No. 24 Oregon Concludes Road Trip with Rivalry Matchup Against Oregon State

As March slowly approaches, the Oregon Ducks are pushing their way through the Pac-12 slate. They've handled adversity all season, including most recently after a harsh trip to the desert, responding with a 53-point road win against Washington State on Wednesday.

The Ducks were a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the court, shooting over 50% from the floor while holding WSU to just 17.5% shooting and its lowest scoring total in a game in nearly 14 years.

They pulled off that masterful performance without leading scorer and rebounder Nyara Sabally, who's status for Friday's game is uncertain. Sedona Prince stepped up into the starting lineup and delivered 12 points on 5-6 shooting. The dynamic backcourt of Endyia Rogers and Te-Hina Paopao outscored the Cougars on their own and played lockdown defense against the Cougars' talented guards.

Paopao desperately needed to find her mark shooting the ball after a cold pair of outings in Arizona. In her one career game against Oregon State last season, she scored a then-career high 22 points on 9-15 shooting and 4-5 from three.

Oregon has a chance to split its four-game road trip heading into Corvallis to face Oregon State, who seems to be going in the wrong direction of late. The Beavers have lost each of their last three games by double digits, including most recently to No. 2 Stanford by 23 points.

These aren't the same Beavers that knocked off the Ducks twice in five years at the end of last season, including in the Pac-12 Tournament. Head Coach Scott Rueck has a young team that's missing star center Taylor Jones, who will miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury.

She had been averaging 12.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game through her first nine games, shooting an incredible 64.9% from the floor. Her post presence and skill has been missed sorely and will be missed against the Ducks' frontcourt of Prince and Sabally (if she's good to go).

6-foot-6 sophomore Kennedy Brown has helped defend the paint and pull down rebounds in place of Jones, but her offensive game is not quite on the level of Jones. Oregon State ranks second in the Pac-12 in rebounding with 41.4 rebounds per game and second in blocked shots with 5.7 per game.

The Beavers have turned to freshman guard Talia von Oelhoffen, who enrolled early last winter, to lead their young team in her first full season. She paces the team with 14.4 points per game and 3.1 assists per game. von Oelhoffen shined against the Ducks in the Pac-12 Tournament last season, scoring 19 points, including 13 in the second half.

von Oelhoffen is one of eight players in the Pac-12 to record a 30-point game, and she is one of two freshmen in the conference to do it, scoring 31 points in an overtime win over USC on Jan. 28.

This meeting between Oregon and Oregon State is the 108th meeting between the two schools. The Ducks have taken the last two meetings in Corvallis and five of the last eight overall.

Friday night's game is the first of rivalry weekend, as the teams will also face off in Eugene on Sunday afternoon. The Ducks have a chance to earn some revenge for the two losses handed to them last season with a pair of strong outings this weekend.

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