Ducks Face First Road Test at GCU

EUGENE, Ore. — After back-to-back home wins to begin the season, the Oregon women's basketball team heads to Phoenix, Ariz., to take on Grand Canyon Thursday night at 6 p.m. PT at GCU Arena.

The Ducks start their season 2-0 for the ninth straight year after an 86-60 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff last Wednesday night at Matthew Knight Arena. Chance Gray dropped a team-high 20 points while Grace VanSlooten (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Phillipina Kyei (16 points, 11 rebounds) each turned in double-doubles.

Thursday's matchup will be the first-ever meeting between UO and GCU. The Antelopes, the preseason WAC favorite, also seek a 3-0 start after a home win over Saint Mary's and a road victory at North Dakota.

The game will be steamed live on ESPN+ with radio coverage available on the Oregon Sports Network.

GAME #3
Oregon (2-0) at Grand Canyon (2-0)
Thursday, Nov. 16 | 6 p.m. PT | GCU Arena (Phoenix, Ariz.)
TV/Online: ESPN+
Play-by-play: Jim Howell | Analyst: Jack Dixon | Sideline: Gabby Gonzales
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (Eugene: KUGN 98.1 FM & 590 AM | Portland: KPAM 860 AM)
Play-by-play: Chris Clayton | Analyst: Bev Smith
Listen Online | Live Stats

AT A GLANCE
Oregon women's basketball hits the road for its first road tilt of the 2023-24 season, as the Ducks head to Phoenix, Ariz., to take on Grand Canyon Thursday night at GCU Arena.

The game will be the first-ever meeting between the Ducks and Antelopes, as both teams look to move to 3-0 on the young season.

UO is led by sophomores GRACE VANSLOOTEN (19.0 PPG) and CHANCE GRAY ( 18.5 PPG) who are combining to average 37.5 points per game - or 44.9 percent of Oregon's offense. PHILLIPINA KYEI (13.0 PPG) and SOFIA BELL (12.5 PPG) round out four Ducks averaging double figures.

LAST TIME OUT
Oregon moved to 2-0 to begin the 2023-24 season after an 86-60 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff last Wednesday. Gray led UO with 20 points while matching her career-high with six 3-pointers.

Gray led four starters in double-figure scoring, with VanSlooten adding 19, Kyei a career-high 16 and Bell a season-best 14 points. Along with 11 rebounds apiece, Kyei and VanSlooten each finished with double-doubles. It was Kyei's 10th career double-double and the third in the career of VanSlooten.

Oregon tallied 23 assists on 30 made field goals while holding UAPB to 6-for-23 from 3-points range, with the Golden Lions missing on their first 17 3-point attempts.

SCOUTING GRAND CANYON
Grand Canyon is off to a 2-0 start after a home win over Saint Mary's (55-52) before a 73-61 road victory at North Dakota. GCU has two players averaging double-figure points in Trinity San Antonio (12.5) and Tiarra Brown (12.0), with San Antonio also leading the Lopes with 7.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game.

GCU rallied from a 19-point deficit in the fourth quarter in its season-opening win against SMC, scoring 22 unanswered points capped by a game-winning 3-pointer from junior Naudia Evans. The Lopes scored 24 points in the final frame after scoring just 31 over the game's first three quarters.

Grand Canyon returns six players from last year's team that won 21 games and reached the semifinals of the WAC Tournament for the third straight year. Brown, an all-WAC first-team selection in 2022-23, returns along with Evans, the team's leading scorer from a season ago at 11.3 points per game.

The Lopes bring in eight newcomers via the transfer portal, including San Antonio who was a first-team all-WAC pick last season at California Baptist and the 2022-23 Big West Defensive Player of the Year in Kristyna Jeskeova (Long Beach State). GCU was voted as the league's preseason favorite in the WAC preseason coaches poll for the first time in program history.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Thursday's game will be the first-ever meeting between Oregon and Grand Canyon. GCU is the first of two games against teams from the WAC on the Ducks' schedule this season, the other being Utah Tech. Last season, UO defeated WAC members Seattle U and Southern Utah, who won the league and earned a bid to last year's NCAA Tournament. Oregon is 16-2 against current teams from the WAC.

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMPS
Oregon's 2-0 start has been fueled by the Ducks' top two returners in sophomores Chance Gray and GRACE VANSLOOTEN. The duo has combined to average 37.5 points per game, or about 44.9 percent of the team's total offense. VanSlooten has scored 19 in each of UO's first two games while also averaging 9.5 rebounds an outing, with 11 coming against Arkansas-Pine Bluff for her third career double-double. Gray opened the season with 17 points against Northern Arizona before leading the Ducks with 20 against UAPB, the third time in her career eclipsing the 20-point mark.

» Gray equaled her career high with six 3-pointers against the Golden Lions, going 5-for-6 in the first half.
» Gray played a game-high 38 minutes vs. UAPB, finishing with five assists.
» VanSlooten drained the first 3-pointer of her career against NAU, as she looks to expand her range as a small forward.
» After going scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting from the field in the first half against NAU, VanSlooten has hit on 16 of her last 22 field goal attempts (72.7 percent) and is shooting 55.2 percent from the field on the season (second on team).
» VanSlooten dished out a career-high six assists in the win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and is tied for the team lead with four steals on the season.

PHILLI, PHILLI
Junior center PHILLIPINA KYEI, the tallest player in Oregon history, has turned in a double-double in each of Oregon's first two games to begin the season, upping her career total to 10. Her 10 double-doubles move her into a tie for 21st in program history, becoming just the 23rd player in program history to produce at least 10 career double-doubles.

Kyei scored a career-high 16 points against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, connecting on 6-of-10 field goal attempts while adding 11 rebounds. She now has 25 career games with 10 or more rebounds, with 21 coming since the start of last season.

» Double-digit rebounds in four of her last five games, dating back to last season.
» Her 486 career rebounds ranks seventh among active players in the Pac-12.
» Since the start of last season, Kyei is averaging 10.8 rebounds and 7.4 points per game.
» Kyei is fifth among active Pac-12 players with 72 career blocks, recording a block in seven straight games dating back to last season.