Preview: Oregon Women's Basketball Prepares to Defend Home Turf Against Arizona

The Ducks get ready for another top-10 test as the Wildcats come to town.

The Oregon Women’s Basketball Team gets ready for a huge test as they will host the No.7-ranked Arizona Wildcats on Saturday afternoon.

It’s the first of two top-10 clashes for the Ducks in the span of three days. Matthew Knight Arena’s next guest will be legendary coach Geno Auriemma and the No. 10-ranked Connecticut Huskies on Monday.

Oregon Head Coach Kelly Graves will be the first to tell you that it’s been a slow start to the season for his own prestigious program. “People have forgotten about us a little bit and rightfully so — we haven't played particularly well. ... But this is an opportunity to put ourselves back in the discussion." Graves said on the upcoming homestand.

The Ducks are primed and ready to make a splash in their first home conference game of the season. The whole roster except for forward Sedona Prince is healthy. Prince had to be flown home on an air med flight from Stanford after contracting COVID, and subsequently missed both Bay Area games against No. 2 Stanford and Cal. But Prince has been active in the past few practices according to Graves, and has a shot to play on the weekend.

It was an encouraging business trip for Oregon. A 12-point loss to the second-best team in the nation is nothing to be embarrassed about, especially with Prince’s COVID situation and players like Te-Hina Paopao and Nyara Sabally making their returns to the starting lineup.

Oregon’s second game in the Bay Area saw a huge boost in chemistry. The Ducks recorded 21 assists against the Golden Bears - a huge contrast to the four assists they recorded against the Cardinal. Oregon put on a show in all aspects against Cal. 

They got strong performances from their regulars, including an efficient 21 points from Paopao; and got a career night from Sydney Parrish who got all 21 of her points from seven three-pointers. If the Ducks can rely on their stars to provide consistent performances, and get crucial secondary scoring from players like Parrish, they will be a nightmare to defend.

The Arizona Wildcats stand at 12-1 on the season after a bitter one-point loss in the 2021 March Madness Championship to conference rival Stanford. The Cats were undefeated the last time they left Tucson, only just picking up their first loss against USC last Sunday. U of A is a team built on experience. 

Head Coach Adia Barnes has kept her squad ranked in the AP Poll for 42 weeks in a row, the longest streak in the program’s history. Arizona’s leading scorer and rebounder is four-year senior Cate Reese. The preseason All-Pac-12 forward just entered Arizona’s top-10 all-time scorers list in her game against Washington State on Jan. 7; and will likely eclipse 700 career rebounds against Oregon, good for sixth all-time in the Wildcats program.

The Wildcats just recently returned regular starters Shaina Pellington and Lauren Ware to their gameplan, so both teams in Saturday’s match will be stronger. MKA is sure to play host to another fantastic Pac-12 matchup when the Ducks host the Wildcats.

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