A day after rallying for a come-from-behind victory over Washington in the opening round of the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament, the ninth-seeded Oregon Ducks will take on No. 1 seed Stanford in the quarterfinals Thursday at 2:30 p.m. PT at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.
The Ducks got a 28-point, 11-rebound double-double from Endyia Rogers, who scored 10 of her game-high 28 in the fourth quarter to help UO erase a seven-point deficit. Te-Hina Paopao added 13 points, as the duo accounted for 41 of the team’s 52 points.
The last two matchups between Oregon and Stanford in the conference tournament have come in the championship game, with UO winning both of its Pac-12 Tournament titles. The Cardinal, ranked sixth nationally, claimed the season’s only meeting on Jan. 29, 62-54.
AT A GLANCE
Oregon advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 2023 Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament with a come-from-behind, 52-50 win over eight-seeded Washington. The Ducks advance to at least the second round of the conference tournament for the seventh straight year, taking on top-seed Stanford in the quarterfinals Thursday.
After previously losing seven straight, the Ducks have won three in a row for the first time since their six-game winning streak from Nov. 27 to Dec. 3 earlier this year. UO and Stanford met just once during the regular season, with the then-third-ranked Cardinal earning a 62-54 win.
Oregon and Stanford last met in the conference tournament in the 2020 title game, when the Ducks rolled to an 89-56win to capture their third tournament title in three seasons. Each of the last two postseason meetings between the teams have been in the tournament’s championship game.
LAST TIME OUT
Trailing by seven midway through the fourth quarter, Oregon rallied to knock off Washington in the opening round of the tournament, 52-50, behind Endyia Rogers’ 28 points. Additionally, Rogers hauled in a career-best 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the year.
Rogers scored 10 of her game-high 28 in the fourth quarter, coming in a 3:18 span late in the fourth. Te-Hina Paopao added 13, as the duo accounted for 41 of UO’s 52 points.
SCOUTING STANFORD
Stanford (27-4, 15-3) finished as the Pac-12 regular-season co-champion with Utah, and enters the conference tournament as the top seed. The Cardinal dropped their final game of the conference slate at Utah, 84-78, to snap a five-game winning streak.
Stanford is led by Cameron Brink, who was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday. Brink leads her team in points (14.5), rebounds (9.4) and total blocks (109). Brink turned in a point-rebound-block triple-double in the only meeting between the Cardinal and Oregon earlier this season.
Haley Jones is second on the team in scoring at 13.5 points per game while Hannah Jump (11.6) rounds out a trio scoring in double figures. Jones hauls in 8.9 rebounds a game and Jump has a team-best 92 3-pointers at a 44.0 percent clip.
As a team, SU paces the Pac-12 in blocks per game (7.1), opponent field goal percentage (33.0), rebounding margin (plus-13.4) and scoring margin (plus-18.7). Brink is second in the nation in total blocks and blocks per game (3.5)
INSIDE THE SERIES
Stanford owns a 60-14 lead in the all-time series while winning five straight against Oregon after claiming the season’s only meeting, 62-54, in Stanford on Jan. 29. The Ducks had won five of six matchups prior the Cardinal’s current five-game winning streak.
In neutral-site games, UO is 2-3 against Stanford with a 1-1 record in Las Vegas. The Ducks and Cardinal have split four all-time meetings in the Pac-12 Tournament, with both of Oregon’s wins coming in the conference title game (2018, 2020).
In the season’s only matchup, UO shot a season-low 25.0 percent from the field, but turned the ball over just five times. Phillipina Kyei produced a 12-point, 17-rebound double-double while freshmen Chance Gray (12) and Grace VanSlooten (11) also finished with double-figure points. SU’s Cameron Brink carded a triple-double with a career-best 10 blocks.
PAC-12 TOURNEY AT A GLANCE
Oregon entered the 2023 Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament as the No. 9 seed, its lowest seed since earning the 10-seed in the 2015 conference tournament in Kelly Graves‘ first year. Wednesday’s win marked UO’s first as an eighth-seed or lower, as the Ducks are a combined 1-7, including an 1-2 record as the No. 9 seed.
Oregon has now advanced to at least the second round of the Pac-12 Tournament in seven straight seasons, while 12 of its 16 all-time tournament wins have come since 2017. The Ducks and Cardinal have split four all-time meetings in the conference tournament, the last being an 89-56 Oregon victory in the 2020 title game. Each of the last two meetings between the teams have been in the conference’s championship game (2018, 2020).
Under Graves, the Ducks are 12-6 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.