Ducks Open Pac-10 Play At Mac Friday
12/31/09 | Women's Basketball
THIS WEEK
Oregon opens Pac-10 play this week hosting Northwest rivals Washington and Washington State. The Ducks and Huskies will tip off Pac-10 play at 7 p.m., Friday at Mac Court, while UO and WSU will end the weekend with a 2 p.m. tip at Mac Court on Sunday.
BROADCASTS/MEDIA
Friday's game can be heard on THE SCORE 95.3 FM with Ryan Goff making the call. Sunday's game, set for 2 p.m., will be broadcast on KSCR 1320 AM with Terry Jonz on the play-by-play.
For Oregon fans out of the listening areas, live video and audio will be available on the O-Zone at www.GoDucks.com.
Live stats for both games will be offered on www.GoDucks.com.
O-ZONE: ONLINE VIDEO & AUDIO/LIVE STATS
Women's basketball fans can now watch all non-televised home games live on the O-Zone at www.GoDucks.com. All home games will offer live video and audio. Live stats will also be available for all home games.
TICKETS
Tickets are still available for Oregon's Pac-10 openers vs. Washington (Friday) and Washington State (Sunday). Tickets can be purchased by clicking HERE, calling 1-800-WEB-FOOT, or in person at the Casanova Center ticket office. Tickets can also be purchased at the McArthur Court ticket window 90 minutes prior to game time. The doors to Mac Court open 60 minutes prior to tip.
PROMOTIONS
Oregon fans can pick up a “Jerry's 2-for-1” coupon at any Eugene Jerry's Home Improvement location and get two reserved tickets for the price of one for UO's Pac-10 opener vs. Washington on Friday.
Sunday vs. Washington State is “BI-Mart Family Day” at McArthur Court. Show your BI-Mart card at the ticket window on the day of the game, and receive admission for two adults and unlimited children for only $20.
FORMER DUCK GREATS RETURN TO MAC COURT
The University of Oregon Athletic Department announced its plan to celebrate the final Pac-10 Conference women's basketball season played at McArthur Court. Each Pac-10 game this season will have a pre-game ceremony featuring at least one honorary captain. In addition, the first 1,000 fans through the doors will receive a 3x7 commemorative ticket highlighting the accomplishments of the honorary captain(s) for that contest. Cathrine Kraayeveld is scheduled to be the honorary captain for Friday's Pac-10 opener with Washington, while Jody Runge will return to be the honorary captain for the Oregon-Washington State game on Sunday, Jan. 3.
MAC COURT MEMORIES
The Oregon Athletics Department wants fans to submit their favorite Mac Court memories online and at all home basketball games. Duck fans can write-in their favorite memory of McArthur Court and/or send pictures in to athletics@uoregon.edu (all submissions become the property of the athletic department and will not be returned).
WASHINGTON PREVIEW
Washington begins league play after finishing non-conference play with a 5-5 record. Sami Whitcomb is leading the Huskies averaging 14.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Oregon and Washington have played two like opponents this season in Portland State and Eastern Washington.
UW opened the season with a 67-66 loss at Portland State (Nov. 14), but posted a 64-46 victory over Eastern Washington in Seattle on Nov. 27.
The Huskies have won three of their last four, picking up victories over Central Florida, Seattle and Western Michigan.
Oregon holds a slight 40-39 edge in the all-time series, but in the programs' last meeting, the Huskies came away with a 69-43 win in the first round of the 2009 Pac-10 Tournament. Washington last won in Eugene, 60-56, on Feb. 16, 2006.
WASHINGTON STATE PREVIEW
Washington State finished the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 5-6 record as three players are averaging double figures led by April Cook's 13.6 points per game.
The Cougars played three similar opponents of the Ducks in the preseason; falling 68-64 to Boise State (Nov. 29), defeating Wyoming 63-50 (Dec. 5) and falling to Portland, 79-53, on Dec. 13.
Oregon holds a 55-11 advantage in the all-time series, but the two programs split the match up last year winning on each other's home courts. The Cougars took the 58-45 victory at Mac Court on Feb. 12, 2009.
PRESEASON POLL
Oregon was selected to finish eighth in the both the Pac-10 Preseason Coaches' Poll and the Pac-10 Preseason Media Poll.
The results are not a surprise citing UO's finish to the 2008-09 season which included dropping its final six games of the season and losing 10 of the final 11 tilts of the year.
UO CURRENT STATUS (RANKINGS AS OF 12/20)
• Oregon (9-3) is second in the nation and first in the Pac-10 averaging 86.6 points per game. The only team in the country outscoring the Ducks is Oral Roberts, averaging 91.6 points per game.
The Ducks' 117-69 victory over Cal State Fullerton is also the highest scoring output (117) from a team this season.
Other top-10 national marks for Oregon include:
Category Rank Number
Three-Point FG Per Game No. 6 9.4
Assists Per Game No. T-7 19.0
Scoring Margin No. 8 24.7 ppg
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio No. 9 1.21
Three-Point FG Defense No. 9 22.3 %
• Oregon is now 9-3 and off to its best start since the 2005-06 season, before current four-year seniors Micaela Cocks and Taylor Lilley arrived on campus.
• The Ducks are one-win shy of surpassing their win total (9-21) from last year.
• Oregon is averaging 86.6 points per game this season - a 30-point turnaround from last season's average of 56.6 points per game.
• UO has three players in the top-10 of Pac-10 scoring leaders; Amanda Johnson (15.3 ppg; 4th), Taylor Lilley (14.9 ppg; 5th) and Micaela Cocks (14.2 ppg; 9th).
LILLEY ON THE BRINK
Senior guard Taylor Lilley continues to lead the knock on the door of some monumental milestones during her final year in a Duck uniform.
Lilley, who has currently scored 993 career points, needs just seven vs. Washington on Friday to reach the 1,000 career plateau - becoming the 21st player in UO program history to accomplish the feat.
The Newhall, Calif., native has drained 182 career three-pointers, tying with Jamie Craighead for third all-time. Currently leading the Pac-10 averaging 3.0 treys per game, Lilley needs to drain eight to surpass Missy Croshaw (189; 1990-94) to become the all-time leader. Lilley also has 50 double-figure scoring games under her belt.
ALL IN THE BACKCOURT
Lilley isn't the only senior guard on the brink of breaking records. Currently Micaela Cocks is braced to break the all-time free-throw percentage record, currently with an all-time clip of .847. She also needs to play in 13 more games this season to crack the all-time top-10 for career games played.
KEEPING IT CLOSE
The Ducks have lost three games this season, and two of those games came down to the wire. A 58-57 loss on a last-second shot to Wisconsin, and an 89-86 overtime loss at Utah on Dec. 22. Of Oregon's three losses, two have been by a combined four points.
HOME SWEET HOME
McArthur Court has been good to the Ducks this season as Oregon is 7-1 on its home floor, and 2-2 away from it.
The Ducks average 90.0 points per game at Mac Court, and allow just 62.9 points per game. On the road, Oregon averages 79.8 points per game, while opponents average 80.8 points per game.
TEAM LEADER
While just a sophomore, forward Amanda Johnson is currently leading Oregon in scoring (15.3 ppg; 4th Pac-10) and rebounding (10.0 rpg; 2nd Pac-10). She is one of only two players - the other Arizona's Ify Ibekwe (11.0 ppg, 11.6 rpg) - currently averaging a double-double in the conference. The Santa Rosa, Calif., native has led the team in scoring on five occasions, and led the Ducks in rebounding eight times.
FAST BREAK LEADER
Leading the fast break and keeping the pace of the squad isn't easy, but sophomore point guard Nia Jackson's numbers are holding up in the Pac-10. Her 4.1 assists per game rank third, and her 2.5 steals per game rank third.
MISSING LINK
Junior forward Victoria Kenyon may not always be a leader in the box score, but her effort on defense is the key to Oregon's fullcourt pressure. Kenyon's role is to pressure the inbound pass, and her job pays huge dividends as Oregon has pressured its opponents into 251 turnovers this year, an average of 20.9 per game.
Last week at Utah, Kenyon's scoring touch was on display as she knocked down a career-best four three-pointers and scored a career-high 16 points.
WORLD VISION INVITATIONAL
The Oregon women's basketball program would like to thank all fans that donated to “Operation Safety Net” during the World Vision Invitational.
World Vision raised $1,083 during the tournament enough to provide a net of protection for 180 children and one adult. One net covers two people.
