Photo by: Samuel Marshall
Ducks Look to Win Pac-12 Title Outright Friday vs. WSU
02/27/20 | Women's Basketball
EUGENE, Ore. - Having already secured a share of the Pac-12 title and the No. 1 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament with its win at No. 4 Stanford on Monday, the No. 3 ranked Oregon women's basketball team brings its 14-game win streak back home to Eugene this weekend for the final two games of the regular season. The Ducks can clinch their third straight outright conference championship with a win over Washington State on Friday night in a sold-out Matthew Knight Arena.
A Win Would...
» Make Oregon only the second team ever to win at least three straight outright Pac-12 titles, joining Stanford.
» Mark UO's fourth-ever outright conference title; five total is the second-most in league history (23, Stanford).
» Match the program record with 16 Pac-12 victories (17-18, 18-19).
» Give the Ducks a 15-game win streak for the second straight season (17 straight in 2018-19).
» Keep the Ducks perfect at home at 14-0 and tie the program record for consecutive home wins in a season (1998-99)
» Make Oregon 48-2 in MKA over the last three seasons.
Game Details
Matchup: #3 Oregon (26-2, 15-1) vs. Washington State (11-17, 4-12)
Date: Friday, February 28, 2020
Location: Eugene, Ore.
Venue: Matthew Knight Arena
Opening Tip: 8:06 p.m. PT
Doors: 7:00 p.m. PT
Tickets: SOLD OUT
Broadcast Information
TV: Pac-12 Network
PxP: Ann Schatz | Analyst: Mary Murphy
Radio: Oregon Sports Network
Eugene: KUGN 590 AM | Portland: KDZR 1640 AM
PxP: Terry Jonz | Analyst: Bev Smith
Numbers to Know
2K/1K/1K - Sabrina Ionescu is the first player in NCAA history to reach 2,000 points (2,467), 1,000 assists (1,041) & 1,000 rebounds (1,003).
85.8 - The Ducks lead the nation in scoring offense at 85.8 points per game, and are also No. 1 in field goal percentage at 50.6.
26 - Sabrina Ionescu's 26 career triple-doubles are an NCAA all-time record for both women and men; NCAA-leading 8 this season.
24.8 - Oregon is outscoring its opponents by 24.8 PPG during its 14-game win streak, and by 18.2 PPG in 9 wins over ranked teams.
10 - Oregon has a program-record 10 wins over ranked teams this season. The Ducks are 6-1 vs. top-10 teams and 3-0 vs. top-five teams.
1.84 - Oregon is No. 1 in the nation with a 1.84 assist-to-turnover ratio; Minyon Moore ranks No. 2 individually at 4.03.
315 - 315 of Sabrina Ionescu's 1,041 career assists (30.3%) have gone to Ruthy Hebard, accounting for 33.3% of Hebard's 946 career field goals.
Ionescu Caps Monumental Day With Historic Performance
Sabrina Ionescu stands alone. The superstar senior's ability to rise to the occasion was tested like never before on Monday, when she delivered a beautiful speech in front of 20,000 people and a national televised audience at the celebration of life for her friends Kobe and Gianna Bryant, before making history that night in Oregon's win at No. 4 Stanford. Ionescu surpassed 1,000 career rebounds, becoming the first player in NCAA history - female or male - to reach 2,000 career points (2,467), 1,000 assists (1,041) and 1,000 rebounds (1,003). Ionescu did so while recording her 26th career triple-double with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists, while also playing through illness. Fittingly, Ionescu reached the historic milestone on 2-24-20 - Gianna wore No. 2, Kobe wore No. 24 and Ionescu wears No. 20 - and she tied her NCAA single-season record with her eighth triple-double of the year (Kobe also wore No. 8).
Series History vs. Washington State
The Ducks have won four straight meetings against Washington State entering Friday, the lone meeting between the two teams this season. Oregon leads the all-time series 67-19 after sweeping the season series in 2018-19, winning 98-58 in Eugene (1/6/19) and 79-64 in Pullman (1/25/19). Ruthy Hebard enjoyed the most dominant offensive game of her career in the first meeting, scoring a career-high 34 points while matching the UO single-game record with 16 field goals (16-of-21). Satou Sabally had 25 points, and Sabrina Ionescu notched a triple-double with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Sabally torched the Cougars once again a few weeks later in Pullman, scoring a career-high 33 points while going 8-of-11 from three-point range, and Hebard dominated again down low with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
Loaded Resume
The Ducks' 14-game win streak 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 its opponents by an average of 24.8 PPG during its win streak, including an 18.2 PPG advantage in nine wins over ranked teams. The Ducks have beaten six top-10 teams during the streak, outscoring them by 15.5 PPG, and three top-five teams by an average of 19.3 PPG. Four of those six top-10 wins have come on the road, and Oregon beat Stanford twice in the same season for the first time since 1987 to account for two of its three top-five victories. The Ducks' lone nonconference win during the streak was a historic 74-56 win at No. 4 UConn on 2/3/20, when Oregon handed the perennial national champion Huskies their worst home loss in Gampel Pavilion since it opened in 1990. UO is 10-1 on the season against top-25 teams, setting a program record for ranked wins in a season. Oregon was the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Committee's first top-16 reveal on Feb. 3, and the Ducks have regularly been at No. 1 in the NCAA RPI rankings for the last month or so.
Greatest Duo in Program History
Sabrina Ionescu (2,467) and Ruthy Hebard (2,270) now rank first and second, respectively, on the Oregon all-time scoring list after Hebard moved up to No. 2 last weekend in the Bay Area. Both Ducks have passed former record-holder Alison Lang (2,252, 1980-84), whose mark stood for 37 years. The duo is also 1-2 in career double-figure scoring games with 129 and 119, respectively.
26 for the Triple-Double Queen
Sabrina Ionescu enters Friday's game with 26 career triple-doubles, twice as many as any other man or woman in NCAA history, after her historic performance on Monday at Stanford. The all-time triple-double queen had triple-doubles in back-to-back games for the second time this season and fourth time in her career in the Bay Area, finishing with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in front of friends and family at California before surpassing the 2K/1K/1K milestone with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists against the No. 4 Cardinal. Ionescu has matched her NCAA single-season record from last season with eight triple-doubles this year, including five in Pac-12 play. Seventeen of Ionescu's 26 triple-doubles have come at home - four this season - and her latest marked her fifth against a ranked team and first-ever against a top-five opponent. Oregon is 26-0 all-time when Ionescu has a triple-double.
Surging Sabally Steps Up at Stanford
It was a historic night on Monday for Sabrina Ionescu, to be sure, but the Ducks wouldn't have beaten No. 4 Stanford and clinched a share of a third straight Pac-12 title without the play of Satou Sabally. The junior star - who announced last week she will enter the WNBA Draft following this season - went 10-of-17 from the floor for a game-high 27 points to lead Oregon to victory. Sabally has been stellar during Oregon's 14-game win streak with 18.2 PPG and 81. RPG in that stretch - headlined by a season-high 31 points vs. California on 1/19/20 - and six of her career-high seven double-doubles this season have come during the streak, including five against ranked opponents. Sabally has scored at least 16 points 12 times over the last 14 games.
Hebard The Hammer
Setting aside a quiet night in Monday's win at Stanford, Ruthy Hebard has been an absolute monster down low for the Ducks recently. The senior was the Pac-12 and Naismith national player of the week on Feb. 17 after dominating in Los Angeles with 30 points and 17 rebounds at No. 7 UCLA before putting up 22 points and 10 rebounds two days later at USC. Hebard followed that up with 20 points and 15 rebounds last Friday at California, and she enters Friday's game with six double-doubles in her last 10 games. Hebard has matched her career-high with 14 double-doubles this season to give her 53 in her career, good for No. 5 in Oregon history. The Fairbanks, Alaska, native has scored 20 or more points in six of her last nine games, and she owns a team-best 11 20-point games this season as well as three 30-point performances. Hebard - who is averaging 17.0 PPG and 9.7 RPG during the Ducks' 14-game win streak while shooting 66.3 percent from the floor - is No. 3 in the nation this season with a 67.8 field-goal percentage.
This is the Greatest Show
The Ducks are a perfect 13-0 at home this season - one win away from matching the program record for consecutive home wins in a season - and one of the biggest reasons for UO's success in MKA is the team's popularity in and around Eugene. Oregon has played in front of sold-out crowds of 12,364 twice this season - 1/24/20 vs. Oregon State and 2/9/20 against Arizona State - marking the fourth and fifth sellouts in Oregon women's basketball history, and both games this weekend are completely sold out. Oregon is No. 2 in the nation in average attendance at 10,619 - trailing only South Carolina (11,805) - and third in total attendance (138,053), 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 nine home games, breaking 11,000 five times and 12,000 three times.
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 with 17.3 PPG while averaging 8.8 RPG and an NCAA-leading 8.9 APG, and Hebard is the Pac-12 leader with 9.6 RPG while averaging 16.9 PPG. Sabally's stellar play over the last 14 games has her up to 16.5 PPG and 7.3 RPG, making Oregon the only team in the nation with three regulars averaging at least 16.0 PPG. Ionescu, Hebard and Sabally rank fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, in the Pac-12 in scoring, and Ionescu is No. 2 in the league with 19.3 PPG during conference play.
Holy Boley...
The Ducks are nearly unstoppable when Erin Boley is hitting from three-point range, and the junior sharpshooter is officially on fire from behind the arc. After going 8-of-9 from deep for 24 points last Friday at California and 7-of-11 for a season-high 25 points the game before at USC, Boley is now 16-of-24 (66.7%) from deep over the last three games, 21-of-32 (65.6%) over the last five games, 26-of-45 (57.8%) over the last seven games, 38-of-74 (51.4%) during Oregon's 14-game win streak, and 38-of-81 (46.9%) in Pac-12 play. Boley ranks third in the Pac-12 and 16th in the nation with a 43.2 percent mark from three-point range on the season, putting her above her mark of 43.0 percent from last season that ranked 12th in the nation. Boley's eight three-pointers last Friday marked the fourth time in her career she has drained at least eight, tying her for fifth in UO single-game history, and her 88.9 percent showing was good for No. 3 in single-game history.
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 nearly 100 spots from last season in the NCAA rankings to No. 40 in scoring defense (57.6 PPG), good for No. 2 in the Pac-12. The Ducks have kept 17 of their last 21 opponents to less than 65 points, 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 47 steals - including a pair of six-steal games - while applying constant pressure at the top of the defense.
Ionescu Joins Exclusive Club
Sabrina Ionescu surpassed 1,000 career assists with eight in Oregon's win at then-No. 7 UCLA on Feb. 14, making her only the fifth player in NCAA women's basketball history to reach 1K. Ionescu joined Courtney Vandersloot - who also played under Kelly Graves at Gonzaga - as the only players in NCAA history to record 2,000 points and 1,000 assists. Ionescu is the UO and Pac-12 all-time assists leader for both men and women, and she leads the nation this season with 8.9 APG and 249 total dimes, good for No. 3 in UO single-season history behind her own 2018-19 and 2017-18 seasons.
Shooting The Lights Out
Oregon leads the nation in scoring offense with 85.9 points per game while also ranking No. 1 in field-goal percentage at 50.6. One of the biggest factor's in Oregon's efficiency has been its dominance in the paint, where the Ducks own a 448-point advantage and have outscored their opponents in 26 of 28 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 67.8 field-goal percentage. The Ducks rank sixth in the nation and first in the Pac-12 in three-point shooting percentage at 38.5, including a 41.1 percent mark in Pac-12 play, and they are No. 7 nationally in three-pointers per game (9.3).
Simple Plays
Oregon has been one of the nation's most explosive and efficient offenses over the last few seasons, and the Ducks have done so while sharing and being smart with the basketball. UO led the nation in 2018-19 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.88), and the Ducks are currently No. 1 again this season at 1.84 while ranking in the top five in both assists and turnovers per game. Minyon Moore is No. 2 in the NCAA individually with a 4.03 assist-to-turnover ratio with Sabrina Ionescu fourth at 3.00, and Ionescu leads the nation with 8.9 assists per game. The Ducks are a perfect 24-0 this season when finishing with more assists than their opponent, and 15-1 when committing fewer turnovers.
1,000-Point Scorers Everywhere
It's not easy to score 1,000 points in a career, so a team with multiple 1,000-point scorers is one to be reckoned with, to be sure. The Ducks' starting lineup takes that to another level entirely, as Oregon boasts a pair of 2,000-point scorers in Sabrina Ionescu (2,467) and Ruthy Hebard (2,270) - the top two scorers in program history - and two more 1,000-point scorers in Satou Sabally (1,433) and Minyon Moore (1,385). Junior Erin Boley enters Friday's game with 975 career points, needing just 25 more to give Oregon's entire starting lineup at least 1,000 points apiece.
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 77.0 percent from the stripe to rank third in the Pac-12 and 15th in the nation. Ionescu has been nearly flawless at the line, shooting 91.9 percent (68-of-74) on the season to lead the Pac-12 while going an astounding 47-of-49 (95.9%) 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 a solid 78.9 percent (97-of-123) on the year, headlined by a career-best 10-of-11 day on 1/24/20 vs. No. 7 Oregon State.
Up Next
Oregon will wrap up the regular season and honor Sabrina Ionescu, Ruthy Hebard, Minyon Moore and Satou Sabally on Senior Day on Sunday at noon against Washington in front of the fourth sellout crowd of the season.
A Win Would...
» Make Oregon only the second team ever to win at least three straight outright Pac-12 titles, joining Stanford.
» Mark UO's fourth-ever outright conference title; five total is the second-most in league history (23, Stanford).
» Match the program record with 16 Pac-12 victories (17-18, 18-19).
» Give the Ducks a 15-game win streak for the second straight season (17 straight in 2018-19).
» Keep the Ducks perfect at home at 14-0 and tie the program record for consecutive home wins in a season (1998-99)
» Make Oregon 48-2 in MKA over the last three seasons.
Game Details
Matchup: #3 Oregon (26-2, 15-1) vs. Washington State (11-17, 4-12)
Date: Friday, February 28, 2020
Location: Eugene, Ore.
Venue: Matthew Knight Arena
Opening Tip: 8:06 p.m. PT
Doors: 7:00 p.m. PT
Tickets: SOLD OUT
Broadcast Information
TV: Pac-12 Network
PxP: Ann Schatz | Analyst: Mary Murphy
Radio: Oregon Sports Network
Eugene: KUGN 590 AM | Portland: KDZR 1640 AM
PxP: Terry Jonz | Analyst: Bev Smith
Numbers to Know
2K/1K/1K - Sabrina Ionescu is the first player in NCAA history to reach 2,000 points (2,467), 1,000 assists (1,041) & 1,000 rebounds (1,003).
85.8 - The Ducks lead the nation in scoring offense at 85.8 points per game, and are also No. 1 in field goal percentage at 50.6.
26 - Sabrina Ionescu's 26 career triple-doubles are an NCAA all-time record for both women and men; NCAA-leading 8 this season.
24.8 - Oregon is outscoring its opponents by 24.8 PPG during its 14-game win streak, and by 18.2 PPG in 9 wins over ranked teams.
10 - Oregon has a program-record 10 wins over ranked teams this season. The Ducks are 6-1 vs. top-10 teams and 3-0 vs. top-five teams.
1.84 - Oregon is No. 1 in the nation with a 1.84 assist-to-turnover ratio; Minyon Moore ranks No. 2 individually at 4.03.
315 - 315 of Sabrina Ionescu's 1,041 career assists (30.3%) have gone to Ruthy Hebard, accounting for 33.3% of Hebard's 946 career field goals.
Ionescu Caps Monumental Day With Historic Performance
Sabrina Ionescu stands alone. The superstar senior's ability to rise to the occasion was tested like never before on Monday, when she delivered a beautiful speech in front of 20,000 people and a national televised audience at the celebration of life for her friends Kobe and Gianna Bryant, before making history that night in Oregon's win at No. 4 Stanford. Ionescu surpassed 1,000 career rebounds, becoming the first player in NCAA history - female or male - to reach 2,000 career points (2,467), 1,000 assists (1,041) and 1,000 rebounds (1,003). Ionescu did so while recording her 26th career triple-double with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists, while also playing through illness. Fittingly, Ionescu reached the historic milestone on 2-24-20 - Gianna wore No. 2, Kobe wore No. 24 and Ionescu wears No. 20 - and she tied her NCAA single-season record with her eighth triple-double of the year (Kobe also wore No. 8).
Series History vs. Washington State
The Ducks have won four straight meetings against Washington State entering Friday, the lone meeting between the two teams this season. Oregon leads the all-time series 67-19 after sweeping the season series in 2018-19, winning 98-58 in Eugene (1/6/19) and 79-64 in Pullman (1/25/19). Ruthy Hebard enjoyed the most dominant offensive game of her career in the first meeting, scoring a career-high 34 points while matching the UO single-game record with 16 field goals (16-of-21). Satou Sabally had 25 points, and Sabrina Ionescu notched a triple-double with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Sabally torched the Cougars once again a few weeks later in Pullman, scoring a career-high 33 points while going 8-of-11 from three-point range, and Hebard dominated again down low with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
Loaded Resume
The Ducks' 14-game win streak 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 its opponents by an average of 24.8 PPG during its win streak, including an 18.2 PPG advantage in nine wins over ranked teams. The Ducks have beaten six top-10 teams during the streak, outscoring them by 15.5 PPG, and three top-five teams by an average of 19.3 PPG. Four of those six top-10 wins have come on the road, and Oregon beat Stanford twice in the same season for the first time since 1987 to account for two of its three top-five victories. The Ducks' lone nonconference win during the streak was a historic 74-56 win at No. 4 UConn on 2/3/20, when Oregon handed the perennial national champion Huskies their worst home loss in Gampel Pavilion since it opened in 1990. UO is 10-1 on the season against top-25 teams, setting a program record for ranked wins in a season. Oregon was the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Committee's first top-16 reveal on Feb. 3, and the Ducks have regularly been at No. 1 in the NCAA RPI rankings for the last month or so.
Greatest Duo in Program History
Sabrina Ionescu (2,467) and Ruthy Hebard (2,270) now rank first and second, respectively, on the Oregon all-time scoring list after Hebard moved up to No. 2 last weekend in the Bay Area. Both Ducks have passed former record-holder Alison Lang (2,252, 1980-84), whose mark stood for 37 years. The duo is also 1-2 in career double-figure scoring games with 129 and 119, respectively.
26 for the Triple-Double Queen
Sabrina Ionescu enters Friday's game with 26 career triple-doubles, twice as many as any other man or woman in NCAA history, after her historic performance on Monday at Stanford. The all-time triple-double queen had triple-doubles in back-to-back games for the second time this season and fourth time in her career in the Bay Area, finishing with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in front of friends and family at California before surpassing the 2K/1K/1K milestone with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists against the No. 4 Cardinal. Ionescu has matched her NCAA single-season record from last season with eight triple-doubles this year, including five in Pac-12 play. Seventeen of Ionescu's 26 triple-doubles have come at home - four this season - and her latest marked her fifth against a ranked team and first-ever against a top-five opponent. Oregon is 26-0 all-time when Ionescu has a triple-double.
Surging Sabally Steps Up at Stanford
It was a historic night on Monday for Sabrina Ionescu, to be sure, but the Ducks wouldn't have beaten No. 4 Stanford and clinched a share of a third straight Pac-12 title without the play of Satou Sabally. The junior star - who announced last week she will enter the WNBA Draft following this season - went 10-of-17 from the floor for a game-high 27 points to lead Oregon to victory. Sabally has been stellar during Oregon's 14-game win streak with 18.2 PPG and 81. RPG in that stretch - headlined by a season-high 31 points vs. California on 1/19/20 - and six of her career-high seven double-doubles this season have come during the streak, including five against ranked opponents. Sabally has scored at least 16 points 12 times over the last 14 games.
Hebard The Hammer
Setting aside a quiet night in Monday's win at Stanford, Ruthy Hebard has been an absolute monster down low for the Ducks recently. The senior was the Pac-12 and Naismith national player of the week on Feb. 17 after dominating in Los Angeles with 30 points and 17 rebounds at No. 7 UCLA before putting up 22 points and 10 rebounds two days later at USC. Hebard followed that up with 20 points and 15 rebounds last Friday at California, and she enters Friday's game with six double-doubles in her last 10 games. Hebard has matched her career-high with 14 double-doubles this season to give her 53 in her career, good for No. 5 in Oregon history. The Fairbanks, Alaska, native has scored 20 or more points in six of her last nine games, and she owns a team-best 11 20-point games this season as well as three 30-point performances. Hebard - who is averaging 17.0 PPG and 9.7 RPG during the Ducks' 14-game win streak while shooting 66.3 percent from the floor - is No. 3 in the nation this season with a 67.8 field-goal percentage.
This is the Greatest Show
The Ducks are a perfect 13-0 at home this season - one win away from matching the program record for consecutive home wins in a season - and one of the biggest reasons for UO's success in MKA is the team's popularity in and around Eugene. Oregon has played in front of sold-out crowds of 12,364 twice this season - 1/24/20 vs. Oregon State and 2/9/20 against Arizona State - marking the fourth and fifth sellouts in Oregon women's basketball history, and both games this weekend are completely sold out. Oregon is No. 2 in the nation in average attendance at 10,619 - trailing only South Carolina (11,805) - and third in total attendance (138,053), 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 nine home games, breaking 11,000 five times and 12,000 three times.
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 with 17.3 PPG while averaging 8.8 RPG and an NCAA-leading 8.9 APG, and Hebard is the Pac-12 leader with 9.6 RPG while averaging 16.9 PPG. Sabally's stellar play over the last 14 games has her up to 16.5 PPG and 7.3 RPG, making Oregon the only team in the nation with three regulars averaging at least 16.0 PPG. Ionescu, Hebard and Sabally rank fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, in the Pac-12 in scoring, and Ionescu is No. 2 in the league with 19.3 PPG during conference play.
Holy Boley...
The Ducks are nearly unstoppable when Erin Boley is hitting from three-point range, and the junior sharpshooter is officially on fire from behind the arc. After going 8-of-9 from deep for 24 points last Friday at California and 7-of-11 for a season-high 25 points the game before at USC, Boley is now 16-of-24 (66.7%) from deep over the last three games, 21-of-32 (65.6%) over the last five games, 26-of-45 (57.8%) over the last seven games, 38-of-74 (51.4%) during Oregon's 14-game win streak, and 38-of-81 (46.9%) in Pac-12 play. Boley ranks third in the Pac-12 and 16th in the nation with a 43.2 percent mark from three-point range on the season, putting her above her mark of 43.0 percent from last season that ranked 12th in the nation. Boley's eight three-pointers last Friday marked the fourth time in her career she has drained at least eight, tying her for fifth in UO single-game history, and her 88.9 percent showing was good for No. 3 in single-game history.
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 nearly 100 spots from last season in the NCAA rankings to No. 40 in scoring defense (57.6 PPG), good for No. 2 in the Pac-12. The Ducks have kept 17 of their last 21 opponents to less than 65 points, 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 47 steals - including a pair of six-steal games - while applying constant pressure at the top of the defense.
Ionescu Joins Exclusive Club
Sabrina Ionescu surpassed 1,000 career assists with eight in Oregon's win at then-No. 7 UCLA on Feb. 14, making her only the fifth player in NCAA women's basketball history to reach 1K. Ionescu joined Courtney Vandersloot - who also played under Kelly Graves at Gonzaga - as the only players in NCAA history to record 2,000 points and 1,000 assists. Ionescu is the UO and Pac-12 all-time assists leader for both men and women, and she leads the nation this season with 8.9 APG and 249 total dimes, good for No. 3 in UO single-season history behind her own 2018-19 and 2017-18 seasons.
Shooting The Lights Out
Oregon leads the nation in scoring offense with 85.9 points per game while also ranking No. 1 in field-goal percentage at 50.6. One of the biggest factor's in Oregon's efficiency has been its dominance in the paint, where the Ducks own a 448-point advantage and have outscored their opponents in 26 of 28 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 67.8 field-goal percentage. The Ducks rank sixth in the nation and first in the Pac-12 in three-point shooting percentage at 38.5, including a 41.1 percent mark in Pac-12 play, and they are No. 7 nationally in three-pointers per game (9.3).
Simple Plays
Oregon has been one of the nation's most explosive and efficient offenses over the last few seasons, and the Ducks have done so while sharing and being smart with the basketball. UO led the nation in 2018-19 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.88), and the Ducks are currently No. 1 again this season at 1.84 while ranking in the top five in both assists and turnovers per game. Minyon Moore is No. 2 in the NCAA individually with a 4.03 assist-to-turnover ratio with Sabrina Ionescu fourth at 3.00, and Ionescu leads the nation with 8.9 assists per game. The Ducks are a perfect 24-0 this season when finishing with more assists than their opponent, and 15-1 when committing fewer turnovers.
1,000-Point Scorers Everywhere
It's not easy to score 1,000 points in a career, so a team with multiple 1,000-point scorers is one to be reckoned with, to be sure. The Ducks' starting lineup takes that to another level entirely, as Oregon boasts a pair of 2,000-point scorers in Sabrina Ionescu (2,467) and Ruthy Hebard (2,270) - the top two scorers in program history - and two more 1,000-point scorers in Satou Sabally (1,433) and Minyon Moore (1,385). Junior Erin Boley enters Friday's game with 975 career points, needing just 25 more to give Oregon's entire starting lineup at least 1,000 points apiece.
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 77.0 percent from the stripe to rank third in the Pac-12 and 15th in the nation. Ionescu has been nearly flawless at the line, shooting 91.9 percent (68-of-74) on the season to lead the Pac-12 while going an astounding 47-of-49 (95.9%) 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 a solid 78.9 percent (97-of-123) on the year, headlined by a career-best 10-of-11 day on 1/24/20 vs. No. 7 Oregon State.
Up Next
Oregon will wrap up the regular season and honor Sabrina Ionescu, Ruthy Hebard, Minyon Moore and Satou Sabally on Senior Day on Sunday at noon against Washington in front of the fourth sellout crowd of the season.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's BasketballKelly Graves: "Good to be back home."
Tuesday, December 02
Kelly Graves | Postgame vs. Utah State
Monday, November 24
Sarah Rambus & Mia Jacobs | Postgame vs. Utah State
Monday, November 24
Sofia Bell & Amina Muhammad | Postgame vs. Army
Monday, November 17
