UO Wraps Up First B1G Road Trip at Northwestern

EVANSTON, Ill. — The Oregon women's basketball team concludes its opening Big Ten road trip on Tuesday, as it pays a visit to Northwestern for a 12 p.m. PT tip on Big Ten Network at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Both teams are seeking their first conference victories after falling on Saturday. The Ducks lost a tight defensive battle at Illinois 64-59 while the Wildcats dropped a 90-71 home decision to Washington. Guard Deja Kelly needs just two points for 2,000 in her career, as she would become the 10th active player to join the 2,000-point club along with teammate Peyton Scott.

The teams will meet for the fourth time ever, and the first since the 2022-23 season opener, when the Ducks earned a 100-57 win. UO owns a 2-1 lead in the all-time series with a 1-0 mark on the road.

GAME #14
Oregon (9-4, 0-2) at Northwestern (7-6, 0-2)
Tuesday, Dec. 31 | 12 p.m. PT | Welsh-Ryan Arena (Evanston, Ill.)
TV: Big Ten Network
Play-by-play: Sloane Martin | Analyst: Meghan McKeown
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (KUGN 98.1 FM/590 AM)
Play-by-play: Chris Clayton
Listen Online | Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
In its first Big Ten road tilt, and first true road game of the season, Oregon went back and forth with Illinois before ultimately falling 64-59.

The Ducks climbed out of a 12-point hole to take a four-point lead early in the fourth quarter. The teams traded the lead six different times in the final frame before the final horn.

Nani Falatea led the Ducks with a season-high 17 points off the bench, going 7-of-13 from the field. Falatea scored five straight points to open the fourth quarter, which helped UO reclaim its first lead since the first quarter.

Deja Kelly added 14 points, as she now sits just two points away from 2,000 for her career. With her next basket, she will become the 10th active player to join the 2,000-point club.

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
Northwestern (7-6, 0-2) is coming off a 90-71 loss to Washington on Saturday in its Big Ten home opener. The Wildcats have lost two of their last three games after winning five of the previous six contests.

Northwestern is led by four players in double-figure points, paced by Grace Sullivan at 11.3 points a game. Taylor Williams (11.0), Caleigh Walsh (10.8) and Melannie Daley (10.2) round out the quartet. Williams is the team's leader and fifth in the Big Ten at 9.5 boards a night while Carolina Lau is the Big Ten's leader in assists per game at 6.4, ranking ninth in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.13.

As a team, NU ranks last in the conference in scoring (67.0 PPG), field goal percentage (43.3) and rebound margin (-0.8) while it sits in 17th in scoring defense (69.3 PPG), scoring margin (-2.3) and turnover margin (-2.5). The Wildcats do rank 18th in the nation at 18.6 assists per game.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Oregon and Northwestern will meet for just the fourth time ever, and the first as members of the Big Ten Conference on Tuesday. The Ducks lead the all-time series 2-1, dating back to 1989, winning the only previous meeting in Evanston - a 68-63 victory in 1991. UO and the Wildcats opened the 2022-23 season at Matthew Knight Arena, with the Ducks earning a 100-57 victory, which stands as the last time Oregon scored 100 points in a game.

DUCK DEPTH
Oregon's depth, helped by seven transfers among nine newcomers, has keyed the Ducks' 9-4 start this season. Six different players have led (or tied) UO in scoring through 13 games, including three off the bench in Nani Falatea, Katie Fiso and Elisa Mevius. The Oregon bench is averaging 30.8 points per game and has outscored its opponents' bench 401-199 on the season, an average of 15.5 points a game. Last year, UO averaged just 9.6 points a night from its bench and opponents outscored the Ducks' bench by 288 points.

» UO's bench has outscored its opponents in all but one game this season, and eight times by double digits.
» The Ducks dropped a season-high 51 bench points on Air Force on Dec. 17, the most points scored by the bench since scoring 58 against Seattle U on Nov. 28, 2020.
» Ten players finished with at least eight points against the Falcons, with four scoring in double figures, while six handed out multiple assists and seven recorded multiple steals.
» The Ducks followed that up by scoring 48 bench points in their win over UC Irvine, combining for 99 points in a two-game stretch - their most in any two-game span on record.
» The UO bench outscored its starting five in those two games, with the reserves scoring 99 points compared to the starters' 70 points.
» Nine players are averaging at least 5.0 points per game, including three bench players, with Falatea leading the bench scoring at 6.9 points per game.
» The Oregon bench has scored at least 20 points 11 times, and four times eclipsed the 40-point plateau. Last year, UO's single-game bench high was 26 points while surpassing 20 points just twice.
» The Ducks have been led in rebounding by six different players, five of which are newcomers, this season. Deja Kelly, Phillipina Kyei and Amina Muhammad are the only players to lead the team in rebounding in multiple games.
» Head coach Kelly Graves has utilized six different starting lineups this season, with three Ducks making their first starts of the year against South Dakota State: Ehis Etute, Nani Falatea and Sarah Rambus.

DUCK DEFENSE
Oregon has made life difficult for its opponents on the offensive end this season. The Ducks defense has registered double-digit steals in five of its last six games, and in seven of its last 10 games, including a season-high 17 coming against Air Force on Dec. 17. Additionally, UO is allowing opponents to shoot just 28.4 percent from beyond the arc, and has allowed just four teams to shoot over 30.0 percent (Auburn, South Dakota State, Washington State, USC). UO allowed North Texas and Grand Canyon to shoot a combined 7-of-30 over a two-game stretch (Nov. 12-18).

» With 10 or more steals in six of their last eight games, the Ducks now have eight games this season with double-digit steals after turning in only two such games last season and seven times in 2022-23.
» The Ducks recorded 10-plus steals in five straight games from Nov. 26-Dec. 19, their longest streak since putting together seven straight games with 10 or more steals in 2013-14.
» On the season, Oregon is averaging 10.2 steals a game this season (fifth in the Big Ten). It would mark the most on a per-game basis since averaging 10.2 in 2013-14.
» The Ducks have forced opponents into 20 or more turnovers six times this season, including in each of their last three games. The six such games are already the most since doing so seven times in 2019-20.
» UO had just one game forcing 20 or more turnovers last season and five such games in 2022-23.
» UO forced USC into 22 turnovers on Dec. 7 and Air Force into a season-high 29 turnovers on Dec. 17, marking the most forced turnovers since also forcing 29 against CSUN on Nov. 19, 2017.
» The Oregon defense is forcing teams into 18.9 turnovers per game, good for sixth in the Big Ten, while owning a plus-4.92 turnover margin, which is fifth-best in the league.
» Oregon has finished with fewer or the same number of turnovers 11 times this season.
» The Ducks have held an advantage in rebounding in nine of 13 games this season (all wins) and have a plus-35 margin on the season (2.7 per game).
» UO has shot at a higher efficiency from the field 10 times and seven times from the 3-point line.