Friday, March 17
Eugene, OR
7:00 PM
University of Oregon
vs
North Dakota State
Ducks Begin WNIT Friday at MKA
03/15/23 | Women's Basketball
EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon women's basketball team begins its postseason with a first-round matchup against North Dakota State in the 2023 WNIT Friday night, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. PT at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks are making their first appearance in the WNIT since 2016, when they reached the semifinal round. It marks UO's eighth all-time appearance in the WNIT and second under head coach Kelly Graves.
Friday's matchup will be the first between Oregon and NDSU. UO, who was one of the last four teams out of the NCAA Tournament, saw its regular season end in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament, falling to top-seed Stanford on March 2.
GAME #32 – WNIT First Round
Oregon (17-14) vs. North Dakota State (18-11)
Friday, March 17 | 7 p.m. PT | Matthew Knight Arena (Eugene, Ore.)
TV: Oregon Live Stream
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (KUJZ 95.3 FM)
Play-by-play: Terry Jonz | Analyst: Bev Smith
Listen Online | Live Stats | Tickets
AT A GLANCE
Oregon accepted a bid into the 2023 WNIT for the first time since 2016, marking the second WNIT appearance under ninth-year head coach Kelly Graves. The Ducks had qualified for five consecutive NCAA Tournaments, going to three Sweet Sixteens, three Elite Eights and one Final Four in that span.
Friday's matchup with North Dakota State will be the first-ever meeting between UO and NDSU. The Bison went 18-11 during the regular season and earned a second-place finish in The Summit League standings at 12-6.
UO will be making its eighth all-time appearance in the WNIT, as the Ducks boast an 18-5 record in the postseason tournament. Oregon claimed the 2022 WNIT title in addition to winning the 1989 NWIT championship. In its last trip to the WNIT in 2016, Oregon reached the semifinals.
LAST TIME OUT
The Ducks' regular season ended at the Pac-12 Tournament, as UO earned a come-from-behind 52-50 win over eight-seeded Washington in the opening round before being eliminated by top-seed Stanford in the quarterfinals, 76-65. Te-Hina Paopao dropped a career-high 28 points against the Cardinal to match Endyia Rogers' 28 in the opening round against the Huskies. The pair accounted for 84 of UO's 117 points scored in the tournament (71.8 percent).
UO advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament seventh straight year.
SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA STATE
North Dakota State (18-11, 12-6) finished the regular season in second place in The Summit League standings, but was upset in the quarterfinals of the league tournament by Kansas City, 71-64.
NDSU was paced by a pair of players averaging double-digit points in Heaven Hamling (16.5) and Elle Evans (13.3). Hamling was voted to the all-Summit League first team while Evans was named Summit League Freshman of the Year. Additionally, Evans was voted to the league's all-newcomer team, all-defensive team and earned honorable mention all-Summit League accolades.
Hamling finished the regular season as the conference's fourth-leading scorer while Evans is eighth. Hamling was second in The Summit League at 34.8 percent shooting from behind the arc. Emily Behnke led the Bison in rebounding at 6.5 a game, which tied for seventh-best in the league.
As a team, NDSU was second in its conference in field goal percentage at 42.5 while the Bison defense allows 68.8 points per game, also second-best rate in the league.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Friday's meeting between Oregon and North Dakota State marks the first-ever meeting between the teams. UO's last game in the WNIT was against fellow Summit League member South Dakota, where the Ducks fell in the semifinals of the 2016 WNIT in Vermillion, S.D., 88-54.
DUCKS IN THE WNIT
Oregon, who had qualified for five straight NCAA Tournament berths, will make its eighth all-time appearance in the WNIT/NWIT and first since 2016, where the Ducks reached the semifinal round. UO is 18-5 all-time in the WNIT/NWIT and claimed the 2002 WNIT title in addition to the 1989 NWIT championship.
The bid marks the second WNIT appearance under ninth-year head coach Kelly Graves (2016), who is 4-1 in the WNIT during his Oregon tenure. The Ducks own an 11-2 record at home in the WNIT/NWIT while Graves is 3-0.
PAOPAO BREAKOUT
Oregon junior Te-Hina Paopao was tabbed Pac-12 Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Feb. 28, as she put together three consecutive 20-point games. Paopao first dropped a game-high 22 at Washington on Feb. 19 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. Against Stanford in the second round of the Pac-12 Tournament, Paopao dropped a career-high 28 points while setting a UO single-game tournament record with seven 3-pointers (7-for-10), a she has four 20-point games in her last five outings.
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 twice set new career highs in made 3-pointers in a five-game stretch, combining to go 28-for-44 (63 percent). She has hit at least three 3-pointers in each of her last five games and the 28 made 3s match her total over her previous 21 games.
The Ducks are making their first appearance in the WNIT since 2016, when they reached the semifinal round. It marks UO's eighth all-time appearance in the WNIT and second under head coach Kelly Graves.
Friday's matchup will be the first between Oregon and NDSU. UO, who was one of the last four teams out of the NCAA Tournament, saw its regular season end in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament, falling to top-seed Stanford on March 2.
GAME #32 – WNIT First Round
Oregon (17-14) vs. North Dakota State (18-11)
Friday, March 17 | 7 p.m. PT | Matthew Knight Arena (Eugene, Ore.)
TV: Oregon Live Stream
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (KUJZ 95.3 FM)
Play-by-play: Terry Jonz | Analyst: Bev Smith
Listen Online | Live Stats | Tickets
AT A GLANCE
Oregon accepted a bid into the 2023 WNIT for the first time since 2016, marking the second WNIT appearance under ninth-year head coach Kelly Graves. The Ducks had qualified for five consecutive NCAA Tournaments, going to three Sweet Sixteens, three Elite Eights and one Final Four in that span.
Friday's matchup with North Dakota State will be the first-ever meeting between UO and NDSU. The Bison went 18-11 during the regular season and earned a second-place finish in The Summit League standings at 12-6.
UO will be making its eighth all-time appearance in the WNIT, as the Ducks boast an 18-5 record in the postseason tournament. Oregon claimed the 2022 WNIT title in addition to winning the 1989 NWIT championship. In its last trip to the WNIT in 2016, Oregon reached the semifinals.
LAST TIME OUT
The Ducks' regular season ended at the Pac-12 Tournament, as UO earned a come-from-behind 52-50 win over eight-seeded Washington in the opening round before being eliminated by top-seed Stanford in the quarterfinals, 76-65. Te-Hina Paopao dropped a career-high 28 points against the Cardinal to match Endyia Rogers' 28 in the opening round against the Huskies. The pair accounted for 84 of UO's 117 points scored in the tournament (71.8 percent).
UO advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament seventh straight year.
SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA STATE
North Dakota State (18-11, 12-6) finished the regular season in second place in The Summit League standings, but was upset in the quarterfinals of the league tournament by Kansas City, 71-64.
NDSU was paced by a pair of players averaging double-digit points in Heaven Hamling (16.5) and Elle Evans (13.3). Hamling was voted to the all-Summit League first team while Evans was named Summit League Freshman of the Year. Additionally, Evans was voted to the league's all-newcomer team, all-defensive team and earned honorable mention all-Summit League accolades.
Hamling finished the regular season as the conference's fourth-leading scorer while Evans is eighth. Hamling was second in The Summit League at 34.8 percent shooting from behind the arc. Emily Behnke led the Bison in rebounding at 6.5 a game, which tied for seventh-best in the league.
As a team, NDSU was second in its conference in field goal percentage at 42.5 while the Bison defense allows 68.8 points per game, also second-best rate in the league.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Friday's meeting between Oregon and North Dakota State marks the first-ever meeting between the teams. UO's last game in the WNIT was against fellow Summit League member South Dakota, where the Ducks fell in the semifinals of the 2016 WNIT in Vermillion, S.D., 88-54.
DUCKS IN THE WNIT
Oregon, who had qualified for five straight NCAA Tournament berths, will make its eighth all-time appearance in the WNIT/NWIT and first since 2016, where the Ducks reached the semifinal round. UO is 18-5 all-time in the WNIT/NWIT and claimed the 2002 WNIT title in addition to the 1989 NWIT championship.
The bid marks the second WNIT appearance under ninth-year head coach Kelly Graves (2016), who is 4-1 in the WNIT during his Oregon tenure. The Ducks own an 11-2 record at home in the WNIT/NWIT while Graves is 3-0.
PAOPAO BREAKOUT
Oregon junior Te-Hina Paopao was tabbed Pac-12 Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Feb. 28, as she put together three consecutive 20-point games. Paopao first dropped a game-high 22 at Washington on Feb. 19 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. Against Stanford in the second round of the Pac-12 Tournament, Paopao dropped a career-high 28 points while setting a UO single-game tournament record with seven 3-pointers (7-for-10), a she has four 20-point games in her last five outings.
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 twice set new career highs in made 3-pointers in a five-game stretch, combining to go 28-for-44 (63 percent). She has hit at least three 3-pointers in each of her last five games and the 28 made 3s match her total over her previous 21 games.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballKelly Graves | Selection Sunday
Monday, March 17
Deja Kelly, Peyton Scott & Phillipina Kyei | Selection Sunday
Monday, March 17
Peyton Scott & Ari Long: "A good, competitive basketball game."
Thursday, February 27
Kelly Graves: "We've played really well."
Thursday, February 27
