Ducks Take on Cowgirls at Trailblazer Classic

ST. GEORGE, Utah — Oregon is prepped for its final nonconference test, as the Ducks take on Oklahoma State Thursday on the final day of the inaugural Trailblazer Classic at Burns Arena.

GAME #13
Oregon (8-4) vs. Oklahoma State (7-3)
Thursday, Dec. 21 | 1 p.m. PT | Burns Arena (St. George, Utah)
TV/Online: ESPN+
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (Eugene: KUGN 98.1 | Portland: KDZR 1640 AM)
Play-by-play: Chris Clayton
Listen Online | Live Stats

AT A GLANCE
Oregon finishes its nonconference schedule Thursday on the final day of the inaugural Trailblazer Classic, hosted by Utah Tech, against Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. PT (ESPN+).

The game will be the second of five straight contests away from home, as UO seeks to rebound from a 92-86 setback to the Trailblazers on Tuesday.

Oregon and Oklahoma State have met just once previously meeting, with the Ducks earning an 89-72 win on Nov. 28, 2019 in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

LAST TIME OUT
Oregon saw its season-long four-game winning streak come to an end Tuesday in a 92-86 loss to Utah Tech on the opening day of the three-team Trailblazer Classic.

Four Ducks scored in double figures, led by a season-high 25 from Grace VanSlooten. Chance Gray added 20 points with a career-high nine rebounds and Phillipina Kyei scored 17. Ula Chamberlin finished with a season-high 11 points off the bench, going 3-for-4 from the 3-point line.

UO trimmed a 17-point halftime deficit to one point in the fourth quarter, and later trailed by just three with under a minute to play.

Utah Tech sank a Division I program-record 21 3-pointers, going 21-of-31 from 3-point range. The Blazers went 12-of-15 in the first half and 6-for-7 in the final quarter.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE
Oklahoma State (7-3) has won five straight games after defeating Utah Tech 87-61 on Wednesday at the Trailblazer Classic. The Cowgirls were led by 27 points from Hannah Gusters while getting 15 apiece from both Lior Garzon and Quincy Noble.

OSU features five players who average double-digit points, including Gusters who has averaged 24.0 points over two games after being deemed eligible as a two-time transfer. Stailee Heard adds 14.5 points a game along with 6.3 rebounds. As a team, Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 in free throw shooting at 75.7 percent.

Last season, head coach Jacie Hoyt lead the Cowgirls to the NCAA Tournament in her first year at the helm, earning an eight-seed. Oklahoma State was picked seventh in the Big 12 preseason poll, with Lior Garzon earning preseason all-conference honorable mention honors.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Oregon and Oklahoma State will meet for just the second time on Thursday, and first since the the two met in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, with UO coming away with an 89-72 victory. The Ducks were the nation's No. 1 team at the time of the matchup. The Cowgirls mark the second opponent from the Big 12 on Oregon's schedule, as the Ducks visited Baylor on Dec. 3.

THE DUCKS' NEW BIG THREE
Oregon's top returning trio of Chance Gray, Phillipina Kyei and Grace VanSlooten helped the Ducks snap a two-game losing skid with four straight home wins over a nine-day span Dec. 8-17). Against Idaho on Dec. 8, the three accounted for 53 of UO's 59 points in an eight-point victory. The following afternoon, they again combined for 53 total points in a 65-54 win over Portland State. In that 24-hour span, they scored 106 of Oregon's 124 total points - or 85.4 percent of the team's total offense. The three were the only Ducks to score in double figures in a 67-37 win over Southern on Dec. 11, combining for 46 points. The three led the way against Utah Tech, combining for 62 points with Gray and VanSlooten each going over the 20-point mark.

CLOSING TIME
Oregon has been at its best when it counts this season, averaging 19.0 points per game in the fourth quarter - the most of any quarter on the season. The Ducks have a plus-39 scoring margin in the fourth quarter, and hold a plus-73 scoring differential in the second half compared to a minus-11 differential in the first halves of games. As a team, UO has a higher field goal percentage (46.9%), 3-point percentage (32.0%) and free throw percentage (82.7%) in the fourth quarter than overall for the season.

» The Ducks have outscored their opponents in the fourth quarter in seven of 12 games, including four of the last five games.
» Leading by just four headed into the fourth quarter against Idaho on Dec. 8, Chance Gray went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line over the game's final 3:22 to help stave off Idaho.
» Gray knocked down all five of UO's 3-pointers against PSU, including four in the fourth quarter and three coming on consecutive trips down the floor to help seal the victory.
» In the last five minutes of games, the Ducks shoot 88.6 percent from the free throw line (39-for-44) while Gray is a percent 18-for-18 from the stripe.