Ducks Host Air Force Tuesday

EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon continues a four-game homestand on Tuesday, as the Ducks welcome Air Force to Matthew Knight Arena for a 6 p.m. tip.

The game will mark UO's second-to-last nonconference tilt before the bulk of Big Ten play begins at the end of the month. Oregon and Air Force have met just once previously, with the Ducks earning an 82-36 home victory in 2018.

The Ducks are 7-1 at Matthew Knight Arena this season, suffering their first loss to sixth-ranked USC on Dec. 7 to open conference play. UO was led by 16 points from Deja Kelly, 13 from Peyton Scott and 10 points and five steals off the bench from Ari Long.

Single-game tickets are now on sale and available at GoDucks.com/WBBtix.

GAME #11
Oregon (7-3) vs. Air Force (9-1)
Tuesday, Dec. 17 | 6 p.m. PT | Matthew Knight Arena (Eugene, Ore.)
TV/Stream: B1G+
Play-by-play: Saul Galvan | Analyst: Lily Crane
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (KUGN 98.1 FM/590 AM)
Play-by-play: Chris Clayton | Analyst: Bev Smith
Listen Online | Live Stats | Tickets

AT A GLANCE
Oregon continues a four-game homestand on Tuesday, as the Ducks host Air Force for a 6 p.m. tip at Matthew Knight Arena.

The game will mark the Ducks' penultimate nonconference contest before closing nonconference action on Thursday against UC Irvine.

Oregon and Air Force will meet for just the second time ever, after UO claimed an 82-36 victory at Matthew Knight Arena back on Dec. 20, 2018.

LAST TIME OUT
Oregon opened its Big Ten slate against then-sixth-ranked USC on Dec. 7, with the Trojans holding on for a 66-53 victory at Matthew Knight Arena.

Despite forcing 22 turnovers behind a season-high 14 steals and outscoring USC in three of four quarters, an 18-0 USC run to open the second quarter proved too much for the Ducks to overcome.

Guard Deja Kelly paced the Ducks with 16 points to go with four rebounds and Peyton Scott added 13 points. Coming off the bench, Ari Long added a spark with 10 points and a career-high five steals.

UO made just 3-of-20 3-point attempts while USC connected on 9-of-25 tries from range. The Trojans held a 45-31 rebounding edge, but UO held USC to 10 second-chance points.

SCOUTING AIR FORCE
Air Force (9-1) enters Tuesday's matchup having won its last six games after an 82-44 win over Seattle in its last contest on Dec. 7. The Falcons' lone loss this season came in overtime at Army on Nov. 15, 57-51, while they have a 3-1 record in all games away from home.

Air Force is led by three players that average double-figure points: Milahnie Perry (16.9), Madison Smith (15.6) and Kellie O'Hollaren (10.0). Perry and Smith have each led their team in scoring four times this season, with each owning three 20-point outings. Jayda McNabb paces the Falcons at 8.5 rebounds per game to go with her 8.0 points a night.

Jo Huntimer is second in the Mountain West in both assists per game at 4.2 and assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.23. Smith is the league leader with her 2.8 steals a night.

Defensively, USAFA is tops in the Mountain West in steals per game (13.8), turnovers forced per game (24.5) and turnover margin (plus-8.5). The Falcons rank ninth nationally in steals and 11th in turnovers forced.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Oregon and Air Force will meet for just the second time on Tuesday. The Ducks claimed the only other matchup between the teams back in 2018, an 82-36 decision at Matthew Knight Arena. The Falcons will mark the second team from the Mountain West Conference on UO's schedule this season, with the Ducks taking down Nevada at home 76-58 back on Nov. 6. Under head coach Kelly Graves, the Ducks are a combined 7-1 against current members of the Mountain West.

RACE TO 2K
Oregon guards Deja Kelly and Peyton Scott are in a battle to see who will be the first to join the 2,000-point club. Kelly, a graduate transfer from North Carolina, amassed 1,858 career points over four seasons (121 games) as a Tar Heel while Scott tallied 1,873 points in 112 career games in four years at Miami (Ohio). Scott is now in her sixth collegiate season after receiving a medical hardship waiver due to her season-ending knee injury suffered in the 2023-24 season opener.

» Scott entered the season No. 7 among active players in career points, while Kelly was next at eighth.
» As of Friday, Scott sits in eighth (1,988 points) with Kelly only 14 points behind in ninth, as each are less than 30 points from joining the 2K club.
» The duo is the only set of teammates in the top 10 in scoring among active players, and the pair sits as the top two players in the Big Ten in career points.
» Both have a team-best six double-figure scoring games, with Kelly surpassing the 20-point plateau three times and Scott once.
» Both Kelly and Scott have now authored 101 career games in double figures, while Scott has 37 career 20-point games.

DUCK DEPTH
Oregon's depth, helped by seven transfers among nine newcomers, has keyed the Ducks' 7-3 start this season. Five different players have led (or tied) UO in scoring through 10 games, including two off the bench in Nani Falatea and Elisa Mevius. The Oregon bench is averaging 27.3 points per game and has a plus-116 point differential in bench points on the season. Last year, UO averaged just 9.6 points a night from its bench and opponents outscored the Ducks' bench by 288 points.

» UO's bench has outscored its opponents in nine of 10 games this season, and five times by double digits.
» Nine players are averaging at least 5.0 points per game, including three bench players, with Mevius leading the bench scoring at 7.6 points per game.
» The Oregon bench has scored at least 20 points eight times, and twice eclipsed the 40-point plateau. Last year, UO's single-game bench high was just 26 points while surpassing 20 points twice.
» The Ducks have been led in rebounding by five different players, four of which are newcomers, this season. Deja Kelly, Phillipina Kyei and Amina Muhammad are the only players to lead the team in rebounding in multiple games.
» Head coach Kelly Graves has utilized six different starting lineups this season, with three Ducks making their first starts of the year against South Dakota State: Ehis Etute, Nani Falatea, Sarah Rambus.
» After missing the seasons' first six games due to international team duties and injury, Etute made her collegiate debut at the Hawai'i North Shore Showcase.
» Etute scored eight points to go with five boards in both contests, shooting a combined 50.0 percent from the floor.

DUCK DEFENSE
Oregon has made life difficult for its opponents on the offensive end this season. Over the last five games, the Ducks defense has four games with double-digit steals, including a season-high 14 coming against USC in their last game on Saturday. Additionally, UO is allowing opponents to shoot just 29.8 percent from beyond the arc, and has allowed just four teams to shoot over 30.0 percent (Auburn, South Dakota State, Washington State, USC). UO allowed North Texas and Grand Canyon to shoot a combined 7-of-30 over a two-game stretch (Nov. 12-18).

» After forcing Oregon 22 turnovers against USC, the UO defense is forcing teams into 17.6 turnovers per game, good for eighth in the Big Ten, while owning a plus-341 turnover margin, which is the seventh-best in the league.
» With 10 or more steals in four of their last five games, the Ducks now have six games this season with double-digit steals after recording just two such games last season.
» On the season, Oregon is averaging 9.6 steals a game this season (sixth in the Big Ten). It would mark the most on a per-game basis since averaging 10.2 in 2013-14.
» Oregon has finished with fewer or the same number of turnovers eight times this season.
» The Ducks have held an advantage in rebounding in seven of 10 games this season (all wins) and have a plus-11 margin on the season (1.1 per game).
» UO has shot at a higher efficiency from the field eight times and five times from the 3-point line.