No. 16 Ducks Resume Non-Con Action vs. EWU

EUGENE, Ore. — No. 16 Oregon resumes the non-conference portion of its schedule Thursday, as Eastern Washington visits Matthew Knight Arena for a 6 p.m. PT tip.

The Ducks are coming off a 75-67 win over in-state rival Oregon State, as UO won its Pac-12 opener for the fifth time in the last six seasons. Endyia Rogers dropped a career-high 34 points against the Beavers on her way to being tabbed Pac-12 Player of the Week on Monday.

EWU comes to Eugene having won three of its last four games, including two straight following the Eagles' 66-60 win at Seattle U on Tuesday. Eastern Washington leads the Big Sky in assist-to-turnover ratio, steals per game and turnover margin.

Oregon is 8-0 against EWU, including a 5-0 record at home. The teams last met on Nov. 21, 2017, as the 10^th-ranked Ducks claimed an 81-40 victory at Matthew Knight Arena.

GAME #9
No. 16 Oregon (7-1) vs. Eastern Washington (6-2)
Thursday, Dec. 15 | 6 p.m. PT | Matthew Knight Arena (Eugene, Ore.)
Online: Oregon Live Stream (free)
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (KUGN 98.1 FM/590 AM)
Play-by-play: Terry Jonz
Listen Online | Live Stats

AT A GLANCE
After opening Pac-12 play with a 75-67 win over rival Oregon State, Oregon resumes its non-conference slate against Eastern Washington Thursday at Matthew Knight Arena.

The Ducks have won all eight meetings in the series' history, which began in 1980. The teams last met on Nov. 21, 2017, as Oregon earned an 81-40 win at Matthew Knight Arena. Thursday will be the sixth meeting in Eugene between the teams.

UO enters Thursday's matchup on a three-game winning streak and a 5-0 home record while EWU has won back-to-back games after a 66-60 win at Seattle U on Tuesday.

LAST TIME OUT
The Ducks opened Pac-12 play Sunday, hosting in-state rival Oregon State at Matthew Knight Arena. Oregon won its conference opener for the fifth time in six seasons with a 75-67 win over the Beavers, pushing its all-time lead in The Rivalry Series to 66-44.

Endyia Rogers set the pace with a career-high 34 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including a career-best six 3-pointers while matching her career high of nine rebounds. Additionally, Rogers went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line, with all eight free throws coming over the game's final 5:15. Her efforts garnered her Pac-12 Player of the Week honors, her second conference weekly award and first while at Oregon.

Joining Rogers in double figures were Te-Hina Paopao (12 points) and Grace VanSlooten (10 points). The Ducks trailed entering the fourth quarter for the first time this season (51-50) and were down by as many as nine points, marking their largest comeback win of the season.

SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON
Eastern Washington (6-2) enters Thursday's matchup having won back-to-back games after a 66-60 win at Seattle U on Tuesday. Overall, the Eagles have won three of their last four games, with a two-point loss (67-65) against UC Irvine as their lone blemish.

EWU has three players averaging double digits in scoring, led by 15.4 points per game from Jaydia Martin. Jamie Loera is second at 11.6 and Jacinta Buckley is third with 10.9 points a game. Buckley averages a team-best 6.9 rebounds a game while Loera is second at 5.8 per contest. Buckley is 10th in the Big Sky in rebounds and ninth in blocks.

As a team, the Eagles led the Big Sky in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2), steals per game (12.0) and turnover margin (+8.0).

EWU assistant coach Jordan Loera played at Oregon from 2011-16, averaging 4.7 points per game in her Duck career. She led UO in her freshman season with 45 3-pointers, which ranks eighth in program history for a freshman in a single season.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Oregon is undefeated against Eastern Washington, owning an 8-0 record in the all-time series that began in 1980, including a 6-0 home record. The sides last met on Nov. 21, 2017, with the then-10th-ranked Ducks walking away with an 81-40 victory at Matthew Knight Arena.

The teams have twice met in the postseason, including in the first round of the WNIT in 2010 in Eugene. They also faced each other in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in 1987. The Ducks and Eagles have two common opponents this season, as both defeated Southern Utah and EWU suffered a 73-63 setback to Oregon State.

THE "O" STANDS FOR OFFENSE
Oregon's 117.4 offensive efficiency rating (points per 100 possessions) is the fourth-highest mark in the country and second-best in the Pac-12 behind only Utah at 124.8. The Ducks' 83.6 points per game rank as the 11th-best mark in the country and third-highest in the conference.

UO has scored at least 75 points in seven of eight outings while reaching the 90-point mark three times, including a 100-point effort in the season opener against Northwestern. Under ninth-year head coach Kelly Graves, the Ducks are 51-0 when scoring at least 90 points. This season, Oregon is 3-0 when reaching the 90-point plateau, equaling the total number of 90-point efforts during the 2021-22 and 2020-21 seasons (three games each). At Matthew Knight Arena this season, the Ducks are averaging 84.2 points per game while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from behind the arc.

In eight games, five different players have led the Ducks in scoring this season with Endyia Rogers, Te-Hina Paopao and Grace VanSlooten each leading the team in scoring twice. Freshman Jennah Isai has twice finished second in scoring without finishing as the team's top scorer.

VIEW FROM THE FRONT
Oregon has led from start to finish in four of its seven victories and has trailed in just four games this season. In the Ducks' only loss of the year, an 86-78 setback to then-eighth-ranked North Carolina, UO led for 33:39 and trailed for just 5:43. Sunday, UO trailed for a season-long 17:24 and overcame a nine-point deficit to win - its largest comeback win of the season. Oregon entered Sunday's contest having trailed for just 7:45 all season while leading for a total of 266:16 - which equals four hours, 22 minutes and 16 seconds.

» Time led: 287:28 (4 hours, 43 minutes, 28 seconds) » Time trailed: 25:09 » Time tied: 7:23

PROTECTING HOME COURT
Matthew Knight Arena has proved to be one of the top home-court advantages in the country during non-conference play, as the Ducks have won 53 of their last 54 home games against non-league opponents. UO owned a 44-game home non-conference winning streak that began Dec. 29, 2014, a streak that was snapped with a 64-57 setback to UC Davis on Dec. 1, 2021. In that same span, the Ducks have won nine times against Power 5 teams and four times in the NCAA Tournament.

» Oregon is 58-3 at home in non-conference play under head coach Kelly Graves, with two of the three losses coming in his first year at the helm of the program in 2014-15.
» The Ducks have lost just 11 times against non-Pac-12 teams at MKA, owning a 81-11 record all-time.
» Since the start of last season, Oregon is 17-3 at Matthew Knight Arena with a 5-0 record this season.

ROGER THAT
Endyia Rogers produced an all-time effort against Oregon State on Sunday, pouring in a career-best 34 points in the win on her way to claiming Pac-12 Player of the Week honors. It marked Rogers' first 30-point performance as a Duck after scoring 30 twice while at USC. Rogers went 10-for-18 from the field and connected on a career-high six 3-pointers, going 6-for-10 from beyond the arc. Rogers upped her season 3-point percentage to 57.1 percent and currently leads the nation in the category.

Her 34 points are the third-most by any player in the Pac-12 this season and marked the most by a Duck since Sabrina Ionescu's 37 against Stanford on Jan. 16, 2020. Additionally, she matched her career best by grabbing nine rebounds while handing out six assists without committing a turnover - marking just the second time since the 2009-10 season that a Division I player logged at least 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists without a turnover. Rogers connected on all eight of her free throws Sunday - all coming over the game's final 5:15.

PLAYMAKING PAOPAO
Through eight games this season, Paopao leads the country with her 8.75 assist-to-turnover ratio (35 assists, 4 turnovers). She produced a season-high eight assists and without a turnover against Portland on Dec. 3 and has not turned the bal over more than once in any game this season. She is also averaging a career-best 4.9 rebounds per game, hauling in at least five boards four times this season. Paopao drained 7-of-10 field goals against Southern Utah on Nov. 21, the first 70-plus field goal percentage of any Duck this season, while going 3-for-3 beyond the arc.

Paopao is only player in the country averaging at least 13.0 points a game with an assist-to-turnover ratio over 5.0 - and is one of just two players averaging at least 13.0 points with an assist-to-turnover ratio above 4.0 (McKenna Hofschild, Colorado State).

GVS CLINIC
Grace VanSlooten is one of two freshmen in the country averaging at least 12.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game - and the only player in the Pac-12 to produce those numbers. VanSlooten turned in her first career double-double against North Carolina on Nov. 24, hauling in a season-best 11 boards while scoring 17 points. She has twice led the Ducks in scoring and rebounding while scoring in double figures seven times in eight games.

VanSlooten put up 20 points on 10-of-16 shooting in her collegiate debut against Northwestern, earning her the season's first Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honor. Her award marked the Ducks' 30th league freshman-of-the-week award, which extends its own Pac-12 record.

PHILLI SPECIAL
Oregon sophomore center Phillipina Kyei, the tallest player in program history at 6-foot-8, has been a force in the frontcourt this season for the Ducks. She is one of only two players in the Pac-12 to average at least 10.0 rebounds a game. Kyei has a team-leading three double-doubles this season and produced back-to-back double-doubles against Michigan State (Nov. 27) and Portland (Dec. 3).

Averaging just 8.5 minutes a game a season ago without a start, Kyei has cracked the starting five in all eight games this season while averaging 24.6 minutes a game.

Against Michigan State at the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Kyei set career highs in both points (15) and rebounds (16). Her 16 rebounds are tied for third-highest among all Pac-12 players this season while her four games with 10 or more boards are tied for third-most in the conference. Her 10-point. 10-rebound double-double at Southern on Nov. 14 marked Oregon's first of the season. Kyei has registered at least eight rebounds in all but one game this season and her season average of 10.1 rebounds a game is second in the league.