Oregon Clashes With Georgia for a Trip to the Sweet 16
Oregon (14-8, 10-7) is feeling confident after a strong showing against South Dakota Monday night in San Antonio. Players like Erin Boley, Nyara Sabally and Sedona Prince and shined in the 67-47 win.
Next up for the Ducks is a matchup against the No. 3-seeded Georgia Bulldogs (21-6, 10-5). The Bulldogs are also fresh off a win after eliminating No. 15 Drexel in a 67-53 win.
The offense is led by senior center Jenna Staiti who is averaging 14.7 PPG. During the regular season she was a top-five shooter in the SEC, shooting 50.5%. The 6-foot-4 Cumming (Ga.) native is also a force on defense as the conference leader in blocks per game at 3.2 BPG.
Georgia finished fourth in the SEC regular season standings, and kept both its games competitive against powerhouse South Carolina. The Bulldogs lost the first matchup 62-50, and the second game 67-62 in the SEC tournament championship.
It should be a fun battle to watch in the post, as she goes toe-to-toe with Oregon's leading scorer Nyara Sabally (12.8 PPG). Sabally had 17 points in Monday's game against South Dakota and leads the team with 17 games in double figures.
The offense is very unselfish and knows how to get everyone involved, averaging 19 assists per game. Other players of note for the Joni Taylor's Bulldogs include veteran guards Que Morrison (11.7 PPG) and Gabby Connally (11.5 PPG).
Georgia's offense averages 72.1 PPG while Oregon's defense allows only 60 PPG. The Ducks struggled with turnovers (23) against the Coyotes in round one and will need to take care of the ball against a Bulldog defense averaging 8.4 steals and 6.3 blocks per game.
Looking at Oregon, the Ducks were able to dodge the injury bug to an extent when Nyara Sabally and Taylor Chavez both suited up for action after being listed as questionable. However, Kelly Graves said Monday night following the win that he doesn't expect Jaz Shelley to be available Wednesday after missing the game against South Dakota.
Erin Boley surpassed 1,000 career points and Oregon could use her scoring with the absence of Te-Hina Paopao and now Jaz Shelley. We could see Graves try to exploit the size advantage and roll out Nyara Sabally (6'5") and Sedona Prince (6'7"), as Georgia doesn't roster anybody above 6'4".
No. 6-seeded Oregon faces No. 3-seeded Georgia at 12:00 p.m. PST on ESPN2.
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Kelly Graves Breaks Down win over South Dakota
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