Top-20 Tilt Ahead in Tucson

TUCSON, Ariz. — No. 18 Oregon seeks a 2-0 weekend, as the Ducks take on No. 15 Arizona at McKale Center Sunday to wrap up a two-game road trip at 4 p.m. PT on ESPN2.

The Ducks began their trip to the Grand Canyon State with an 82-62 victory at Arizona State Friday night, a win that equaled UO's largest-ever road win in the series. Endyia Rogers led Oregon with 19 points while Grace VanSlooten added 16, all coming in the second half.

Phillipina Kyei logged her team-leading fifth double-double behind 10 points and 18 rebounds. Kyei leads the Pac-12 and ranks fifth in the country, averaging 12.3 rebounds a contest. The 6-foot-8 sophomore has hauled in 38 boards over her last two games and 103 over her last seven (14.7 a game in that stretch).

UO seeks its first win at Arizona since Jan. 12, 2020. Oregon has won 10 of the last 14 meetings overall and lead the all-time series, 45-31. The Ducks and Wildcats split the season series a year ago, each winning at home. Sunday's game will mark the seventh time in the last eight meetings both teams have been ranked in the Associated Press top-25 poll.

GAME #16
No. 18 Oregon (12-3, 3-1) at No. 15 Arizona (13-2, 3-1)
Sunday, Jan. 8 | 4 p.m. PT | McKale Center (Tucson, Ariz.)
TV: ESPN2
Play-by-play: Pam Ward | Analyst: Stephanie White
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (KUGN 98.1 FM/590 AM)
Play-by-play: Terry Jonz
Listen Online | Live Stats

AT A GLANCE
Oregon heads to the desert for its first Pac-12 road trip, as the Ducks take on Arizona State (Friday) and No. 15 Arizona (Sunday). The Ducks split two home contests last weekend, falling to No. 10 UCLA Friday 82-74 before rebounding with a dominant 73-45 win over USC on Sunday.

Oregon has lost its last two games at Arizona, last winning on Jan. 12, 2020 by a score of 71-64. The Ducks and Wildcats split two games a season ago, each winning on their own home floor.

The Ducks are seeking their first road sweep of the two Arizona schools since the 2018-19 season.

LAST TIME OUT
Oregon recovered from a slow first quarter Friday at Arizona State to equal its largest road win in the series' history, 82-62. The Sun Devils led by three points after the opening quarter before the Ducks outscored ASU 44-22 over the second and third quarters combined, including a 13-point run that spanned the two halves.

For the third straight game, Endyia Rogers led UO in scoring, dropping 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Rogers leads the Pac-12 at 22.5 points a game during league play She was joined in double figures by Grace VanSlooten (16), Taya Hanson (13) and Phillipina Kyei (10). All 16 of VanSlooten's points came in the second half.

Phillipina Kyei grabbed 18 rebounds in addition to her 10 points, turning in her team-leading fifth double-double of the season. Kyei hauled in a career-high 20 rebounds last week against USC - the highest single-game total in the Pac-12 this season and most by a Duck since Jillian Alleyne's 21 rebounds on Jan. 29, 2016 against Arizona State. It marked just the fifth 20-rebound performance under ninth-year head coach Kelly Graves.

SCOUTING ARIZONA
Arizona improved to 13-2 (3-1 Pac 12) with a 72-69 come-from-behind win against Oregon State Friday night. The Wildcats have now won six of their last seven games overall and boast a 7-1 record at home. Arizona leads the Pac-12 with 12.7 steals per game, which rank seventh in the country.

The Cats are the only team in the league to feature four players that average 11.3 points per game or more in Shaina Pellington (12.6), Cate Reese (11.9), Jade Loville (11.7) and Esmery Martinez (11.4).

Defensively, UA has forced 17 or more turnovers in 14 of 15 games this season, including 19 against OSU Friday. The Cats erased a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter vs. the Beavers, using a 15-0 run to cap the comeback victory. Arizona led for just 3:09 while Oregon State held the lead for 33:59.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Sunday's tilt will be the 77th all-time meeting between Oregon and Arizona, with the Ducks holding a 45-31 edge in a series that dates back to 1981. Each side won on its home floor a season ago, with the Ducks claiming a 68-66 overtime win at Matthew Knight Arena on Jan. 15, 2022 before UA earned a 63-48 victory at McKale Center on Feb. 4, 2022.

The Ducks have won 11 of the last 14 meetings going back to 2017, but have dropped three of the last four games, including the last two in Tucson. Oregon is 16-19 all-time on the road against Arizona compared to a 25-9 home record. In the last matchup between the teams, Endyia Rogers paced all players with 18 points on 4-of-10 shooting (8-for-8 FTs). As a team, UO finished just 2-for-15 (13.3 percent) from beyond the 3-point line. Sunday's matchup will be the seventh time in the last eight meetings that both teams will be ranked in the top 20 in the Associated Press poll.

OREGON vs. RANKED TEAMS
No. 15 Arizona marks the fourth top-25 opponent Oregon will face over its last six games, and fifth in total this season. All three Duck losses have come to the nation's top 10, as UO suffered consecutive losses for the first time this season after losing to No. 3 Ohio State and No. 10 UCLA in December. Oregon is 1-3 against top-25 teams this season after the Ducks defeated No. 17 Arkansas 85-78 to kick off the San Diego Invitational, marking the 44th ranked victory under ninth-year head coach Kelly Graves.

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. UO's last road win against a top-25 team came at No. 15 Oregon State on Dec. 13, 2020 (79-59).

ARIZONA HOMECOMINGS
A pair of Oregon Ducks will be making their homecomings in Arizona this weekend in freshman Kennedy Basham and senior Taya Hanson. Basham is a native of Phoenix and attended PHH Prep. The 6-foot-7 forward missed 12 straight games due to injury before returning to the floor Sunday in Oregon's last contest against USC, scoring two points with a rebound, block and steal in nine minutes. Basham saw just six minutes in the season opener against Northwestern before exiting with right knee injury. She missed her senior season at PHH Prep after having ankle surgery.

Hanson spent four years at Arizona State before transferring to Oregon ahead of the 2022-23 season. Hanson, a native of Kelowna, British Columbia, had her best game as a Duck Sunday against the Trojans with a season-high 17 points off the bench, knocking down 5-of-7 3-point attempts. In her four seasons as a Sun Devil, she scored 739 points (6.5 per game) while connecting on 134 3-pointers. She currently ranks third among all active Pac-12 players with her 165 career made 3-pointers.

Basham set season highs in minutes (14), points (5) and rebounds (6) playing in front of family and friends Friday night at Desert Financial Arena. Hanson, playing against her former team, posted 13 points for her second straight game in double figures off the bench. Hanson led the team with three 3-pointers and has drained eight over her last two outings.

THE "O" STANDS FOR OFFENSE
Oregon's 114.1 offensive efficiency rating (points per 100 possessions) is the fifth-highest mark in the country and third-best in the Pac-12 behind Utah (115.0) and Stanford (117.9). The Ducks' 82.3 points per game rank as the 13th-best mark in the country and third-highest in the conference.

UO has scored at least 75 points in 11 of 15 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 83.7 points per game while shooting 46.4 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from behind the arc.

In 15 games, five different players have led the Ducks in scoring this season, including Ahlise Hurst twice off the bench. Endyia Rogers and Grace VanSlooten have each finished as the team's leading scorer (or tied) a team-best five times, while Te-Hina Paopao has done so three times.