Ducks Open Pac-12 Tournament vs. Washington

EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon women's basketball team begins its quest for a Pac-12 title Wednesday, as the Ducks open the Pac-12 Tournament against Washington at 2:30 p.m. PT at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.

The ninth-seeded Ducks and eighth-seeded Huskies meet for the third time this season after each winning on their home floors during the regular season. The winner will advance to take on No. 1 seed Stanford Thursday at 2:30 p.m. PT.

Oregon has won 11 of its last 13 meetings with UW, with the Huskies taking a 68-60 decision in the last meeting on Feb. 19 in Seattle. UO owns a 55-52 lead in the series history while the teams have split six all-time meetings in the Pac-12 Tournament.

GAME #30 – Pac-12 Tournament First Round
(9) Oregon (16-13, 7-11) vs. (8) Washington (15-13, 7-11)
Wednesday, March 1 | 2:30 p.m. PT | Michelob ULTRA Arena (Las Vegas, Nev.)
TV: Pac-12 Network
Play-by-play: Ann Schatz | Analyst: Tammy Blackburn
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (KUGN 98.1 FM)
Play-by-play: Terry Jonz
Listen Online | Live Stats

AT A GLANCE
Oregon heads into the Pac-12 Tournament as the No. 9 seed after posting a 16-13 overall record and 7-11 mark in conference. The Ducks have swept the Arizona schools at home to close the regular season, snapping a season-long losing streak and winning consecutive games for the first time since early January.

UO will face eighth-seeded Washington in the first round on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. PT. The matchup will be the season rubber match, as each won on its home floor during the regular season. The last matchup happened on Feb 19, with the Huskies earning a 68-60 win at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.

The Ducks had won 10 straight in the series, and have won 11 of the last 13 meetings. UO and UW have split six all-time meetings in the conference tournament, with the last coming in 2017.

LAST TIME OUT
Two days after knocking off No. 14 Arizona, Oregon eased by Arizona State, 77-48, on Saturday in the regular-season finale. After the game, UO honored its four seniors in Taya Hanson, Taylor Hosendove, Ahlise Hurst and Endyia Rogers.

Te-Hina Paopao logged her third straight 20-point game against the Sun Devils, dropping a season-high 23 behind a career-best seven 3-pointers. Paopao earned her first career Pac-12 Player of the Week honor on Monday.

SCOUTING WASHINGTON
Washington (15-13, 7-11) dropped its last two games at USC and UCLA to close the regular season and enters the Pac-12 Tournament as the No. 8 seed. The Huskies have split their last 10 games overall, including a 68-60 home victory over Oregon on Feb. 19.

Dalayah Daniels leads UW with 11.1 points per game this season, as is the only Husky to average double-digit points. Daniels also paces her team with 5.9 rebounds a game while shooting 50.4 percent from the field. Haley Van Dyke is second at 9.5 points per game to go with 5.1 rebounds a game.

Washington ranks last in the Pac-12 in scoring offense (60.0), 3-point percentage (28.3), turnovers (16.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (0.83). UW does boast the second-best rebounding margin in the league at plus-7.1.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Wednesday's matchup will be the third of the season between Oregon and Washington and the 107th all-time meeting between the teams. UO leads the all-time series 55-52, as the Ducks have won 10 of the last 11 meetings overall. Oregon is 3-5 against UW at a neutral site while the teams have split six all-time matchups in the conference tournament. The last meeting in the Pac-12 Tournament came in the second round in 2017, with UO defeating the Huskies 70-69 at KeyArena in Seattle.

Both the Ducks and Huskies each won on their home floors during the regular season, including a 68-60 UW win in Seattle on Feb. 19. In the game, which was the first of three straight games UO was without freshman star Grace VanSlooten, Te-Hina Paopao dropped a game-high 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting (6-for-9 from 3-point range).

PAC-12 TOURNEY AT A GLANCE
Oregon enters the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament as the No. 9 seed, its lowest seed since earning the 10-seed in the 2015 conference tournament in Kelly Graves' first year. As an eighth-seed or lower, the Ducks are a combined 0-7, including an 0-2 record as the No. 9 seed.

Oregon has advanced to at least the second round of the Pac-12 Tournament in six straight seasons, while 11 of its 15 tournament wins have come since 2017. The Ducks and Huskies have split six all-time meetings in the conference tournament, the last being a 70-69 UO victory in the second round of the 2017 tournament at KeyArena in Seattle.

Under Graves, the Ducks are 11-6 in the Pac-12 Tournament and have claimed their only two tournament crowns. UO has advanced to the championship game in the league tournament three times under Graves, winning in 2018 and 2020, and have reached the semifinal round five times. A season ago, the Ducks reached the semifinal round as the No. 2 seed before falling to Utah, 80-73.

HONOR ROLL
Oregon saw four players earn all-Pac-12 honors Tuesday, led by Endyia Rogers' first-team selection. Rogers took home her third straight all-Pac-12 first-team honor and second as a Duck. Junior Te-Hina Paopao and freshman Grace VanSlooten each collected honorable mention accolades, while VanSlooten and fellow freshman Chance Gray both earned spot on the conferences all-freshman squad. Additionally, Gray earned all-defensive team honorable mention recognition.

PAOPAO BREAKOUT
Oregon junior Te-Hina Paopao was tabbed Pac-12 Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Monday, as she has put together three consecutive 20-point games. Paopao first dropped a game-high 22 at Washington on Feb. 29 before scoring 21 points to help the Ducks upset No. 14 Arizona at home last Thursday. In the regular-season finale against Arizona State, Paopao drained a career-best seven 3-pointers on her way to a season-high 23 points. Paopao's three consecutive 20-point efforts equal her career-long stretch from a season ago (Jan. 9-17, 2022).

Her 22-point game at UW snapped a stretch of six straight games without cracking double-digit points, including going scoreless on Feb. 17 at Washington State. It was her first outing this season without getting into the scoring column. The only other time Paopao was held without a point was last year's season opener in which she left with an injury after playing three minutes. In her previous six games prior to the Washington game, Paopao averaged just 4.3 points while shooting 9-for-55 from the field (16.4 percent) and 2-for-19 from three (10.5 percent).

Paopao has twice set new career highs in made 3-pointers in her last three games, combining to go 18-for-27 (66.7 percent). The 18 made 3-pointers match her total over her previous 15 games, but she needed 67 attempts from downtown in that stretch (26.8 percent).