Women’s Basketball: Oregon Looks to Continue Win Streak Against UCLA
With an opportunity to add another quality win to the team’s resume, the Oregon Ducks take on the #12 UCLA Bruins at home Friday night at 6pm. With the regular season nearing the end, Oregon cannot afford to miss out on beating teams in the AP Top-25 to improve its chances on making the postseason.
After opening conference play on a five-game losing streak, Oregon (19-6, 8-6 Pac-12) has now won eight of the team’s past nine games after defeating the Colorado Buffaloes last Sunday. The Ducks will carry a five game win streak into the team’s matchup against the Bruins (19-6, 11-3 Pac-12) who are coming off a sweep of the Washington schools.
Oregon is led by Jillian Alleyne and Maite Cazorla both of which were named Pac-12 Player of the Week and Pac-12 Freshman of the Week respectively. During wins over Utah and Colorado, Alleyne put up a double-double each game to bring her career total to 90 double-doubles. Cazorla shot 50 percent from the floor while tying her career high of 23 points against Colorado.
UCLA is led by multiple offensive threats. First, there is senior guard Nirra Fields, who is averaging close to 15 points in conference play. Then there is sophomore guard Jordin Canada with about 14.5 points. Defensively, the team’s 6’4” forward Monique Billings is averaging eight rebounds along with 6’3” senior, Kacy Swain, who is averaging around seven rebounds per game.
In the last meeting between the two teams, UCLA came out on top, defeating Oregon 80-69. The Ducks saw the team’s 11-game win streak end on the road at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins had 18 offensive rebounds during game resulting in 20 points.
The Los Angeles schools mark the final home stand of the season for the Ducks and the final two home games for Alleyne. In what has been a remarkable career, Alleyne has shown heart, determination, and guts on the court. She is the tenth player in NCAA history to record 2,000 points and 1,500 rebounds. Alleyne now holds the Pac-12 career double-doubles record and leads the nation this season with 21.
Tip-off is set for 6pm at Matthew Knight Arena. Pac-12 Networks will televise the game.
Stats courtesy of goducks.com and uclabruins.com
