The Oregon Ducks upset No. 21 USC, 71-66, behind a furious second-half comeback and a fiery impromptu halftime speech from WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu.
Ionescu, an Oregon alumna, was sitting courtside with her husband, Hroniss Grasu, as the Ducks struggled to keep up with the Trojans and standout freshman Jazzy Davidson. Oregon scored just nine points in the first quarter. By halftime, they were down 37-21.
That would change after Ionescu spoke to the team in the locker room.
‘She kind of lit the kids up a little bit at halftime,’ Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said. ‘It’s really funny because she said the exact same thing I wanted to say. I gave her first crack at it, and she walked in, and I was thinking, ‘Damn, [Sabrina], I would have said the exact same thing.’ It was good to have her here on a night like this.’
Davidson, who had 10 points in the first half, scored one basket for the remainder of the matchup as Oregon turned up its defense and got its offense going. The Ducks won the second half 50-29, thanks to a 26-8 fourth quarter stand and a 14-0 run to end the game. Guard Ari Long knocked down three consecutive 3-pointers to push Oregon out in front, 69-66, with 31 seconds remaining.
What did Ionescu say that seemingly spurred the Ducks’ comeback win?
‘That we’ve got to play our game. We were a little intimidated, and she talked about that,’ Graves said. ‘She talked about playing stronger … Just realize who we are, and we’re not going to out-athlete them, so we’re going to have to out-tough them. The message was right on point, and they listened. Maybe I’ve got to hire her.’