Photo by: @EricEvansPhoto
With Hebard Questionable, Ducks Prepare For Final Homestand
02/20/19 | Women's Basketball, @GoDucksMoseley
Senior Oti Gildon and the rest of her teammates are preparing to step up until Ruthy Hebard can return as Oregon prepares to host UCLA on Friday (8 p.m., Pac-12).
Oregon fans watching Monday's Civil War in person or on the nationally televised broadcast couldn't help but fear the worst.
Junior post Ruthy Hebard left the Ducks' game in Corvallis with a knee injury in the second quarter and didn't return. The UO women were suddenly without the reigning national power forward of the year, whose effervescent personality makes her a fan favorite, in a rivalry game with Pac-12 championship implications, during a season in which Oregon has dreams of playing in-state NCAA Tournament games on the path to the Final Four.
So when Hebard left Monday's game and didn't return, despite going through warmups at halftime, yeah, it was just a little worrisome.
On Wednesday, though, came some relatively good news: Hebard suffered a bone bruise but no structural damage in her knee, and is only questionable for this weekend's home series with UCLA on Friday (8 p.m., Pac-12 Network) and USC on Sunday.
"She's not gonna practice this week, and it could run into some time (that Hebard is sidelined)," UO coach Kelly Graves said Wednesday. "So we're not completely out of the woods yet. But I'm just happy for her that there's no structural damage."
Without Hebard, who is second in the NCAA in field-goal shooting at 69.0 percent, Oregon employed a "five-out" lineup with guards at all five positions. Defensively, 6-foot-2 sharp-shooter Erin Boley moved down into the post. With that small lineup, the No. 2 Ducks (24-2, 13-1 Pac-12) rallied from a double-digit deficit to lead briefly in the fourth quarter before suffering their first conference loss.
Against the Bruins and Women of Troy, the Ducks could choose to go small again, Graves said. Or, a forward such as senior Oti Gildon or sophomore Lydia Giomi could step in for Hebard.
"I have full faith in our group," Graves said. "We just, for whatever reason, it wasn't clicking the other night. Now that we have some time to practice without Ruthy, we can work on some other things and be more prepared."
Boley has generally stood out this season as a three-point shooter, making a team-high 78 so far, at a rate of 44.8 percent. She showed there's much more to her game Monday — Boley's three field goals made inside the arc were her most since the start of Pac-12 play, and she battled bigger Beaver players for four rebounds.
"It was just something that, we didn't really have a choice," Boley said. "It was just something we had to adapt to. If we continue to have to adapt that way in the future, as a team we're pretty versatile, so I think that helps."
Gildon has proven before she can step in for Hebard if called upon. The senior — who along with guard Maite Cazorla will play her final regular-season home games at Matthew Knight Arena this week — established career highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds in a November 2017 game that Hebard missed with an ankle injury.
"There's always big shoes to fill with Ruthy being out, but I've done it before in the past and I'm ready to do it again," Gildon said. "I'm ready to step up and help the team get a good win this weekend."
Whether that happens with or without Hebard getting some minutes, the Ducks are just happy to know their star forward wasn't more seriously hurt Monday.
"She is, I think, disappointed," Graves said. "But Ruthy, if anybody could handle something like this, it's Ruthy. There's no question about it. She's so positive a person. And she's got a team that really loves her, so they're going to keep her up."
Junior post Ruthy Hebard left the Ducks' game in Corvallis with a knee injury in the second quarter and didn't return. The UO women were suddenly without the reigning national power forward of the year, whose effervescent personality makes her a fan favorite, in a rivalry game with Pac-12 championship implications, during a season in which Oregon has dreams of playing in-state NCAA Tournament games on the path to the Final Four.
So when Hebard left Monday's game and didn't return, despite going through warmups at halftime, yeah, it was just a little worrisome.
On Wednesday, though, came some relatively good news: Hebard suffered a bone bruise but no structural damage in her knee, and is only questionable for this weekend's home series with UCLA on Friday (8 p.m., Pac-12 Network) and USC on Sunday.
"She's not gonna practice this week, and it could run into some time (that Hebard is sidelined)," UO coach Kelly Graves said Wednesday. "So we're not completely out of the woods yet. But I'm just happy for her that there's no structural damage."
Without Hebard, who is second in the NCAA in field-goal shooting at 69.0 percent, Oregon employed a "five-out" lineup with guards at all five positions. Defensively, 6-foot-2 sharp-shooter Erin Boley moved down into the post. With that small lineup, the No. 2 Ducks (24-2, 13-1 Pac-12) rallied from a double-digit deficit to lead briefly in the fourth quarter before suffering their first conference loss.
Against the Bruins and Women of Troy, the Ducks could choose to go small again, Graves said. Or, a forward such as senior Oti Gildon or sophomore Lydia Giomi could step in for Hebard.
"I have full faith in our group," Graves said. "We just, for whatever reason, it wasn't clicking the other night. Now that we have some time to practice without Ruthy, we can work on some other things and be more prepared."
Boley has generally stood out this season as a three-point shooter, making a team-high 78 so far, at a rate of 44.8 percent. She showed there's much more to her game Monday — Boley's three field goals made inside the arc were her most since the start of Pac-12 play, and she battled bigger Beaver players for four rebounds.
"It was just something that, we didn't really have a choice," Boley said. "It was just something we had to adapt to. If we continue to have to adapt that way in the future, as a team we're pretty versatile, so I think that helps."
Gildon has proven before she can step in for Hebard if called upon. The senior — who along with guard Maite Cazorla will play her final regular-season home games at Matthew Knight Arena this week — established career highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds in a November 2017 game that Hebard missed with an ankle injury.
"There's always big shoes to fill with Ruthy being out, but I've done it before in the past and I'm ready to do it again," Gildon said. "I'm ready to step up and help the team get a good win this weekend."
Whether that happens with or without Hebard getting some minutes, the Ducks are just happy to know their star forward wasn't more seriously hurt Monday.
"She is, I think, disappointed," Graves said. "But Ruthy, if anybody could handle something like this, it's Ruthy. There's no question about it. She's so positive a person. And she's got a team that really loves her, so they're going to keep her up."
