On the Road Again: Ducks Face Cal Friday

EUGENE, Ore. - Riding a 12-game win streak that has included eight wins over ranked opponents and five over top-10 foes, the No. 3 ranked Oregon women's basketball team will kick off its last road trip of the regular season on Friday night against California in Haas Pavilion.

A Lot At Stake in the Bay
Seeking their third straight Pac-12 regular season title, the Ducks enter their Bay Area trip at 13-1 in conference play, one game ahead of No. 4 Stanford in the Pac-12 standings with four regular-season games remaining. With a crucial matchup looming with the Cardinal on Monday, Oregon could clinch a share of the conference championship with a sweep in the Bay Area, and the Ducks could clinch the title outright with two wins plus a Stanford loss to No. 15 Oregon State on Friday. Oregon would join Stanford as the only teams ever to win three straight outright Pac-12 titles.

On the road again.@GoDucksKG and @ErinnSB21 sit down with @TerryJonz previewing the trip to the Bay Area on Tip-off Tuesday.#GoDucks https://t.co/lK8qFfpSnq
— Oregon Women's Basketball (@OregonWBB) February 18, 2020

Game Details
Matchup: #3 Oregon (24-2, 13-1) at California (10-15, 2-12)
Date: Friday, February 21, 2020
Location: Berkeley, Calif.
Venue: Haas Pavilion
Opening Tip: 6:06 p.m. PT

Broadcast Information
TV: Pac-12 Network
PxP: Kate Scott | Analyst: Mary Murphy
Radio: Oregon Sports Network
Eugene: KUGN 590 AM | Portland: KDZR 1640 AM
PxP: Terry Jonz

Numbers to Know
20 - Sabrina Ionescu is 20 rebounds away from becoming the first player in NCAA history to reach 2,000 points, 1,000 assists & 1,000 rebounds.
85.9 - The Ducks lead the nation in scoring offense at 85.9 points per game, and UO is also No. 1 in field goal percentage at 50.7.
25.6 - Oregon is outscoring its opponents by 25.6 PPG during its 12-game win streak, and by 19.5 PPG in 8 wins over ranked teams.
1.85 - Oregon is No. 1 in the nation with a 1.85 assist-to-turnover ratio; Minyon Moore ranks No. 2 individually at 4.04.
7 - With 2,246 in her career, Ruthy Hebard is only 7 points away from passing Alison Lang (2,252, 1980-84) for No. 2 in UO history.
24 - Sabrina Ionescu's 24 career triple-doubles are an NCAA all-time record for both men and women; NCAA-leading 6 this season.
309 - 309 of Sabrina Ionescu's 1,018 career assists (30.4%) have gone to Ruthy Hebard, accounting for 33.0% of Hebard's 935 career field goals.

Hebard Dominates in L.A.
Ruthy Hebard put together one of the most dominant weekends of her career last week in Los Angeles, earning both Pac-12 and Naismith national player of the week honors after averaging 26.0 PPG and 13.5 RPG in Oregon's blowout wins at No. 7 UCLA and USC. Hebard erupted for 30 points and 17 rebounds while going 14-of-19 from the floor to lead the Ducks past the Bruins, and she followed that up with 22 points and 10 rebounds on Sunday at USC. Hebard now owns five double-doubles in the last eight games, 13 on the season and 52 in her career, tied with Sabrina Ionescu for No. 4 in Oregon history. Hebard's big weekend has her now leading the Ducks with 17.2 PPG to go with a Pac-12-best 9.6 RPG, and she is No. 3 in the nation with a 67.6 field-goal percentage. Hebard enters this weekend as the only active player in the nation with 2,000-plus points (2,246) and 1,000-plus rebounds (1,232).

Hebard_Cal

Last Meeting, Series History Vs. California
Oregon enters Friday's game with a 41-33 lead in the all-time series against California, having won five of the last seven matchups after dominating the Golden Bears, 105-55, on 1/19/20 in Eugene. Satou Sabally has been a nightmare for California, going off for 31 points in each of the last two meetings against the Bears. Erin Boley made 6-of-8 three-pointers for 22 points in the first matchup in Eugene, Sabrina Ionescu had a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists, and both Ruthy Hebard (16) and Minyon Moore (11) also scored in double figures to give Oregon five players in double digits for the game. The Ducks' 105 points are their second-most in a game this season, and most during Pac-12 play.

Ramping Up the Resume
The Ducks' surge since their last loss on Jan. 10 in Tempe, Ariz., has bolstered their resume in a big way as they aim to secure the top seed in the NCAA Tournament regional to be played in Portland. Oregon is beating opponents by an average of 25.6 PPG during its 12-game win streak, including a 19.5 PPG advantage in eight wins over ranked teams. The Ducks have also beaten six teams ranked in the top- 15 during the streak, and five in the top 10. Oregon was the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Committee's first top-16 reveal on Feb. 3, and the Ducks enter this weekend at No. 1 in the NCAA RPI rankings.

Ionescu Joins Exclusive Club
Sabrina Ionescu surpassed 1,000 career assists with eight in last Friday's win at UCLA, making her only the fifth player in NCAA women's basketball history to reach 1K. Ionescu joins Courtney Vandersloot - who also played under Kelly Graves at Gonzaga - as the only players in NCAA history to record 2,000 points (2,429) and 1,000 assists (1,018). Ionescu is the UO and Pac-12 all-time assists leader for both men and women, and she leads the nation this season with 8.7 APG and 226 total dimes, already good for No. 3 in UO single-season history. With 980 career rebounds, Ionescu now needs just 20 more boards to become the first player in NCAA history to reach 2,000 points, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds.

Boley Heating Up at the Right Time
The Ducks are nearly unstoppable when Erin Boley is hitting from three-point range, and the junior sharpshooter is really starting to heat up as postseason play nears. Boley went 9-of-14 from the floor and 7-of-12 from behind the arc for a season-high 25 points to lead Oregon last Sunday at USC, her second 20-point game of the season. The Hodgenville, Ky., native is now shooting 40.6 percent from deep this season with a 42.0 percent mark in Pac-12 play, and she is 12-of-20 from three-point range over the Ducks' last three games as they head to the Bay Area.

Boley

The "Big Three"
The Ducks' power trio of Sabrina Ionescu, Ruthy Hebard and Satou Sabally is arguably the best "Big Three" in the nation. Hebard leads the team with 17.2 PPG and a Pac-12-leading 9.6 RPG, Ionescu is a close second with 17.1 PPG and 8.6 RPG while leading the NCAA with 8.7 APG and six triple-doubles, and Sabally's strong play during the 12-game win streak has her up to 16.0 PPG and 7.4 RPG. Oregon enters Friday's game as the only team in the nation with three regulars averaging at least 16.0 PPG, and the three Ducks rank fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, in the Pac-12 in scoring, with Hebard and Ionescu first and third, respectively, in rebounding.

Sabally Becoming a Double-Double Machine
Satou Sabally has been a major factor in the Ducks winning 12 straight games as the junior is averaging 17.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game during the streak, headlined by a season-high 31 points on 1/19/20 against California. Sabally has posted four double-doubles in the last five games and six of her career-high seven double-doubles this season have come during the win streak, with five coming against ranked teams. The Berlin, Germany, native has scored in double figures in 11 of the 12 games, and she has put up at least 16 points 10 times during that stretch.

Shooting The Lights Out
Oregon leads the nation in scoring offense with 85.9 points per game, and the Ducks are also No. 1 nationally with a 50.9 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 420-point advantage and have outscored their opponents in 24 of 26 games this season. Ruthy Hebard has elevated Oregon's field goal percentage a great deal as the senior post ranks No. 3 in the nation individually with a 67.6 field-goal percentage. The Ducks rank eighth in the nation and first in the Pac-12 in three-point shooting percentage at 38.1, including a 40.8 percent mark in Pac-12 play, and they are also No. 8 nationally in three-pointers per game (9.2).

Moore Leading Defensive Surge
The Ducks have been one of the nation's premiere offensive teams since Kelly Graves arrived in Eugene, but the addition of graduate transfer Minyon Moore has helped Oregon become a force to be reckoned with on the defensive end as well. UO is up more than 100 spots from last season in the NCAA rankings to No. 34 in scoring defense (57.4 PPG), good for No. 2 in the Pac-12. The Ducks have kept 16 of their last 19 opponents to less than 65 points entering Friday's game, and five times this season they have held a team to less than 50 points. Moore, a two-time Pac-12 all-defensive selection with USC, has been a huge part of that improvement with a team-leading 46 steals - including a pair of six-steal games - while applying constant pressure at the top of the defense. Oregon, which boasts the NCAA's leading offense, is one of only five teams in the nation - along with Baylor, South Carolina, South Dakota and UConn - to rank in the top 35 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense.

Automatic at the Stripe
Oregon has been terrific at the free-throw line this season behind the duo of Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally, shooting 76.7 percent from the stripe to rank third in the Pac-12 and 18th in the nation. Ionescu has been nearly flawless at the line, shooting 92.8 percent (64-of-69) on the season to lead the Pac-12 while going an astounding 43-of-44 (97.8%) in conference play. The senior made 34 straight free throws from 12/21/19 vs. Kansas State to 2/3/20 at No. 4 UConn, breaking the previous UO record for consecutive made free throws of 31 (Shaquala Williams, 2001-02). Sabally has been by far the most frequent visitor to the line for the Ducks, and the junior is shooting 78.8 percent (89-of-113) on the year with a 58-of-69 (84.1%) mark during Oregon's 12-game win streak, headlined by a career-best 10-of-11 day on 1/24/20 vs. No. 7 Oregon State.