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The Daily Wildcat

The Daily Wildcat

 

Preview: Arizona WBB heads into the final weekend of the regular season

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Nathanial Stenchever

Kailyn Gilbert, a guard on the Arizona women’s basketball team, dribbles down the court on Nov. 13, 2022 in McKale Center. The Wildcats would go on to win 87-47.

The Arizona women’s basketball team enters the final weekend of the regular season with a record of 21-6 and 11-5 in Pac-12 play. This weekend, Arizona travels to Oregon to play the University of Oregon on Thursday, Feb. 23 and Oregon State University on Saturday, Feb. 25.

Last weekend, Arizona defended their home court by going 2-0, knocking off the No. 4 University of Utah 82-72 on Friday, Feb. 17 and the No. 21 University of Colorado 61-42 on Sunday, Feb. 19.

No. 14 Arizona at Oregon: Thursday, Feb. 23

Oregon enters their matchup against Arizona with a record of 14-13 and 5-11 in Pac-12 play. Both teams met earlier this season on Jan. 8, in a ranked head-to-head matchup which saw No. 15 Arizona defeat No. 18 Oregon 79-71. Since their last matchup, Oregon has gone an astonishing 2-9, losing seven straight games dating back to Jan. 29.

Oregon is led by senior guard Endyia Rogers, freshman forward Grace VanSlooten and sophomore center Phillipina Kyei. Rogers leads Oregon in scoring, averaging 16 points per game along with four rebounds per game. She is followed by VanSlooten, who is averaging 14.3 points per game, while also hauling in 6.2 rebounds per game this season.

Kyei is the tallest player to ever suit up for Oregon at 6-foot-8. So far this season, she averages 11 rebounds per game and seven points per game. Her 11 rebounds per game are ninth-best in the country. Oregon also receives scoring support from both freshman guard Chance Gray and junior guard Te-Hina Paopao, who average 11 and 11.2 points per game, respectively.

Oregon has an all-time record of 45-32 against Arizona. Oregon won 10 straight games against Arizona between Feb. 2017 and March 2020. However, since snapping their 10-game losing streak to Oregon in Jan. 2021, Arizona has won four of their last five matchups, including the last two.

Record against AP Top 25:

Oregon is 1-7 against Top 25 opponents this season.

No. 14 Arizona at Oregon State: Sunday, Feb. 25

Oregon State is 11-16 and 3-13 in Pac-12 play this season. Arizona rallied to beat Oregon State in McKale Center 72-69 when they met earlier this season on Jan. 6. Since their matchup, Oregon State has gone 2-10, losing eight straight games dating back to Jan. 27.

While Oregon State has struggled recently, they have had several close games that unfortunately did not fall their way. Some close losses during their losing streak included a 63-60 loss to No. 3 Stanford University, a 64-62 loss to the University of California Berkeley, a 75-73 overtime loss to the No. 7 University of Utah and a 60-56 overtime loss to USC.

Oregon State is led by sophomore guard Talia von Oelhoffen, freshman forward Raegan Beers, freshman forward Timea Gardiner and senior guard Bendu Yeaney. Von Oelhoffen leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.2 points per game while also pulling in five rebounds per game. Beers is second on the team in scoring with 12.9 points per game, but her 8.7 rebounds per game lead the team. She is followed by Gardiner and Yeaney who average 9.5 and 8.4 points per game, respectively.

Oregon State has an all-time record of 38-36 against Arizona. However, Arizona has won five straight matchups against Oregon State, dating back to Feb. 2020. Prior to winning five straight games, Arizona had lost 12 in a row against Oregon State between Jan. 2013 and Jan. 2020.

Record against AP Top 25:

Oregon State is 2-7 against Top 25 opponents this season.


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