'It’s time to go': Oregon women return to court for rivalry game against Oregon State
It’s gone from finals week straight into rivalry weekend for the No. 17 Oregon women’s basketball team.
The Ducks (6-1) will play their first game in eight days — and first of the Pac-12 season — at 4 p.m. Sunday when they host Oregon State (6-2) in Matthew Knight Arena.
Oregon’s players had some time off from their typical basketball duties since their last game on Dec. 2, as they focused on putting the finishing touches on the fall academic term.
But with classes in the rearview mirror and Oregon State on tap, “It’s time to go,” guard Endyia Rogers said after Friday’s practice.
Sunday’s matchup features two of the top centers in the Pac-12, two of the best freshman in the nation and two teams with a long history of competitive balance.
The Ducks have won six of the last 10 games in the rivalry, though the Beavers have won three of the last four and also two straight at Matthew Knight Arena. The last time Oregon beat Oregon State at home was a pre-pandemic game in January 2020.
Two of the best players on the court come Sunday were sophomores in high school when that game took place. Now they’re both impact players in the their first seasons of college ball.
Oregon’s 6-foot-4 forward Grace VanSlooten (13.1 points per game, 6.6 rebounds per game) and Oregon State’s 6-4 forward Raegan Beers (13.4 ppg, 8.1 rpg) are two of four freshmen in the country averaging at least 13.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
VanSlooten has started every game and is averaging 28.7 minutes per game. Beers is averaging 22.4 minutes off the bench.
There should be an entertaining battle in the paint between Oregon’s 6-8 sophomore center Phillipina Kyei (10.4 ppg, 10.3 rpg) and Oregon State’s 6-9 redshirt sophomore center Jelena Mitrovic (8.0 ppg, 10.3 rpg).
Kyei and Mitrovic are the top rebounders in the conference and tied for fourth nationally.
Mitrovic also averages 2.0 blocks per game and is tied for the team-lead with 2.75 assists per game.
“I have great respect for Mitrovic,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said. “In fact, I’ve used her as an example to Philly, ‘This is how you want to get your feet.’ She’s never really out of position defensively and she makes you earn up and over the top of her. Philly’s still coming. She’s not as experienced.”
Graves said one of the keys Sunday will be the Ducks’ ability to dictate tempo. Oregon likes to speed up the pace of the game while Oregon State prefers the half-court game.
"If they play us in a half-court game, we’re at a disadvantage, because now they’re putting Beers and Mitrovic together a lot and that’s a formidable high-low,” Graves said. “We can’t match that. So if we can get them in an up-and-down game, I think that plays better for us. ... It’s going to be quite a chess match to see which style wins out.”
VanSlooten and Kyei are two of five players for Oregon who average in double-figures scoring.
Point guard Te-Hina Paopao scores 13.3 per game and also ranks second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 10.3 with 31 assists and three turnovers.
Rogers averages 12.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists, and Chance Gray averages 10.7 points per game and is coming off a career-high 20-point performance against Portland last weekend.
Oregon State is led by sophomore guard Talia van Oelhoffen who is averaging 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.75 assists.
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.
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Up Next
No. 17 Oregon (6-1) vs. Oregon State (6-2)
4 p.m., Sunday at Matthew Knight Arena. TV: Pac-12 Networks. Radio: KUGN-FM (98.1), KUGN-AM (590).
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Key matchups for No. 17 Oregon women's basketball vs. Oregon State
