Top-20 Clash to Close 2022

EUGENE, Ore. — No. 17 Oregon begins the bulk of its Pac-12 schedule Friday against 10^th-ranked UCLA at Matthew Knight Arena, as the Ducks and Bruins close the 2022 calendar year with a 6 p.m. PT tip on Pac-12 Network.

UCLA marks the third consecutive top-20 team on the Ducks' schedule after going 1-1 at the San Diego Invitational last week, picking up a victory over No. 17 Arkansas, 85-78, before falling in the tournament's title game to No. 3 Ohio State, 84-67.

Grace VanSlooten swept the Pac-12 weekly awards Monday, collecting her third Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honor to go with her first player-of-the-week nod. VanSlooten averaged 27.5 points, shooting 60.0 percent from the field, and 7.5 rebounds a game on her way to becoming the third player in conference history to sweep both weekly awards, and first since Sabrina Ionescu did so in 2017.

Oregon claimed both meetings with the Bruins a season ago, winning 67-53 at Matthew Knight Arena before ousting UCLA from the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament 63-60 in Las Vegas. UCLA holds a slim lead in the all-time series, 39-36.

GAME #13
No. 17 Oregon (10-2, 1-0) vs. No. 10 UCLA (12-1, 1-0)
Friday, Dec. 30 | 6 p.m. PT | Matthew Knight Arena (Eugene, Ore.)
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Play-by-play: Rich Burk | Analyst: Jennifer Mountain
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (KUGN 98.1 FM/590 AM)
Play-by-play: Terry Jonz | Analyst: Bev Smith
Listen Online | Live Stats

AT A GLANCE
Oregon returns to Matthew Knight Arena Friday and enters the bulk of its Pac-12 slate against No. 10 UCLA, who mark the Ducks' third consecutive top-20 opponent. The Ducks are coming off a second-place finish at the San Diego Invitational last week, defeating No. 17 Arkansas 85-78 before falling to third-ranked Ohio State 84-67 in the title game.

The win against the Razorbacks, which was Oregon's first over a top-25 team this season, marked the 200th win in head coach Kelly Graves' Oregon career. He became just the second Duck head coach to reach the 200-win milestone. The loss to the Buckeyes snapped a season-long six-game winning streak.

After putting up 26 and 29 points against Arkansas and Ohio State, respectively, Grace VanSlooten swept the Pac-12's weekly awards on Monday. It marked her second straight and third freshman-of-the-week honor this season while she garnered her first player-of-the-week accolade. VanSlooten is just the third player in Pac-12 history to sweep both conference weekly awards and the first since Sabrina Ionescu did so during the 2017 season.

LAST TIME OUT
The Ducks went 1-1 at the two-day, four-team San Diego Invitational, in which three squads were ranked inside the Associated Press' top 25. The Ducks extended their season-long winning streak to six games with an 85-78 win over No. 17 Arkansas Tuesday, picking up their first ranked win of the season. VanSlooten matched her career high with 26 points while Endyia Rogers added 20.

VanSlooten set a new career high with 29 in an 84-67 setback against No. 3 Ohio State while grabbing nine rebounds. For the tournament, VanSlooten averaged 27.5 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 60.0 percent from the field.

SCOUTING UCLA
UCLA enters Friday's contest on a five-game winning streak after defeating Fresno State 82-48 in its last outing on Dec. 20. The Bruins' only defeat this season came at No. 1 South Carolina 73-64 on Nov. 29.

UCLA is led by Charisma Osborne's 18.1 points per game, which rank fifth in the Pac-12. Freshman Kiki Rice averages 12.3 points per game to round out two Bruins averaging double figures. Osborne has twice been tabbed Pac-12 Player of the Week while Rice and teammate Christeen Iwuala have each taken home Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors this season.

As a team, UCLA ranks 11th in the league in field goal percentage (41.1), 10th in 3-point percentage (26.8) and eighth in scoring (72.7). The Bruins do lead the Pac-12 and rank eighth nationally with 16.9 offensive rebounds per contest, led by 6.5 rebounds a game from Osborne. Emily Bessoir has grabbed a team-best 31 offensive boards this season and averages 5.1 total rebounds a game.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Friday's matchup marks the 76th all-time meeting between Oregon and UCLA, with the Bruins holding a slim edge in the series 39-36. The Ducks claimed both meetings a season ago, first a 67-53 victory at Matthew Knight Arena before a 63-60 win in the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.

The Ducks own a 20-15 record at home against UCLA, with a 4-6 mark at Matthew Knight Arena while the Bruins have won two of the last three meetings in Eugene. With a victory, Oregon will equal its third-longest winning streak against UCLA (three games). UO is 9-3 against the Bruins since Feb. 10, 2017, including winning five consecutive games from Feb. 10, 2017 to Jan. 13, 2019.

OREGON vs. RANKED TEAMS
UCLA, ranked 10th in the latest Associated Press poll, marks the third straight top-25 opponent Oregon will face, and fourth in total this season. The Ducks defeated No. 17 Arkansas 85-78 to kick off the San Diego Invitational last week, marking the 44th ranked victory under ninth-year head coach Kelly Graves. UO last faced three consecutive ranked opponents during the 2020-21 season, taking on No. 10 Arizona, No. 6 Stanford and No. 8 UCLA (lost all three). Graves' squad picked up four straight top-25 wins during the 2019-20 campaign, taking down NO. 4 UConn, No 12 Arizona, No. 19 Arizona State and No. 7 UCLA in succession.

A season ago, the Ducks collected a pair of top-10 wins, including a 68-66 win over No. 7 Arizona. The Ducks have picked up 16 victories over teams in the nation's top 10 in Graves' tenure, with seven coming in the 2019-20 campaign.

THE "O" STANDS FOR OFFENSE
Oregon's 116.4 offensive efficiency rating (points per 100 possessions) is the fourth-highest mark in the country and third-best in the Pac-12 behind Utah (120.5) and Stanford (118.0). The Ducks' 83.8 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 10 of 12 outings while reaching the 90-point mark four times. Under ninth-year head coach Kelly Graves, the Ducks are 52-0 when scoring at least 90 points. This season, Oregon is 4-0 when reaching the 90-point plateau, surpassing 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 86.6 points per game while shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 41.8 percent from behind the arc.

GRACE VANSHOOTIN'
Grace VanSlooten is one of two freshmen in the country averaging at least 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game - and the only player in the Pac-12 to produce those numbers. VanSlooten swept the Pac-12's weekly awards Monday after helping the Ducks to a second-place finish in a loaded field at the San Diego Invitational last week. She averaged 27.5 points over two games against No. 17 Arkansas and No. 3 Ohio State, including a career-best 29 against the Buckeyes in the title game.

VanSlooten became the first player to claim both player and freshman of the week awards since the conference began handing out two weekly awards in 2012-13 and first since Sabrina Ionescu did so in the 2017 season. On the year, the Toledo, Ohio, native leads the league with four weekly awards (3 freshman, 1 player).

She has scored 26 points or more in three of her last four games, with her second career double-double coming Dec. 15 against Eastern Washington (26 points, 10 rebounds). Her 29 points against Ohio State marked the most points by an UO freshman since Jaz Shelley's 32 points against UC Riverside on Dec. 16, 2019. VanSlooten now leads the team with three 20-point efforts and has scored in double digits in nine straight games.