4 Oregon routed Colorado 102-43 on Sunday.
The Ducks (21-1, 10-0 Pac-12) won their 14th in a row. They scored the first 16 points of the game and led 27-2 after the first quarter.
“I thought we put a lot of pressure on them and they were on their heels the whole time,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said. “Early on, that’s where the game was won. They didn’t take (the Buffaloes) lightly by any stretch. They prepared and then they executed.”
Hebard had her second perfect shooting game this season, and also had 12 rebounds. Maite Cazorla added 16 points, all in the first half, and Satou Sabally had 15.
Hebard, a 6-foot-4 junior who holds the NCAA record for men and women of 33 consecutive field goals, had 11 points and seven rebounds in the second half before sitting out most of the fourth quarter as the Ducks’ lead swelled to 65 points.
“We just keep working on us,” Hebard said. “We just want to keep playing hard.”
Oregon shot 40 of 69 (58 percent). The 59-point margin was the Ducks’ largest ever in a conference game.
Mya Hollingshed had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Colorado (10-11, 0-10), which lost its 10th in a row. Quinessa Caylao-Do added 11 points.
Colorado was on pace to break the Pac-12 record for worst shooting percentage in a game (15.4 percent) through three quarters before finishing 16 of 63 (25.4 percent).
Oregon now heads into two-week stretch that could determine if it lands a No. 1 regional seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks play at California and No. 8 Stanford before a home-and-home series against No. 9 Oregon State.
“I’m really excited for the rest of the schedule,” Hebard said. “It’s going to be great. I know we’ll prepare well for Cal and Stanford, and for OSU as well.”
BIG PICTURE
Colorado showed the effects of a sixth straight game without senior Kennedy Leonard, who’s out with a foot injury. She leads the Buffaloes in a scoring this season 14.1 points per game.
Oregon put together two remarkable back-to-back quarters in its weekend sweep. The Ducks closed out their 22-point win on Friday night over No. 14 Utah on a 27-6 run, and Sunday’s start made it 54-8 over consecutive quarters against the Utes and Buffaloes.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Oregon could return to the top three with the home sweep and No. 2 UConn’s second loss earlier in the week to No. 3 Louisville. The Ducks spent the first five weeks at No. 3, their highest ranking ever.
STAT OF THE GAME
In the first quarter, Oregon held Colorado without a field goal in 12 attempts and to two points, a season low for the Ducks. They limited two other opponents to four points in a quarter this season.
UP NEXT
Colorado: Hosts UCLA on Friday night.
Oregon: At California on Friday night.
