Ducks Return to MKA, Host Colorado Friday
story links
EUGENE, Arch. — After a road swing in three games, the Oregon women’s basketball team returns to Matthew Knight Arena on Friday when the Ducks host Colorado to Pac-12 Oregon at 7:00 p.m. PT.
Friday’s game marks the team’s Play 4 Kay Pink Game, in which the Ducks will wear special pink uniforms and shoes. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to support cancer awareness and celebrate cancer survivors.
The Ducks lead the all-time streak with Colorado (19-9) and have won six of their last seven matchups. UO is 9-2 at home and 6-2 at Matthew Knight Arena against CU.
GAME #22
RV Oregon (14-7, 5-5) vs. RV Colorado (16-5, 7-3)
Friday 3rd February | 7 p.m. PT | Matthew Knight Arena (Eugene, Ore.)
TV: Pac-12 Oregon
Game by game: Ann Schatz | Analyst: Jennifer Mountain
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (KUGN 98.1 FM/590 AM)
Game by game: Terry Jonz | Analyst: Bev Smith
listen online | Live Stats
AT A GLANCE
After three games, Oregon returns to Matthew Knight Arena to host Colorado on Friday (7 p.m.) and No. 7 Utah on Sunday (2 p.m.). The Ducks (14-7, 5-5) are seventh in the Pac-12 standings after a road split at California and Stanford over the weekend.
Monday, newbie Grace VanSlooten received her fourth Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award and fifth weekly award of the season. VanSlooten led Oregon with 15.5 points per game, including a game-high 20 points in the Ducks’ 78-73 at Cal.
LAST TIME-OUT
For the fourth straight conference weekend, the Ducks went 1-1 after a 78-73 win at Cal followed by a 62-54 loss to third-place Stanford.
In UO’s win over the Golden Bears, all five starters scored double digits, led by VanSlooten with 20 points in the top flight. She added nine rebounds in the process Endyia Rogers scored 18 and Te Hina Paopao added 13. As a team, Oregon shot a season-low 15.8 percent from 3-point range (3-for-19).
Oregon limited the Cardinal to 54 points, their lowest home score and second-lowest performance of the season. The Ducks turned the ball over just five times but couldn’t get past a season-low 25.0 percent on shooting from the field (20 to 80).
DISCOVER COLORADO
Colorado, ranked 24th this season, gets votes in the latest Associated Press poll. The Buffaloes have won eight of their ten games but have lost two of their last three (at Stanford vs. USC). CU lost 71-54 to the Trojans in their last game and suffered their first home loss of the season (9-1).
Four players average double-digit points with Quay Miller (14.7), Aaronette Vonleh (11.9), Frida Formann (11.1) and Jaylyn Sherrod (10.3). Sherrod also leads the Pac-12 with 5.1 assists per game, which ranks 30th in the nation. Vonleh shoots 58.0 percent from the field at the relay, which ranks second in the league and 22nd nationally.
Defensively, Colorado is averaging 10.0 steals per game (second in the Pac-12), trailing 2.3 steals a game from Sherrod, also second in the conference.
The Buffaloes are 6-4 in true away games (3-2 Pac-12) and 7-4 in all away games, and have won four of their last five away competitions overall.
WITHIN THE SERIES
Dating back to 1981, Oregon leads the all-time series with Colorado 19-9. Since the Buffaloes joined the Pac-12 Conference for the 2011-12 season, the Ducks are 11-6 after losing their only meeting of the season last year, an 86-83 double overtime loss in Boulder. The loss ended UO’s six-game winning streak against CU.
Oregon is 9-2 at home (6-2 at Matthew Knight Arena) against Colorado and has won the last five meetings in Eugene. head coach Kelly Graves is 9-3 overall and 5-0 at home in his UO career against Colorado. The Buffs are coached by JR Payne, who played for Graves at Saint Mary’s from 1997-99.
THE “O” STANDS FOR OFFENSE
Oregon’s offensive efficiency score of 109.1 (points per 100 possessions) is the 11th highest mark in the country and third best in the Pac-12 behind only Utah (113.3) and Stanford (111.7). The Ducks’ 78.7 points per game is the 17th-best in the country and the second-highest in the conference. UO’s plus-15.2 score is the third best in the Pac-12 and 24th in the nation, while the team’s effective field goal percentage of 50.3 ranks third in the league.
UO has scored at least 75 points in 13 of 21 games, hitting the 90-point mark four times. Under the ninth year head coach Kelly Graves, the Ducks are 52-0 if they score at least 90 points. This season, Oregon is 4-0 in reaching the 90-point plateau, beating the total number of 90-point efforts in the 2021-22 and 2020-21 seasons (three times each). At Matthew Knight Arena, the Ducks are averaging 82.0 points per game this season while shooting 45.0 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from behind the arc. Overall, Oregon gets a Pac-12 high of 32.8 percent of its points from 3-pointers.
NUGGETS AND TRENDS
This season, Oregon is averaging just 10.9 turnovers per game in wins while turning over 13.8 times per game in seven losses. When the Ducks have 15 or more turnovers, they are 2-4, while five of UO’s seven losses have come to teams ranked in the nation’s top 15.
In his 14 wins, Oregon shoots 39.1 percent from 3-point range and averages 8.6 3-point field goals. Defensively, the Ducks hold teams 27.2 percent and make 5.6 3-pointers. In losses, the Ducks shoot just 32.9 percent from behind the arc and their average 3-pointers drop to 7.7, while their opponents average 8.1 3-pointers per game at a clip of 38.8 percent .
As of the 2020-21 season, Oregon has been 3-6 in games decided by three points or fewer with a 1-3 overtime record and has dropped its last three games that went into overtime. Under Graves, the Ducks are 5-5 in overtime decisions. Each of Oregon’s last six games has been decided by eight points or fewer (2-4 in that span).
