No. 10 USC on Deck for Ducks

EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon women's basketball team returns to Matthew Knight Arena to face another top-10 opponent, taking on 10^th-ranked USC on Friday night at 7 p.m. PT.

The game will mark the team's annual Pink Game to raise cancer awareness. Fans are encouraged to show their support by wearing pink to the game, and the first 3,500 fans will receive a free "Stomp Out Cancer" T-shirt.

GAME #26
Oregon (11-14, 2-10) vs. No. 10 USC (18-4, 8-4)
Friday, Feb. 16 | 7 p.m. PT | Matthew Knight Arena (Eugene, Ore.)
TV: Pac-12 Oregon
Play-by-play: Rich Burk | Analyst: Elise Woodward
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (Eugene: KUGN 98.1 | Portland: KPAM 860 AM)
Play-by-play: Chris Clayton | Analyst: Bev Smith
Listen Online | Live Stats

AT A GLANCE
Oregon returns to Matthew Knight Arena Friday to host No. 10 USC. The Trojans mark the sixth straight ranked team on the Ducks' schedule, as they are in the midst of seven consecutive games against teams currently ranked in the Associated Press top-25 poll.

The Ducks look to split the season series after USC earned a 68-54 victory on Jan. 7 at Galen Center.

Oregon trails the all-time series 47-30, with a 19-18 home record and 8-3 mark at Matthew Knight Arena. USC has won the last two meetings after Oregon had won the previous 12 meetings.

LAST TIME OUT
Oregon's comeback bid was thwarted by No. 20 Utah on Sunday, as the Ducks trimmed a 12-point halftime deficit to four points early in the fourth quarter. The Utes finished the game by scoring 39 of the game's final 50 points to come away with a 70-48 victory.

Phillipina Kyei led UO with 15 points, 12 rebounds and four assists for her conference-leading 16th double-double of the season. Grace VanSlooten was the only other Duck to finish in double figures with 14 points to go with three assists.

Oregon shot 43 percent from the floor while limiting UU to 41 percent, but the Utes scored 19 points off 16 Oregon turnovers and scored 15 second-chance points. Utah attempted 21 more field goals than the Ducks, with a plus-14 shot margin in the first half.

SCOUTING USC
USC (18-4, 8-4) has won four straight games after sweeping the Arizona schools at home over the weekend. The Trojans have been ranked in the Associated Press top-25 poll each week this season, spending 12 weeks in the top 10.

Freshman JuJu Watkins headlines three Trojans averaging double-digit points, as Watkins leads the Pac-12 and ranks second in the nation at 27.7 points per game. Watkins took home her 12th conference freshman-of-the-week award on Monday while she has been tabbed player of the week twice.

McKenzie Forbes is second on the team at 13.4 points a night while Rayah Marshall adds 10.0 points. Marshall is the Trojans' leader at 9.6 rebounds a game and 46.3 field goal percentage.

As a team, USC leads the Pac-12 in blocks per game (5.7), turnover margin (plus-4.7) and turnovers per game (12.1). During conference play, the Trojans average just 10.9 turnovers a game. Watkins scores 28.4 points a game in Pac-12 play.

INSIDE THE SERIES
In a series that dates back to 1981, Oregon is 30-47 all-time in its series with USC. The Ducks are 19-18 at home against the Trojans, and 8-3 at Matthew Knight Arena, and have winning eight straight in Eugene. Oregon has won 12 of the last 14 meetings overall, but has lost two straight to the Trojans after a 68-54 road loss on Jan. 7. Prior to the last two losses, UO had won 12 straight against USC. Head coach Kelly Graves is 13-3 against USC in his Oregon career and is 8-0 at home.

In the season's first meeting on Jan. 7, the Ducks were paced by 18 points from Grace VanSlooten. Phillipina Kyei recorded a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double while Sofia Bell and Chance Gray both finished with 11 points. Oregon limited freshman star JuJu Watkins to 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting, which still stands as her second-lowest scoring output of the season and lowest in league play.

OREGON vs. RANKED TEAMS
No. 10 USC marks the sixth straight team ranked inside the top 20 Oregon will face, and ninth over the last 12 games overall. The Trojans are the 10th ranked overall the Ducks have faced this season while UO seeks its first ranked win of the year after falling at No 4 Colorado and No. 2 Utah on the road last weekend. UO is 0-9 against top-25 teams this season six games coming on the road. Oregon has dropped 10 consecutive games to ranked teams overall, dating back to last season. The last top-10 win Oregon pulled off was against then-ninth-ranked UConn on Jan. 17, 2022, when an unranked Ducks team claimed a 72-59 win in Eugene.

» Nine of the Ducks' 12 conference games have been against teams ranked inside the nation's top 20, while UO has won two of three Pac-12 games against unranked teams (Arizona, Arizona State).
» Oregon averages 66.1 points per game at a 41.7 percent clip against unranked opponents, compared to 53.1 points a game while shooting 37.3 percent from the floor against ranked foes.
» Phillipina Kyei leads UO with 14.0 points and 11.9 rebounds pre game against ranked teams. Grace VanSlooten puts up 13.6 points a game and Chance Gray scores 12.6 a night against ranked opponents.

PHEED PHILLI
Junior center PHILLIPINA KYEI, the tallest player in Oregon history, has turned in a double-double in 16 of Oregon's 25 games to lead the Pac-12 while her total is fifth-most in the nation. Kyei has produced a double-double in eight of the last 10 games, and has four separate streaks this season of at least three consecutive double-doubles and two four-game stretches (career high). Kyei grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds to go with 16 points against Southern on Dec. 17 for just the 23rd 20-rebound double-double in UO history.

» Kyei upped her career total to 24 double-doubles Sunday against Utah with 15 points and 12 rebounds, as she is now alone in 11th-place in program history. She is just the 23rd player in UO history with at least 10 career double-doubles.
» Kyei leads the Pac-12 and is second in the country at 12.0 rebounds per game, while her 8.2 defensive rebounds per game ranks eighth and her 3.8 offensive boards a game is 23rd nationally. Kyei's nine offensive boards against Arizona State set a career high.
» Kyei has 24 double-doubles in just 87 career games, the fewest games of any Duck with at least 20 double-doubles.
» Kyei is one of two players in the Pac-12 averaging at least 12.0 points and 11.0 rebounds (Raegan Beers).
» 41 career games with 10 or more rebounds, with 36 coming since the start of last season.

NO PLACE LIKE MKA
Since its opening in 2011, the Ducks have been dominant in defending Matthew Knight Arena, posting an all-time record of 158-64 (.712). UO is 90-17 (.841) over the last seven seasons at Matthew Knight Arena, with a 41-13 conference record, winning by an average of 23.9 points per game during that span.

This season, opponents are averaging 57.6 points per game at Matthew Knight Arena while shooting 36.3 percent from the floor and 27.7 percent from the 3-point line. UO won six straight home games from Dec. 8-Jan. 14 and is 8-4 overall at home.

» Chance Gray is shooting 40.8 percent from the 3-point line at home, as 31 of her 52 3-pointers have come at home.
» The Ducks average 42.1 rebounds a game at home with a plus-5.4 margin at home, compared to 37.1 rebounds per game with a minus-2.4 margin in all games away from home.
» Oregon has a plus-5.7 scoring differential at home while being outscored by an average of 12.5 points per game on the road.