Ducks Postseason Begins Thursday Against Eagles

THIS WEEK
    The Oregon (16-15) women's basketball team was selected to play in the Women's National Invitation Tournament, and will host Eastern Washington (19-11) on Thursday at historic McArthur Court. Game time has been set for 7 p.m.

RADIO BROADCASTS/MEDIA
    Over the radio airwaves, Terry Jonz will provide the play-by-play on KUGN 590 in the Eugene/Springfield area.
    The O-Zone will broadcast the game at www.GoDucks.com and have a pay-per-view event fee of $9.95, but any/all current O-Zone subscribers will get Thursday's game as part of the package that they've already paid purchased.
    The audio stream (radio broadcast) will be free to all Duck fans on the O-Zone at www.GoDucks.com.

TICKETS
     Tickets are still available for Thursday's WNIT first round match up with Eastern Washington.
       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.

PIZZA HUT 100-POINT PERSONAL PAN PLAY
    The Oregon women's basketball program has a new promotion at Mac Court: The Pizza Hut Personal Pan Play.
     Oregon has teamed with Pizza Hut, and each time the Ducks reach 100 points in a game, every fan in attendance at McArthur Court will receive a free personal pan pizza.
     Oregon is currently averaging 81.4 points per game ,and the Ducks have reached 100 points on three occasions this year.

UPDATE ON OREGON
    The Ducks ended their regular season with an 80-76 loss to USC last Friday in the Pac-10 Tournament quarterfinals, but were one of 33 teams that received an at-large berth into the 64-team WNIT field, it was announced Monday night.
    The Ducks head into the tournament with a 16-15 record after dropping seven straight games and finishing tied for sixth in the Pac-10 standings with a league record of 7-11.
    Oregon's 16 wins on the season are its most since 2006-07, as UO finished 17-14 and advanced to the third round of the WNIT.

UPDATE ON EASTERN WASHINGTON
    Eastern Washington will be making its first national postseason appearance since 1987. The Eagles will take a 19-11 record into the first-round matchup. Eastern earned an automatic berth into the WNIT by virtue of its first-ever Big Sky Conference regular season title. EWU finished 12-4 in league play to earn the top seed and host status for the league tournament, but had its NCAA Tournament hopes dashed with a 65-57 loss to sixth-seeded Montana State in the tournament semifinals.

THE LAST MEETING
    This will not be the first meeting between Eastern Washington and Oregon, as the Ducks tipped off their first season under first-year Oregon head coach Paul Westhead with an 86-48 win over the Eagles on Nov. 16, 2009 at Mac Court.
    Taylor Lilley scored a then career-high 28 points and also set what was then a career high with seven 3-pointers. The senior sharpshooter knocked down four consecutive treys in a 2-minute and 26-second span during the second half.
    Nicole Canepa also scored what was then a career high 17 points off the bench, and posted the second double-double of her career with 10 rebounds.
    Oregon led from start to finish, and outscored the Eagles 28-18 in the paint. Eastern Washington was held to 21 points in the second half. The Ducks shot 40.6 percent (26-of-64) from the floor, and outrebounded EWU, 51-37, led by junior Victoria Kenyon's career-high nine rebounds. The Ducks and Eagles have met six times dating back Jan. 26, 1980, and UO has won all six meetings.

PREVIOUS POSTSEASON MEETING
    The last time the Eagles made the national postseason was in 1987, and similar to 2010, the Ducks were their first-round opponent. Oregon defeated the Eagles, 75-56, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament held in Eugene on March 11, 1987. The Ducks went on to fall to Ohio State, 76-62, in the second round of the 1987 NCAA Tournament.

ALL-PAC-10 CONFERENCE HONORS
       Oregon fourth-year seniors Micaela Cocks and Taylor Lilley were named to the Pacific-10 All-Conference team, it was announced by the league office last week.
    For Lilley, this is the fourth consecutive season she has received Pac-10 honors after being named Pac-10 All-Freshman honorable mention in 2007, Pac-10 Third Team in 2008 and Pac-10 honorable mention in 2009.
    Lilley is averaging 17.6 points per game to lead the Ducks (2nd Pac-10), and has crushed every 3-point record in Oregon history; holding the single-game, single-season and all-time 3-point titles at Oregon. She has 1,360 points in her career ranking 10th all-time in UO history, and her 258 career 3-pointers are not only a new UO record, but rank third all-time in Pac-10 history.
    Cocks' all-conference selection was the New Zealand native's second league honor of her career after she was selected to the Pac-10 Third Team following the 2008-09 season. Cocks is capable of playing all three guard positions in Westhead's uptempo style offense.
    The 2008 Olympian is averaging a career best 14.7 points per game , while shooting 41.1 percent from the floor and getting to 3.3 rebounds per game.
    This year, Cocks has scored double figures in 25 of her 31 starts, and has reached the 20-point plateau on seven occasions, while also leading the team in scoring seven times.
    In addition to Cocks and Lilley, Oregon sophomore forward Amanda Johnson received Pac-10 honorable mention accolades. The Santa Rosa, Calif., native is Oregon's third leading scorer averaging 12.2 points per game, while leading the squad with 8.5 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-2 sophomore has produced nine double-doubles on the year, and has led the team in rebounding on 21 occasions.
    In addition to Pac-10 All-Conference awards voted on by the league's 10 head coaches, the Pac-10 also had members of the media vote for awards this season that were announced last week.
Lilley was named to the 2010 Pac-10 Media All-Conference team.

POSTSEASON AWARDS
       Oregon held its annual banquet on Feb. 28, and the Ducks issued a slew of awards for this year's roster.
    Senior guard Taylor Lilley was voted Team MVP for the second time in her career by her teammates. She was previously named team MVP following her sophomore season at the UO.
    Senior guard Micaela Cocks was voted the Offensive Player of the Year after taking home Team MVP honors a year ago.
    Sophomore guard Nia Jackson - who returned to the floor this season following her rehabilitation from an ACL injury - was named the Defensive Player of the Year.
    Junior forward Victoria Kenyon was voted the team's Most Improved Player.
    Sophomore forward Amanda Johnson was given the team's Harry Ritchie Scholar-Athlete Award, which honors athletic and academic abilities.
    The Green and Gold Award went to junior forward Ellyce Ironmonger for contributions on and off the court.

OREGON WNIT HISTORY
       Oregon has not appeared in the postseason since 2007, when the Ducks advanced to the third round of the WNIT before falling to Wyoming, 64-62, in Laramie. Oregon opened that WNIT appearance with a first-round bye, and then defeated UC Santa Barbara, 70-54, at Mac Court on March 17, 2007.
    The Ducks also appeared in the WNIT in 2002, defeating Houston, 54-52, at Mac Court to seal the program's only WNIT championship on March 27, 2002. Oregon knocked off the Cougars in front of 6,835 fans that day - the 12th largest crowd at Mac Court in women's basketball history.
    The Ducks overall WNIT record is 6-1, and the program is undefeated playing WNIT games at Mac Court.

WNIT SCENARIOS
         Oregon will play Eastern Washington (19-11) at 7 p.m. Thursday in the first round of the WNIT. If the Ducks are able to get past the Eagles, UO would play the winner of SMU at New Mexico (6 p.m. PT, Wednesday, March 17).
    The second-round game would fall between the second round timetable of Saturday-Tuesday, March 20-23. Two other Pac-10 teams, California and Arizona State, are also competing in the WNIT. The UO could possibly face the Golden Bears in the third round, or the Sun Devils in the quarterfinals.
    There are two other teams Oregon has also played this season that are in the Ducks bracket. UO could also run into Utah in the third round, or Wyoming in the quarterfinals.

OREGON'S CURRENT STATUS (RANKINGS AS OF 3/14)
•     Oregon (16-15, 7-11) is on a seven-game losing streak heading into the WNIT after falling 80-76 at USC in the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 Tournament last Friday. The Ducks have not advanced past quarterfinals in five consecutive Pac-10 Tournaments.
•    The Ducks' last win in 2010 was a 82-81 victory over Arizona State at McArthur Court on Feb. 13. Since then, UO has dropped seven straight, playing five of those contests on the road.
•    After leading the country in scoring the majority of the season, Oregon's 81.4 points per game rank fourth, as Oral Roberts leads the nation averaging 86.1 ppg.

Other top-25 national marks for Oregon include:
Category                                        Rank            Number
Three-Point FG Per Game             No. 8          8.3
•    Oregon is averaging 81.4 points per game this season – close to a 25-point turnaround from last season's average of 56.6 points per game.
•    Taylor Lilley's 3.6 three-pointers per game lead the Pac-10 and rank third in the nation. Chynna Bozeman of Morehead State leads the nation averaging 3.7 3-pointers per game (118 overall).
•     Micaela Cocks' 87.3 free-throw percentage ranks 15th in the nation.
•     As a team, the Ducks need to knock down one more 3-pointer to set the Pac-10 single-season record. UO has knocked down a total of 258 buckets from long distance this season, which ties with Stanford (2002) for the single-season title.

RECORDS FALLING
    A multitude of records have fallen this year, here is a quick recap:
-     At Cal on Feb. 20, Taylor Lilley knocked down four 3-pointers to reach 93 on the season, setting a new Pac-10 single-season record and surpassing the old record of 92 which Arizona's Lisa Griffith had held since 1997.
-     On Feb. 11, Lilley completed the trio of Oregon 3-point records by breaking the single-season record against Arizona, surpassing Jamie Craighead's record of 81 set in 2001.
-     On Jan. 30 at USC, Lilley broke an Oregon single-game record draining nine 3-pointers. The previous record of eight three-pointers in a single game was shared by Lilley - who tied it against Washington on New Year's Day - Chelsea Wagner vs. Arizona on Feb. 9, 2006, and Jessica Schutt vs. Hawai'i on Nov. 26, 1993.
-    Lilley's nine from long distance also tied for the most 3-pointers scored by a player in a Pac-10 game. Stanford's Lindsey Yamasaki is the only other player to accomplish the feat, draining nine vs. Washington on Feb. 24, 2001.
-    Taylor Lilley's 258 career 3-pointers have set a new program record. Her total also ranks third in the Pac-10 all-time standings. Lilley broke the record on Jan. 1, in a win over Washington, surpassing Missy Croshaw's previous career record of 189 that was held for 16 years. Lilley's 665 career 3-point attempts are also a new UO record, passing Brandi Davis' mark of 535.
- Oregon has also knocked down 258 3-pointers as a team this season, breaking the previous mark of 194 set in 2002.
-    On Jan. 16 at Arizona, the Ducks and Wildcats obliterated the previous record for the highest scoring game in women's Pac-10 history. With Oregon on the losing end of a 119-112 decision, the 231 combined points bested the previous combo of 221 set by California (115) and USC (106) on March 10, 1989.
-    Oregon's 112 points were also the most scored by a losing team in Pac-10 history.
-    Nicole Canepa's career-high doubling 38 points scored at Arizona on Jan. 16, were the most an Oregon player has ever scored against a Pac-10 opponent. The mark also ties with Bev Smith and Debbie Adams for the UO single-game record.
-     Oregon's 119 points allowed at Arizona (Jan. 16) were the most the Ducks have ever surrendered. The previous record was 107 at Stanford on Feb. 25, 1989.
-    on March 5 at Washington State, Oregon set a new single-game record for 3-point attempts with 36 in a 67-53 loss at Washington State.

JOHNSON NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
    Oregon sophomore forward Amanda Johnson was named to the 2009-10 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® University Division second team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), it was announced on Feb. 23.
    Johnson, who has a 4.0 gpa and is a double major in Psychology and Sociology, is scheduled to graduate following the 2010 spring semester, and is currently in the process of applying for graduate programs. She is on track to finish with a Master's Degree at the end of her four years at the UO.

TRIO COMPLETED
    Senior guard Taylor Lilley now holds a trio of Oregon 3-point records with the single-game (9), single-season (108) an career marks (254) under her belt.
    Lilley is also the first player in Pac-10 women's basketball history to reach triple-digits for 3-pointers made in a single season with 112. Currently, Morehead State's Chynna Bozeman is the only player in the nation with more 3-pointers than Lilley, leading the country with 118. Bozeman's mark ranks sixth in NCAA single-season history, and the junior sharp-shooter will most likely have that number rise as Morehead State plays the College of Charleston Wednesday night in the 2010 Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI). The NCAA single-season record of 126 is shared by Alabama State's Lisa McMullen (1991) and Robert Morris' Sade Logan (2008).
    Currently, Lilley's 1,360 career points rank fourth among active Pac-10 players and 10th all-time in UO history.

ALL IN THE BACKCOURT
    Lilley isn't the only senior guard on the brink of breaking records. Micaela Cocks has now played in 122 career games for the Ducks, a total that ties for third all-time with Kaela Chapdelaine.
    Cocks also has eclipsed the 1,000-career point total in her career after a 14-point effort at UCLA on Jan. 28. Cocks is now the 22nd player in UO women's basketball history to reach 1,000 points, and currently her 1,169 career points total is 16th all-time.
    Cocks is averaging a career-high 14.7 points per game, and her 166 career 3-pointers rank fifth all-time for Oregon and fifth among active players in the Pac-10.
    The New Zealand native will also hold the best free-throw shooting percentage at UO when she leaves after managing an .862 (213-of-247) clip during her four-year tenure.

ACTION JACKSON
    Oregon sophomore Nia Jackson's healthy return has been vital for the Ducks this season.
    With defenses focusing on Cocks and Lilley, head coach Paul Westhead is urging Jackson to get to the basket. She is averaging 10.7 points per game, while her 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game lead Oregon. In fact, Jackson's 79 steals this season currently rank seventh in UO single-season history.