UO Meets No. 20 Utah Sunday

SALT LAKE CITY — The Oregon women's basketball team faces its fifth straight top-25 foe Sunday afternoon, as the Ducks take on 20^th-ranked Utah at Huntsman Center at 11 a.m. PT (Pac-12 Mountain).

GAME #25
Oregon (11-13, 2-9) at No. 20 Utah (17-7, 7-5)
Sunday, Feb. 11 | 12 p.m. PT | Huntsman Center (Salt Lake City, Utah)
TV: Pac-12 Mountain
Play-by-play: Krista Blunk | Analyst: Charli Turner Thorne
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (Eugene: KUGN 98.1 | Portland: KPAM 860 AM)
Play-by-play: Chris Clayton
Listen Online | Live Stats

AT A GLANCE
Oregon finishes its trip to the Mountain schools Sunday against No. 20 Utah at Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. The Utes mark the fifth straight ranked team on the Ducks' schedule, as they are in the midst of seven consecutive games against teams currently ranked in the Associated Press top-25 poll.

The Ducks look to split the season series after the Utes claimed a 58-48 win at Matthew Knight Arena two weeks ago.

Oregon leads the all-time series with UU 24-12, with a 7-7 record in Salt Lake City. UU has won three straight in the series overall, but Oregon has won 13 of the last 16 meetings overall and five straight on the road.

LAST TIME OUT
Oregon saw four players score in double figures but fell at No. 4 Colorado Friday night 90-57 at CU Events Center. Grace VanSlooten led the Ducks with 16 points while Ula Chamberlin added a season-high 13 off the bench.

The Buffaloes, who led by six after the first quarter, outscored UO by 12 in the second quarter and 15 in the third, opening a 33-point lead through three quarters.

Colorado had five players score 10 or more, led by 19 from Maddie Nolan to go with a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double from Quay Miller.

The Ducks shot 50 percent from behind the 3-point line (8-for-16), getting a season-high four 3-pointers by Chamberlin.

SCOUTING UTAH
Utah (17-7, 7-5) has won six of its last eight games after suffering a 58-44 home loss against No. 17 Oregon State Friday night. The Utes boast a 9-2 home record, with their only other loss coming to Stanford, 66-64, on Jan. 12.

The Utes lead the Pac-12 scoring offense (81.9), scoring margin (plus-21.7), and assists per game (20.3) while leading the country with 11.1 made 3-pointers per game. Alissa Pili is second in the league and 11th nationally in scoring at 22.0 points a game.

Joining Pili in double-digit scoring is Kennady McQueen at 10.2 points a contest. Gianna Kneepkens was averaging 17.8 a night before suffering a season-ending injury.

During conference play, Pili is averaging 20.2 points per while McQueen is second at 10.5 a game and Jenna Johnson is third at 10.0 per game. UU is scoring 70.5 points per game in Pac-12 play while averaging 8.9 3-pointers a contest.

INSIDE THE SERIES
In a series that dates back to 1981, Oregon holds a 24-12 lead in the all-time series with Utah. The Ducks are 7-7 on the road all-time against the Utes, winning the last five meetings in Salt Lake City. Oregon has won 13 of the last 16 meetings overall, but has lost three straight to the Utes after a 58-48 setback two weeks ago in Eugene. The three-game winning streak matches Utah's longest in the series history. Head coach Kelly Graves is 13-4 against UU in his Oregon career and since Utah joined the Pac-12 in 2011-12, Oregon is 15-7 in the series.

In the season's first meeting on Jan. 26, the Ducks were paced by 19 points and 16 rebounds from Phillipina Kyei to pair with 18 points from Chance Gray. Grace VanSlooten, UO's leading scorer, missed the game due to injury. Utah entered the game averaging 86.0 points per game but was held to 28 points below that average, as the Utes matched their season-low point total while shooting a season-low 35 percent from the field.

OREGON vs. RANKED TEAMS
No. 20 Utah is the fifth straight top-25 team Oregon will face, and the ninth this season. UU marks the eighth ranked foe in the Ducks' last 11 games after taking on No. 4 Colorado on Friday. UO is 0-8 against top-25 teams this season with an 0-5 road record. Oregon has dropped 13 straight road games against ranked teams, with the last victory coming at No. 15 Oregon State on Dec. 13, 2020 (79-59). The last time an unranked Ducks team took down a top-25 team on the road was in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, when UO defeated No. 9 Duke 74-65.

Last season, Oregon went 2-8 against the nation's top 25, picking up wins over No. 17 Arkansas (85-78) and No. 14 Arizona (73-59). In Graves' tenure, the Ducks have piled up 45 ranked wins over his previous nine seasons. The Ducks are 18-94 all-time on the road against ranked teams and are in the midst of seven consecutive games against teams currently ranked in the Associated Press top-25 poll.