Three-Game Trip Begins Thursday at Utah

EUGENE, Ore. - Coming off the program's first Civil War series sweep since 2010, the No. 3 ranked Oregon women's basketball team will embark on a three-game road trip this week that begins with a Thursday night showdown against Utah in Salt Lake City.

Oregon will then travel to Boulder to face Colorado on Saturday before continuing on to Connecticut for a top-five battle at No. 4 UConn on Monday night (ESPN2).

Head coach @GoDucksKG joins @TerryJonz on the coaches show previewing the trip to the mountain schools.#GoDucks https://t.co/zZFs8kVMQm
— Oregon Women's Basketball (@OregonWBB) January 28, 2020

Game Details
Matchup: #3 Oregon (17-2, 7-1) at Utah (10-9, 3-5)
Date: Thursday, January 30, 2020
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Venue: Jon M. Huntsman Center
Opening Tip: 7:06 p.m. PT

Broadcast Information
TV: ESPN2
PxP: Krista Blunk | Analyst: Mary Murphy
Radio: Oregon Sports Network
Eugene: KUGN 590 AM | Portland: KDZR 1640 AM
PxP: Terry Jonz

By the Numbers
22 - Sabrina Ionescu's 22 career triple-doubles are an NCAA all-time record for both men and women; NCAA-leading 4 this season.
85.9 - The Ducks boast the nation's No. 3 ranked scoring offense entering Thursday's game at 85.9 points per game.
1.85 - Oregon is No. 1 in the nation with a 1.85 assist-to-turnover ratio; Minyon Moore ranks No. 2 individually at 4.26.
49.8 - The Ducks are No. 2 in the nation with a 49.8 field goal percentage; Ruthy Hebard is No. 4 individually at 66.5 percent.
30 - Sabrina Ionescu has made 30 consecutive free throws entering Thursday's game; she is a perfect 29-of-29 so far in Pac-12 play.

Road Warriors
The Ducks are a perfect 11-0 at home this season, but their mettle will be tested over the next month as they play eight of 10 games on the road, a stretch that began with Sunday's 66-57 win at then-No. 7 Oregon State. Oregon will return home for two games after this three-game road trip before packing its bags again for a four-game road swing. The Ducks are 4-1 in true road games this year, winning their last two against a pair of ranked opponents in front of hostile crowds.

With Heavy Hearts, Ducks Sweep OSU
Life goes on even in the face of unspeakable tragedy. Sunday's Civil War still had to be played, despite devastating circumstances. The Ducks and Beavers played shortly after news broke of the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, the father of four daughters and a spirited advocate of women's athletics who attended UO women's basketball and volleyball games earlier this academic year. The tragedy cast a pall over No. 4 Oregon's 66-57 victory, the Ducks' first win in Gill Coliseum and Civil War sweep since 2010. Sabrina Ionescu, who had developed a close bond with Bryant over the past few years, fought back tears during a moment of silence in Bryant's memory, then went on to score a team-high 19 points in the game. Ruthy Hebard posted her ninth double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds, including eight offensive boards, and Satou Sabally added 16 points and nine rebounds.

The Oregon Ducks take on the Oregon State Beavers at Gil Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon on January 26, 2020 (Eric Evans Photography)

The Oregon Ducks take on the Oregon State Beavers at Gil Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon on January 26, 2020 (Eric Evans Photography)

First Meeting Vs. Utah (UO won, 88-51)
After opening Pac-12 play with a 104-46 rout of Colorado on 1/3/20, the Ducks once again used explosive offense and suffocating defense two days later in an 88-51 win over Utah, forcing the Utes into 20 total turnovers and just 37.3 percent shooting. Minyon Moore enjoyed a strong game with a season-high 17 points, Ruthy Hebard (13 P. 12 R) notched a double-double, Sabrina Ionescu (17 P, 8 R, 7 A) was on triple-double watch, as usual, and Erin Boley had 10 points. The Ducks now own a 19-9 lead in the all-time series with Utah, having won eight straight entering Thursday's meeting. Oregon has not lost to Utah since 2/20/15, a 66-64 loss in Salt Lake City.

Ramping Up The Resume
The Ducks' weekend sweep of then-No. 7 Oregon State gave them three wins over AP top-10 teams in their last four games, including a 32-point win over then-No. 3 Stanford on 1/16/20. Oregon moved up one spot to No. 3 in the AP poll this week, and the Ducks are now at No. 2 in the NCAA RPI rankings. At 7-1 in conference play, the Ducks are tied with No. 6 Stanford and No. 8 UCLA as they continue their quest for a third straight Pac-12 regular season title and try to strengthen their case for a berth in the NCAA Tournament regional to be played in Portland.

Second Half Lockdown
The Ducks were down three at halftime of Sunday's Civil War finale, but Oregon turned up the intensity on the defensive end in the second half to secure the program's first win in Corvallis since 2010. After giving up 37 points in the first half, the Ducks held the Beavers to just eight points in the third quarter and 12 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the victory. Oregon was also huge on the boards against one of the best rebounding teams in the country, finishing with a 40-31 advantage overall and a 15-8 advantage on the offensive end, including eight by Ruthy Hebard.

Moore_defense_OSU

Leader of the Pac
With an assist on the first bucket of Oregon's 76-64 win over No. 7 Oregon State on 1/24/20, Sabrina Ionescu notched the 939th of her career and passed Gary Payton (938, OSU) as the Pac-12 all-time assists leader for both men and women. Ionescu also moved up two spots to No. 7 on the NCAA women's all-time assists list, and she enters Thursday's game 37 away from No. 6 with 950 in her career. Including men, Ionescu is the 26th player in NCAA history to reach 900 assists, and the 17th to reach 950. Ionescu's latest milestone, including averages of 21.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists during Oregon's Civil War sweep, earned her Pac-12 player of the week honors for the second straight week, the third time this season and the 11th time in her career. Her 11 career weekly honors are the second-most for any player in league history, behind only Chiney Ogwumike (18, Stanford).

A Loud Opening Statement
The No. 4 Ducks dominated for much of the night in round one of the Civil War series on 1/24/20, taking a 16-point lead into halftime before holding off a late OSU surge for a 76-64 victory in front of a capacity crowd of 12,364. Oregon's "Big Three" came up huge once again - Sabrina Ionescu led the way with 23 points and nine assists, Satou Sabally posted her third double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Ruthy Hebard had 17 points and nine boards. The Ducks used a 15-1 run in the second quarter to create separation, and Ionescu drilled buzzer-beating threes to end both the first and third quarters. Oregon also did a great job of taking care of the ball; the Ducks did not commit a turnover until the 2:16 mark in the third quarter.

Sabally Surging In Pac-12 Play
Satou Sabally got her 2019-20 season off to a delayed start after missing opening week while playing overseas with the German Women's National Team, but the junior hit the ground running upon her return and has really elevated her game over the last five games. Sabally posted a career-high 31 points on 1/19/20 against California, going 11-of-14 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line in Oregon's 50-point victory. Sabally had 17 points and a season-high 12 rebounds in UO's Civil War opener on 1/24/20 while going a career-best 10-of-11 from the free-throw line, marking her second double-double in three games after she had 18 points and 11 boards against No. 3 Stanford on 1/16/20. She added 16 points and nine boards in the Civli War finale. Sabally has three double-doubles on the season, two coming in the last four games and all coming against top-10 opponents. Over her last five games entering Thursday's contest, Sabally is averaging an impressive 20.0 PPG and 9.2 RPG while going 36-of-41 (87.8%) from the free-throw line during that stretch.

Sabally_OSU

The "Big Three"
The Ducks' power trio of Sabrina Ionescu, Ruthy Hebard and Satou Sabally is arguably the best "Big Three" in the nation. Ionescu leads the team this season with 17.7 points per game while averaging 8.7 rebounds and an NCAA-leading 8.3 assists per game. Hebard is averaging 16.3 points and a team-best 9.5 rebounds per game, and Sabally's recent offensive surge has her season averages up to 16.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. The Ducks enter Thursday's game as the only team in the nation to have three regulars averaging at least 16.0 points per game. Said head coach Kelly Graves after UO's 1/24/20 win over No. 7 OSU - "When those three are really dialed in, there's no three better in the country, as a trio. They set the tone for us."

Perfect In Pac-12 Play
The Ducks have loved seeing Sabrina Ionescu go to the free throw line so far in Pac-12 play, as the senior star is a perfect 29-of-29 at the stripe in UO's first eight conference games. On the season, Ionescu leads the Pac-12 with a 94.2 percent mark from the line (49-of-52). She has made 30 straight free throws entering Thursday's game.

Shooting The Lights Out
Oregon is No. 3 in the nation in scoring offense with 85.9 points per game entering Thursday's contest, and the Ducks are No. 2 in the NCAA with a 49.8 field-goal percentage as a team. One of the biggest factor's in Oregon's efficiency has been its dominance in the paint, where the Ducks own a 326-point advantage and have outscored their opponents in all but one game so far, including a 56-16 advantage over Colorado and a 50-18 advantage against Utah. Ruthy Hebard has elevated Oregon's field goal percentage a great deal as the senior post ranks No. 4 in the nation individually with a 66.5 shooting percentage. From three-point range, the Ducks rank No. 9 in the nation with 9.1 threes per game and No. 26 with a 36.6 shooting percentage from behind the arc.

Hebard_at OSU

Ionescu, Moore Lead Dynamic Offense
The Ducks boast one of the nation's most dynamic and efficient offenses, which is directed by senior guards Sabrina Ionescu and Minyon Moore. Oregon leads the NCAA with a 1.85 assist-to-turnover ratio, with Moore ranking second nationally at 4.26 and Ionescu seventh at 3.04. The Ducks are No. 3 in the country with 20.8 assists per game behind Ionescu's NCAA-leading 8.3 APG, and Oregon is also No. 3 nationally with just 11.3 turnovers per game. The Ducks are a perfect 16-0 this season when finishing with more assists than their opponent, and 11-1 when committing fewer turnovers.

Three-point Threats Off the Bench
Oregon's usual three-point snipers have gotten off to a less efficient start than expected this season, but the Ducks have gotten a huge boost off the bench from sophomore Taylor Chavez and freshman Jaz Shelley. Chavez leads the Pac-12 entering Thursday's game with a 49.1 three-point shooting percentage, and Shelley ranks fourth in the conference at 42.1. Chavez was a combined 5-of-6 from behind the arc during the Civil War series, and her 49.1 percent mark would lead the nation if she met the required minimum number of attempts.

This is the Greatest Show
The Ducks are a perfect 11-0 at home this season, and one of the biggest reasons for UO's success in MKA is the team's popularity in and around Eugene. Oregon's 1/24/20 Civil War showdown was played in front of a capacity crowd of 12,364, marking the fourth sellout in Oregon women's basketball history and the third inside Matthew Knight Arena. Oregon is No. 2 in the nation in total attendance (113,997) and No. 2 in average attendance (10,363) - trailing only Iowa State (114,299) and South Carolina (11,070), respectively - and those figures don't even include the 11,530 fans who came to watch the Ducks take down the USA Women's National Team on 11/9/19. Oregon has drawn at least 10,000 fans in each of its last seven home games, breaking 11,000 three times and 12,000 twice.