Saturday Matinee on Deck for Ducks

EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon women's basketball team returns home for a quick one-game homestand against Santa Clara Saturday, with a 12 p.m. PT start time at Matthew Knight Arena.

The Ducks improved to 3-0 after a 64-56 win Thursday at Grand Canyon in their first road game of the season, getting a game-high 21 points from Grace VanSlooten and a 13-point, 16-rebound double-double from Phillipina Kyei. It marks the ninth straight year UO begins a season 3-0.

Oregon held GCU to 30.8 percent shooting from the field and has combined to allow teams to shoot 30.3 percent on the season. UO's 3-point defense ranks second in the Pac-1, as teams are hitting on just 22.5 percent of 3-point tries.

Saturday's game will be the first between the Ducks and Broncos since 2014, with Oregon winning each of the last four and holding an 11-2 edge in the all-time series.

The game will be streamed free on the Oregon Live Stream and with radio coverage on the Oregon Sports Radio Network. Season and single-game tickets are on sale now and available at GoDucks.com/Tickets.

GAME #4
Oregon (3-0) vs. Santa Clara (3-1)
Saturday, Nov. 18 | 12 p.m. PT | Matthew Knight Arena (Eugene, Ore.)
TV: Oregon Live Stream
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (Eugene: KUJZ 95.3 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 returns to Matthew Knight Arena to host Santa Clara Saturday after a quick road contest at Grand Canyon on Thursday.

The Ducks and Broncos will meet for the first time since 2014, with UO looking for its fifth straight win in the series and holding an 11-2 all-time edge. UO looks for its fifth 4-0 start over the last six seasons.

UO is led by sophomores GRACE VANSLOOTEN (19.7 PPG) and CHANCE GRAY (16.0 PPG) who are combining to average 35.7 points per game - or 46.3 percent of Oregon's offense. PHILLIPINA KYEI (13.0 PPG) and SOFIA BELL (11.3 PPG) round out four Ducks averaging double figures.

LAST TIME OUT
Oregon moved to 3-0 to begin the 2023-24 season after a 64-56 road win at Grand Canyon on Thursday. VanSlooten led all players with 21 points while adding nine rebounds.

VanSlooten led three starters in double-figure scoring, with Kyei adding 13 and Gray scoring 11. Kyei hauled in a season-high 16 rebounds for her third straight double-double, the longest streak of her career. Kyei now has 11 career double-doubles to move her into a 19th-place tie in program history.

Oregon held GCU to 30.8 percent shooting from the field and has yet to allow a team to shoot better than 32.0 percent on the season, The Antelopes were just 7-for-28 from deep while the Ducks owned a 30-14 edge in points in the paint (50-39 rebounding advantage).

SCOUTING SANTA CLARA
Santa Clara is off to a 3-1 start after back-to-back home wins against Hawai'i (62-51) and CSUN (71-39). Tess Heal, a preseason all-WCC selection, leads the Broncos at 17.5 points and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 42.3 percent from the field. Heal has led Santa Clara in scoring in all four games, with a season-high 20 coming in the opener against San Jose State, and Marya Hudgins has been the team's leading rebounder in all four contests.

The Broncos were selected to finish tied for third in the WCC preseason coaches poll, their highest finish in the poll since the 2005-06 season. Heal headlines five returning players, including Hudgins, to a team that possessed the WCC's No. 2 offense at 71.3 points per game a season ago. Heal started all 32 games as a freshman in 2022-23 and averaged 17.6 points and 4.3 rebounds a game, scoring in double figures 29 times. Heal's 562 points marked the most ever by a Santa Clara freshman and fourth-most in program history by any player.

Santa Clara's offense is averaging 61.0 points an outing, seventh in the WCC, but the Broncos' defense ranks second in the league in allowing just 52.0 points a game.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Saturday's matchup will be the first meeting between Oregon and Santa Clara since Dec. 18, 2014, head coach Kelly Graves' first season in Eugene. The Ducks own an 11-2 edge in the all-time series and have won four straight against the Broncos and nine of the last 10, dating back to 1994.

UO is 5-1 at home against Santa Clara while Graves has won the only meeting in his Oregon tenure, a 92-88 double-overtime victory. The Ducks boast a 71-12 (.855) record against current members of the West Coast Conference. Santa Clara last defeated Oregon back on Dec. 15, 2002, picking up an 88-79 victory in Eugene.

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMPS
Oregon's 3-0 start has been fueled by the Ducks' top two returners in sophomores Chance Gray and GRACE VANSLOOTEN. The duo has combined to average 35.7 points per game, or about 46.3 percent of the team's total offense. VanSlooten scored 19 in each of UO's first two games and dropped a season-high 21 at Grand Canyon Thursday, while also averaging 9.3 rebounds an outing. 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 has played a game-high 38 minutes in each of the last two games and averages a team-high 36 minutes a night.
» At GCU, Gray set career highs with seven assists and six rebounds while committing just one turnover.
» In her last two games, Gray has 12 assists over her last two games while making 9-of-10 free throws.
» VanSlooten produced her first 20-point outing of the season at Grand Canyon, and the sixth of her career, scoring 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting.
» The Ducks are 5-1 when VanSlooten scores at least 20 points (1-0 this season) and 2-1 when she finishes with a double-double (1-0 this season).
» 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 24 of her last 38 field goal attempts (63.2 percent) and is shooting 53.3 percent from the field on the season (second on team).

PHEEL IT, PHILLI
Junior center PHILLIPINA KYEI, the tallest player in Oregon history, has turned in a double-double in each of Oregon's first three games to begin the season – the longest streak of her career. She upped her career total to 11 double-doubles with 13 points and a season-high 16 rebounds Thursday at Grand Canyon, moving her into a tie for 19th in program history. She is just the 23rd player in UO history with at least 10 career double-doubles.

» Kyei has 11 double-doubles in just 65 career games, the second-fewest of any Duck with at least 10 double-doubles (Nyara Sabally, 47 games).
» Oregon is 10-1 when Kyei records a double-double and 12-2 when she scores at least 10 points.
» 27 career games with 10 or more rebounds, with 22 coming since the start of last season.
» Scored a career-high 16 points against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 8, connecting on 6-of-10 field goal attempts.
» Double-digit rebounds in five of her last six games, dating back to last season.
» Surpassed the 500-rebound mark at GCU and her 502 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 of the eight games, dating back to last season.

CAN'T SPELL DUCKS WITH D
Through three games this season, Oregon has made life difficult for its opponents on the offensive end. The Ducks have limited teams to a combined 30.3 percent shooting from the field - and has held every team below 32.0 percent shooting. Additionally, UO opponents have combined to shoot just 22.5 percent from beyond the 3-point line, with 26.1 percent being the best mark (Arkansas-Pine Bluff went 6-for-23). Oregon ranks second in the Pac-12 in 3-point defense and No. 55 nationally, while its 35.0 defensive rebounds per game are 13th-best in the country and second in the conference.