Oregon women cruise past Hawaii

Published 12:00 am Friday, December 22, 2017

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Oregon 85, Hawaii 44

The Ducks easily improved to 11-2, while the Rainbow Wahine fell to 6-6, in the Duel in the Desert at Las Vegas, Nevada.

Oregon, ranked ninth in the nation by coaches and 10th by The Associated Press, led 19-12 and 44-24 at halftime, then pulled away even more with a 21-8 edge in the third quarter.

Guard Lexi Bando scored all 14 of her points in the first half, sinking 4 of 6 shots from 3-point range. At intermission, the Ducks were 8 of 18 from beyond the arc, with Hawaii 1 of 5.

Sabrina Ionescu finished with game highs of 18 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 steals. She was 7 for 13 from the field (3 of 7 on 3’s) in 27 minutes.

Ruthy Hebard added 18 points and six rebounds for Oregon.

The Ducks’ next game is their Pac-12 opener, 3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 29 against Washington State.