Kansas State Comes to MKA on Saturday

EUGENE, Ore. - The No. 3 Oregon women's basketball team will play its final counting nonconference game before the start of Pac-12 play this Saturday when Kansas State comes to town for a 12 p.m. showdown in Matthew Knight Arena.

The Ducks (9-1) are coming off an 84-41 win over UC Riverside on Monday and are looking for a strong finish before Christmas break. Oregon will then host Corban in a midseason exhibition game on Dec. 28 before opening conference action against Colorado on Jan. 3.

Game Details
Matchup: #3 Oregon (9-1) vs. Kansas State (5-3)
Date: Saturday, December 21, 2019
Location: Eugene, Ore.
Venue: Matthew Knight Arena
Opening Tip: 12:00 p.m. PT
Doors Open: 11:00 a.m. PT
Promotion: Ugly Christmas Sweater Game

Broadcast Information
Live Stream: GoDucks.com/Live
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (KUGN 590 AM)
PxP: Terry Jonz | Analyst: Bev Smith

Scouting Report: Kansas State
Kansas State is 2-4 since starting the season with three staright wins and is coming off a 74-67 win last Saturday at Kansas City. The Wildcats boast the nation's leading rebounder in Peyton Williams at 13.1 per game, and they rank No. 4 in the NCAA as a team with 47.6 RPG. Ayoka Lee (16.1 PPG, 11.1 RPG) and Williams (14.1 PPG) are both averaging double-doubles so far this season, and two more Wildcats average at least 10.0 PPG. Oregon and Kansas State have faced off just one time before, a 79-69 Ducks' win on Dec. 10, 1999.

Shelley The Sniper
It was a historic day for freshman Jaz Shelley in Monday's 84-41 win over UC Riverside. Making her first career start, the Aussie erupted for a career-high 32 points while breaking the UO single-game record with 10 made three-pointers, including five in the third quarter alone. Shelley became the first UO freshman to score 30-plus points in a game since 2013-14, and her 10-of-14 day from beyond the arc broke the previous record of nine. Shelley's 10 made threes were the most in the NCAA this season until Baylor's Juicy Landrum made an NCAA-record 14 on Wednesday. In her last two games, Shelley is averaging 24.5 PPG and is shooting a whopping 68.2 percent (15-of-22) from three-point range.

20 For 20
Sabrina Ionescu continued to make history in Monday's win as the senior superstar extended her NCAA all-time (men's and women's) record with her 20th career triple-double and second of her senior season. Ionescu recorded 16 points and 12 assists while grabbing a career-high 18 rebounds, her second straight game with double-figure rebounds. At 119 games, Ionescu is the second fastest player in NBA/WNBA/NCAA DI history to reach 20 career triple-doubles, trailing only NBA legend Oscar Robertson (45 G). Ionescu enters Saturday averaging 14.4 points, 9.3 rebounds and an NCAA-leading 9.0 assists per game so far in 2019-20, including an 18.5/15.0/9.5 line in the last two games.

Home Cooking
The Ducks are a perfect 5-0 at home this season and have won 36 straight nonconference, regular-season home games dating back to Nov. 25, 2014. In Oregon's five home games this season, the Ducks own an average scoring margin of +43.4.

Ionescu, Moore Running the Show
The Ducks lead the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.77) and are No. 4 in both points per game (88.0) and assists per game (22.3), and that is due in large part to the play of guards Sabrina Ionescu and Minyon Moore. Ionescu is the NCAA leader with 9.0 assists per game, and Moore is 40th with 5.1 while ranking third in the nation with a 3.92 assist-to-turnover ratio. Ionescu is not far behind at No. 5 in the nation with a 3.33 ratio, and the two Ducks have combined for seven double-figure assist games already this season. As a team, the Ducks are No. 19 in the nation and second in the Pac-12 with 12.6 turnovers per game.

Hebard Off to Dominant Start, Closing in on 2,000 Points
Ruthy Hebard has been a beast down low so far this season, averaging team-bests of 18.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game while posting six double-doubles through the first 10 games, including five straight to open 2019-20. Hebard poured in 31 points with 13 rebounds in the Nov. 16 win over Texas Southern, and reached the 30-point mark again while matching her career-high with 18 rebounds on Nov. 28 vs. Oklahoma State. The senior owns 45 career double-doubles, the fifth-most in UO history and No. 2 among active NCAA players, and she is No. 2 in the nation with a 70.7 field goal percentage. Hebard enters Saturday's game just 22 points away from joining Sabrina Ionescu as one of five UO players ever to reach 2,000 in a career, and she would become the first active player in the NCAA to achieve the 2,000-points, 1,000-rebounds milestone.

Ducks Heating Up From Deep
Oregon struggled a bit from three-point range to open the season, but the Ducks have found their stroke from beyond the arc as of late. After shooting just 32.7 percent (74-226) from deep through the season's first seven games, the Ducks have shot a whopping 46.9 percent (38-81) in their last three contests, including a 14-of-24 (58.3%) day on Dec. 8 vs. South Dakota State. As a team, Oregon entered that South Dakota State game ranked 125th in the nation in three-point percentage, and the Ducks have flown up the rankings to No. 38 entering Saturday's game at 36.5 percent on the season. Individually, freshman Jaz Shelley ranks fourth in the Pac-12 and is tied for 23rd nationally with a team-best 47.1 percent mark after her record-breaking 10-of-14 day on Monday against UC Riverside.

Ionescu Named Pac-12 Player of the Week (12/16/19)
Sabrina Ionescu had nearly completed her 20th career triple-double in Monday's game vs. UC Riverside when the conference announced her as the Pac-12 player of the week for her performance on Dec. 14 at Long Beach State. With NBA legend Kobe Bryant sitting courtside, Ionescu racked up a season-high 21 points - including 15 in the first quarter alone - while adding 12 rebounds, seven assists and three steals while going 9-of-14 from the floor. It was the ninth career Pac-12 weekly honor for Ionescu, tying her for the second most of any player in league history.

Up Next
Oregon will return from Christmas break to host Corban in a midseason exhibition game on Dec. 28 before opening Pac-12 play at home against Colorado (Jan. 3) and Utah (Jan. 5) at Matthew Knight Arena. .