Michigan State women’s basketball junior named to national watch list

A Michigan State SF has been named to national watch list

Michigan State women’s basketball is gearing up for a huge second season under new head coach Robyn Fralick after a round of 32 appearance in the NCAA Tournament just a year ago.

For the Spartans to have success in the upcoming year, the Spartans will need to rely heavily on junior small forward Grace VanSlooten, a transfer from Oregon.

The Spartans wing has been named to the Cheryl Miller Award preseason watchlist, honoring the nation’s top small forward.

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Oregon women’s basketball roster loses three big pieces to transfer portal

Grace VanSlooten, Chance Gray and Kennedy Basham all leave the Oregon programs and enter the transfer portal.

The Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team didn’t have the best of seasons, and this might make things worse before they get better.

Head coach Kelly Graves just saw three of his top players leave and enter the transfer portal in one day as forwards Grace VanSlooten and Kennedy Basham as well as shooting guard Chance Gray have all decided to go play elsewhere.

This was just a few days after guard Priscilla Williams announced her intentions to enter the portal.

That leaves four huge holes Graves will have to fill before next season and no doubt he will be perusing the portal the best he can in this new world of college athletics.

VanSlooten came to Oregon as a five-star recruit from Toledo, Ohio where she averaged 14.1 points and 6.4 rebounds in her two seasons. She was an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention.

Gray was the No. 7 player in the nation when she committed to Oregon from Cincinnati. In her two years as a Duck, she averaged 12 point a game and was named to the All-Pac-12 Freshman team in 2022-23. She made 115 three-pointers last season.

Basham was one of the top post players to come out of high school when she committed to Oregon, but she suffered a knee injury that slowed her in her freshman season. In her two years, Basham played in 47 games, averaging 3.5 points and 2.8 rebounds a game.

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WBB Recap: Beavers deny Oregon its upset bid with key plays late

Oregon women’s basketball had a chance to shock the world with an upset over OSU, but the defense broke down late in the 64-60 loss.

It’s a game that was there for the taking.

The Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team is going to look at film on this game and kick themselves as they let a huge upset over No. 18 Oregon State slip away. But it was the Beavers that escaped Matthew Knight Arena with a 64-60 win in front of 8,602 fans.

Not a whole lot has gone right for the Ducks this season, but they found themselves down just one at 54-53 with 4:30 left in the contest. But the Beavers took advantage of some huge holes in Oregon’s 2-3 zone to go on an 8-2 run in two minutes to pull away.

Phillipina Kyei led the Ducks with 16 points and 18 rebounds, while Grace VanSlooten added 14 points. Chance Gray poured in 15 points on 6-of-15 from the field.

Timea Gardiner had a career-high 19 points for the Beavers with Raegan Beers adding 14 and Talia Von Oelhoffen scoring 10 points. But it was Lily Hansford’s two long-range bombs on consecutive possessions late in the game that was too much for the Ducks to overcome.

Hansford shoots over 50 percent from the three-point line and somehow she was the one left open in the zone and the left-hander knocked down the big shots.

Oregon State threatened to run the Ducks out of the building early as they took a 26-15 lead in the second quarter. Oregon’s offense wasn’t hitting on any cylinders and the Beavers were finding their way. But a 10-0 Duck run towards the halftime break brought them back into the contest and it was just 30-25 OSU after 20 minutes of action.

With the loss, the Ducks now have a losing overall record at 11-12. Oregon State continues its hot play as it improves to 18-3 overall and 7-3 in Pac-12 play.

It’s not going to get any easier for the Ducks as they now travel to the Mountain schools with No. 6 Colorado next on the docket on Friday.

WBB Recap: Ducks complete weekend sweep with close win over Arizona

Despite 27 turnovers, the Oregon women’s basketball was able to hold off Arizona 70-68 for their second straight conference win.

Just 48 hours earlier, the Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team’s season was on life support. But after some home cooking and a weekend sweep over the Arizona schools, the Ducks have plenty of life left.

Oregon completed the weekend sweep with a 70-68 win over Arizona to move to 11-7 overall and 2-3 in conference action. The Wildcats suffered a tough weekend in the Willamette Valley as they fell to 10-7 overall and 2-3 in league play. The two-point loss in Eugene came after a double-overtime loss in Corvallis to the Beavers.

Grace VanSlooten led Oregon with 19 points, including 9-of-10 from the free throw line. The Ducks were 19-of-28 from the charity stripe to Arizona’s 5-of-10.

Chance Gray and Phillipina Kyei each scored 13 points for the Ducks. The Wildcats were led by Jada Williams’ career-high 23 points.

It was a back-and-forth final quarter with Oregon leading throughout, but it was two threes from Sammie Wagner that gave the Ducks some breathing room.

Despite that, the Wildcats still had a shot at the buzzer for the win, but Skylar Jones’ desperation 35-footer was off the mark and the Ducks held on.

It wasn’t exactly a picture-perfect game. Both teams turned the ball over at inordinate amounts. Oregon had 27 turnovers, while Arizona was charged with 15 miscues.

Unfortunately, not many were able to watch this close affair as the game was not available for fans to attend due to the icy conditions in the Eugene-Springfield area. Only a few family and friends of the two teams were able to witness the contest in person.

Now the Ducks will go to No. 8 Stanford and California next week, starting with the Cardinal Friday, Jan. 19 on the Pac-12 Network.

WBB Recap: Ducks find the win column with victory over ASU

WBB Recap: Ducks find the win column with victory over ASU

It had been a long three weeks between wins for the Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team and all they needed was a little home cooking.

Playing a team 1-20 in their last 21 conference games helped too.

The Ducks used a big second half and defeated Arizona State 65-53 to capture their first Pac-12 victory. Oregon is now 10-7 overall and 1-3 in league action. The Sun Devils are 8-8 and 0-4 in Pac-12 play.

It was 33-29 Ducks at halftime, but then Oregon outscored ASU 16-6 in the third quarter and cruised in the fourth.

Chance Gray led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-17 from the field, including the team’s only two three-pointers on the night. Grace VanSlooten added 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Phillipina Kyei put up her 10th double-double of the season with 14 points and 14 rebounds.

Arizona State was led by Journey Thompson’s 12 points.

The bigger Duck team pounded the Sun Devils on the glass to the tune of a 48-27 advantage which included 19 boards on the offensive end and 19 second-chance points.

Now the Ducks will try to build upon this win as they host Arizona Sunday, Jan. 14 for a 12 pm tip.

WBB Recap: Ducks collapse in second half against the Beavers

Oregon State crushes Oregon in the second half to take Round 1 of the Civil War in Corvallis.

The Oregon women’s basketball team had the Beavers on the ropes in Corvallis, but let Oregon State off the hook due to poor offensive execution.

The Ducks could muster up just 18 points in the second half, while Oregon State got hot and the Beavers took Round 1 of the Civil War 62-41.

Grace VanSlooten led the Ducks with 15 points and Phillippina Kyei added six points and 16 rebounds.

But those efforts weren’t nearly enough against a tenacious Beaver team that made several halftime adjustments after going down 23-15 at halftime.

A part of those adjustments weren’t very complicated. Oregon State began to hit shots, especially its three-pointers. After not hitting one trey in the first half, the Beavers torched the Ducks from the outside by going 5-of-10 from the outside in the second half and 18-of-30 from the field to outscore the Ducks 47-18 after the halftime break.

Raegan Beers had a career night by putting up 24 points and 17 rebounds.

Oregon State was quicker, bigger and quite frankly, tougher than Oregon and that showed up in a big way in the second half. The Ducks just couldn’t get any rhythm offensively and struggled to find open shots.

Oregon fell to 9-5 overall, while the Beavers remained undefeated at 12-0. The Ducks will now go down to Los Angeles to face two Top 10 teams in USC and UCLA.

 

WBB Recap: Ducks have no answers for Utah Tech’s hot shooting

Utah Tech made 21 three-pointers and held on to defeat Oregon 92-86.

It’s simple math.

When the opponent is hitting threes and you’re answering with twos, the math isn’t going to work in your favor.

That was the case for the Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team as Utah Tech made 21 three-pointers to defeat Oregon 92-86 in the Trailblazers Classic.

Those 21 bombs from the outside was just one off the school record for the Trailblazers. They were an amazing 21-of-31 from long range. Oregon wasn’t all that bad itself as the Ducks were 10-of-22 from downtown, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

Utah Tech’s Breaunna Gillan was credited with a triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Grace VanSlooten led the way for the Ducks with 25 points and nine rebounds. Chance Gray scored 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting from three-point land. Her quick trio of treys towards the end of the third quarter brought Oregon back into the game and made it a single-digit deficit at 69-64 as the fourth quarter began.

The Ducks made it a one-possession game a few times in the fourth, but never tied the game or took the lead.

Oregon falls to 8-4 on the season, while Utah Tech out of the WAC improved to 7-4. The Ducks will stay in St. George, Utah and take on Oklahoma State on Thursday for the last non-conference game of the season. Oregon opens the Pac-12 slate with the Civil War in Corvallis New Year’s Eve.

WBB Recap: Ducks get defensive in big 30-point win over Southern

WBB Recap: Oregon overwhelms Southern 67-37 with a big first half and a career night for Phillipina Kyei.

All the Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team needed was a little home cooking.

The Ducks won their third straight game with a 67-37 win over Southern to improve to 7-3 for the season. Oregon defeated Idaho and Portland State on back-to-back days this past weekend.

Southern dropped to 1-7 on the year.

Unlike in their previous two games, the Ducks were able to put the Jaguars away fairly early in the contest. They took a 36-19 halftime lead and cruised in the second half.

Phillipina Kyei led the Ducks with 16 points and a career-high 21 rebounds. Grace VanSlooten and Chance Gray each added 15 points for Oregon. They each had five assists.

Southern didn’t have anyone in double figures, but Sky Castro did lead the Jags with eight points.

Oregon will end its four-game homestand on Sunday, Dec. 17 when the Ducks host Texas-San Antonio. After that, the Ducks will head to St. George, Utah to play in the Trailblazer Classic where Oregon will face Utah Tech Dec. 19 and Oklahoma State Dec. 21.

Pac-12 play finally gets underway New Year’s Eve with the Civil War in Corvallis.

WBB Recap: Ducks hand Grand Canyon its first loss of the season

In their first road test of the season, the Oregon women’s basketball team defeated Grand Canyon 64-56.

In their first road test of the season, the Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team passed with a 64-56 win over Grand Canyon.

Grace VanSlooten led the way with 21 points and nine rebounds with Phillipina Kyei adding 13 points and 16 rebounds.

With the win, Oregon moves to 3-0 on the season and the Lopes, out of the WAC, dropped to 2-1.

Chance Gray scored 11 points by going 7-of-8 from the free throw line and Sofia Bell was able to score nine points, all coming from the three-point stripe.

The Ducks were up 25-19 in a defensive first half and maintained that lead throughout the game, but GCU was able to cut the lead to two on a couple of occasions. Oregon held a double-digit lead only to watch it evaporate twice thanks to the Lopes going 5-of-6 from long distance in the third quarter.

Thankfully for Oregon, that prowess from the three-point line didn’t last for the home Lopes. They were just 1-of-12 in the fourth quarter and 7-of-28 for the game.

The Ducks weren’t exactly much better, however.

Oregon was 3-of-14 from long range and just 20-of-58 (34.5 percent) from the field overall. The Ducks did make 21-of-29 from the free throw line.

It’s no rest for the weary for Oregon as it comes home to face Santa Clara on Saturday for a 12 pm tip-off at Matthew Knight Arena. The Broncos are 3-1 for the season with their only defeat coming at the hands of California last week.

WBB Recap: Ducks defense stops Lumberjacks in their tracks

Oregon began the women’s basketball season on a good note with an 81-48 win over Northern Arizona.

Oregon Ducks women’s basketball fans have to remember it’s just Nov. 6 and this is far from a finished product. The Ducks defense was sound and the offense was good enough, with some flashes of brilliance, as Oregon handed Northern Arizona an 81-48 loss inside Matthew Knight Arena.

Head coach Kelly Graves is working with almost a brand new roster with just four returners off of last year’s squad, so he’ll be mixing and matching lineups for quite a while.

Players such as Chance Gray and Grace VanSlooten will see the majority of the playing time. The only question will be who plays around them for the most amount of time. Freshman Sofia Bell out of Portland and redshirt freshman Sammie Wagner both made an impression as both played well.