Women's Basketball Diary: Parrish and Paopao are The Future
A rundown of the 7th-ranked Oregon Ducks season to this point, and the fantastic freshmen that have flashed their greatness in a lot of blowouts.
I’ll have a deeper dive into that Pac-12 Championship a little later in the week, but I had to do some catch-up on this dominant Ducks squad before I fell too far behind on their undefeated season.
If you’re hungry for football talk, I posted a special Sunday column about Oregon, the Pac-12, and the College Football Playoff here—in case you missed it.
The 7th-ranked Ducks are 6-0, and they’ve pretty much cruised to that mark so far. Here’s a run down of how things are going, and who to watch out for* as they look to keep winning.
*It’s the freshmen. Watch out for the freshmen.
Vs Seattle U, W 116-51 / At Portland, W, 85-52
In the opener against Seattle, transfer Taylor Mikesell had 28 points, Sedona Prince had 17, and Lydia Giomi had a career high with 15 pts and 13 rebounds.
Giomi’s arrival as the true center on this team was vital to the Ducks out-rebounding the Redhawks 58-28. We haven’t seen that kind of showing from her since, but at least we know she’s capable of it.
Along with crashing the boards big time, the Ducks only had 3 turnovers. That’s incredible for a season opener, especially in covid. You win games by being a good team, but you win games by gigantic margins with that kind of respect for possession.
The Ducks shot a little worse against Portland (51.6%), which is why it was close at the break. But 25 points and 9 boards from Boley were key in pulling away. In the first road game of the year—and honestly the closest thing to a test they’ve seen all year—Boley’s leadership proved to be important, and something this team can lean upon in tough moments as they come along throughout the year.
Vs Colorado, W, 82-53 / Vs Utah, W, 85-43
In the Pac-12 opener against Colorado, Nyara Sabally turned in a stellar 20 & 10 double-double, and Boley stayed hot with 17 & 6. Team 3-point shooting (45.5%) kept the Ducks afloat in another slipping field goal game (50%).
And Boley just kept rolling in an early morning Utah game with another 17. Te-Hina Paopao (AKA everyone’s pick for “the next Sabrina”) had 17, too.
Freshman forward Angela Dugalic also knocked on the door of a double-double with 9-9. I noted this in my preview, but of all the insane recruits this team added, Dugalic is the ONLY player that Graves mentioned in every single preseason interview. I expect her to continue to shine as the games get more important.
With a little foreshadowing, freshman guard Sydney Parrish, had a respectable 12 points with 4 boards. However, along with all the games up until this point, Parrish really impressed me in the ways that she finished plays, dove for balls, and fought for rebounds. Her basketball instinct/Sabrina-like motor was apparent.
Soon we’re going to have a deeper discussion about ceilings and floors between Parrish/Paopao, but maybe the Washington game already primed us for that? We’ll get to it, I promise.
At 15 Oregon State, W, 79-59
Once upon a time this rivalry refused to be settled in regulation. I’m not sure why the Beavs have seen such an immediate drop off in success early on this year, but I can tell you that with all these blowouts everywhere else on Oregon’s schedule, I do like the idea of having a competitive game once in a while.
Here’s hoping the Beavs can turn things around when Round 2 at Matt Knight rolls around.
Also, Te-Hina had a team-high 22, and Mikesell had 21. In case you wondering if Kelly Graves was still a guard guy at his core.
Vs Washington, W, 73-49
It was their lowest scoring game of the season, and one of the toughest to watch beginning to end in terms of the quality of play you expect from the Ducks, but a late-game Sydney Parrish surge made it all worth it.
Parrish had 18 points, shooting 7 of 12 from the field, and 50% from beyond the arc. In the first couple games I thought I was onto something when I noticed how much of a hustle player she was, and then she goes for 18 with only 3 rebounds—looking like a pure scorer.
Maybe I’m not actually going to be the first to say something good about a five-star recruit. Maybe she’s just a baller. Period.
I’m not saying Te-Hina Paopao isn’t the future of this program. She probably is. But I’m also not saying that Sydney Parrish isn’t going to make her earn it.
As of now, that’s the most competitive matchup the Ducks seem to be involved in at all.
The Ducks are in Pullman today at 11 am for what should be their last game of the calendar year.
Go Ducks.