Oregon Women's Basketball Lands Arizona State Grad Transfer Taya Hanson
After a wave of departures early this offseason, the Oregon Ducks have added Arizona State guard transfer Taya Hanson. Hanson announced her decision on Instagram.
Hanson will have one year of eligibility remaining after spending four years at Arizona State under Head Coach Charli Turner Thorne. After Turner Thorne announced her retirement, Hanson entered the transfer portal looking for new opportunities.
The move comes at a great time for Kelly Graves and the Ducks, who have endured a number of subtractions early in the offseason. Nyara Sabally declared for the WNBA Draft, Shannon Dufficy graduated, and four players (Kylee Watson, Maddie Scherr, Sydney Parrish, Taylor Bigby) entered the transfer portal.
Hanson appeared in 114 games at ASU (62 starts) and has career averages of 6.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. She was primarily a role player in her first two seasons before entering the starting lineup in 2020-21.
The Kelowna, British Columbia, native enjoyed her best season as a junior in 2020-21. She started in all but one game, posting career highs in points (12.6), rebounds (4.3), minutes (31.3), field goal percentage (33.1%) and three-point percentage (34.4%).
Hanson is primarily a perimeter player, having taken more than 60% of her career field goal attempts from beyond the arc. She's also known for her defensive prowess, earning an honorable mention on the All-Pac-12 Defensive Team in 2020-21.
While she has only surpassed 30% three-point shooting once in four seasons, Hanson has the potential to be the sniper that Graves and his staff have been looking for for the past two seasons. The Ducks often struggled with consistency from behind the arc, and with a variety of talented ball handlers and imposing bigs on the roster next year, she could be a reliable option on the perimeter.
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