Ducks Make Thursday Stop in Portland

EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon women's basketball team continues a three-game road trip Thursday, as the Ducks make a stop at Chiles Center to take on the Portland Pilots at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN+.

GAME #6
Oregon (4-1) at Portland (3-4)
Thursday, Nov. 30 | 6 p.m. PT | Chiles Center (Portland, Ore.)
TV/Online: ESPN+
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (Eugene: KUGN 98.1 | Portland: KPAM 860 AM) | SXM 373
Play-by-play: Chris Clayton
Listen Online | Live Stats

AT A GLANCE
The Oregon women's basketball team continues a three-game road trip Thursday, with a stop at Portland for a 6 p.m. PT tip at Chiles Center.

The Ducks and Pilots will meet for the 37th time Thursday, as Oregon seeks to push its lead in the all-time series to 32-5. UO defeated Portland 90-51 a season ago at Matthew Knight Arena, extending its winning streak to eight straight in the series.

UO is led by sophomores Grace VanSlooten (16.6 PPG) and Chance Gray (13.6 PPG) while Phillipina Kyei (11.4 PPG) and Sofia Bell (10.4 PPG) round out four Ducks averaging double figures.

LAST TIME OUT
Oregon bounced back from its first loss of the season with a dominant 76-47 road win at Nevada last Tuesday. Leading by one at halftime, UO went on a 17-0 run to begin the third quarter while holding the Wolf Pack to 5-for-39 (12.8%) shooting in the second half.

Three Ducks finished with 10 or more rebounds, led by a career-high 16 from Grace VanSlooten. VanSlooten (17 points) and Phillipina Kyei (16 points, 10 rebounds) finished with double-doubles while Kennedy Basham's 10 rebounds marked a career high.

Sarah Rambus shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the field on her way to a season-high 17 points off the bench and Chance Gray flirted with a triple-double with nine points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

SCOUTING PORTLAND
After beginning the season 3-1, Portland has lost three straight games - each game by single digits and by an average of 4.7 points. The Pilots are 2-1 at Chiles Center, including a
72-58 win over San Diego State in the season opener.

UP is led by three players who average double-figure points in Maisie Burnham (11.0), Emme Shearer (11.0) and Lucy Cochrane (10.7). Cochrane also leads her squad with 7.1 rebounds a game while Shearer shoots a team-high 52.5 percent from the field.

Portland features a stout defense that leads the West Coast Conference with 12.6 steals (18th nationally) and 6.6 blocks per game (eighth nationally). The Pilots force a league-best 22.0 turnovers per game and boast a plus-3.1 turnover margin, also the tops in the WCC. Cochrane is the conference leader at 4.0 blocks per game while Shearer leads the WCC at 2.4 steals a contest.

The Pilots are coming off a 23-9 (15-3 WCC) record, their highest win total since the 1996-97 season. UP won the WCC Tournament for the second time in the last four season, earning a bid into the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Portland has produced 20 wins in three of the last four seasons and return seven letterwinners, including all-WCC preseason team picks in Burnham and Shearer.

INSIDE THE SERIES
In a series that dates back to 1984, Oregon is 31-5 all-time against Portland after a 90-51 win in Eugene last season. The Ducks have won seven straight meetings against the Pilots, and 11 of the last 12 matchups going back to 2009. UO has won the last three games on the road against UP and is 11-5 on the road all-time. The last meeting in Portland was a 62-59 Oregon victory on Dec. 4, 2021.

Six Ducks scored in double figures in last season's matchup at Matthew Knight Arena, including a game-high 20 from Chance Gray. Phillipina Kyei finished with a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double and Grace VanSlooten added 10 points. Oregon forced UP into 21 turnovers behind 14 steals, leading to a 32-8 edge in points off turnovers. The Ducks also held a 54-36 advantage in points in the paint.

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMPS
Oregon's 4-1 start has been fueled by the Ducks' top two returners in sophomores Chance Gray and Grace VanSlooten. The duo has combined to average 30.2 points per game, or about 42.3 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 on Nov. 16, while also averaging 9.4 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 played a game-high 38 minutes in back-to-back games against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Grand Canyon and averages a team-high 35.4 minutes a night.
» Gray flirted with a triple-double in the Ducks' last game at Nevada, grabbing a career-high eight rebounds while also tying her career high with seven assists and scoring nine points in a 76-47 win.
» In her last four games, Gray has racked up 23 assists and leads the team at 5.0 per game (fifth in Pac-12).
» 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.
» VanSlooten hauled in a career-high 16 rebounds and scored 17 points against the Wolf Pack for her second double-double of the season.
» 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 hit on 24 of her next 38 field goal attempts (63.2 percent) - a span that includes the second half against NAU and games against UAPB and Grand Canyon.
» VanSlooten dished out a career-high six assists in the win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

PHEEL IT, PHILLI
Junior center Phillipina Kyei, the tallest player in Oregon history, has turned in a double-double in four of Oregon's first five games this season. Kyei produced three straight double-doubles to open the season, the longest streak of her career. She upped her career total to 12 double-doubles with 16 points and 10 rebounds last week at Nevada, moving her into a tie for 18th in program history. She is just the 23rd player in UO history with at least 10 career double-doubles.

» Kyei has 12 double-doubles in just 67 career games, the second-fewest of any Duck with at least 10 double-doubles (Nyara Sabally, 47 games).
» Oregon is 11-1 when Kyei records a double-double and 13-2 when she scores at least 10 points.
» 28 career games with 10 or more rebounds, with 23 coming since the start of last season.
» Scored a career-high 16 points twice this season, coming against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and at Nevada last week.
» Double-digit rebounds in six of her last eight games, dating back to last season.
» Surpassed the 500-rebound mark at GCU and her 517 career rebounds ranks seventh among active players in the Pac-12.
» Since the start of last season, Kyei is averaging 10.7 rebounds and 7.6 points per game.
» Kyei is fifth among active Pac-12 players with 72 career blocks, recording a block in seven of the last 10 games, dating back to last season.