Oregon
USC women’s basketball takes care of business against Oregon
USC women’s basketball (12-1, 2-1 Pac-12) completed the weekend sweep of two Oregon universities to begin the New Year with a 68-54 victory over the Oregon Ducks (9-7, 0-3) on Sunday at Galen Center. In the win, USC tied a season high with 25 assists and committed just six turnovers.
USC freshman guard JuJu Watkins had a team-high 17 points, along with nine rebounds and six assists in 37 minutes. Watkins’ point total was a season low, yet her impact was felt beyond just scoring.
“She’s a winner more than anything else,” head coach Lindsey Gottlieb said. “She can hurt you in a number of ways. And we’re just glad she’s a part of our team, because it’s leading to a lot of winning along with her teammates.”
Oregon sophomore forward Grace VanSlooten had a game-high 18 points, plus six rebounds.
USC junior center Rayah Marshall and graduate guard McKenzie Forbes added 16 points each.
The Trojans came into the game undersized compared to the Ducks — who started 6-foot-8 junior center Phillipina Kyei and 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Kennedy Basham — forcing USC to find different ways of neutralizing the Ducks’ bigs.
At the start of the game, the size was an apparent problem for the Trojans. Marshall had no answer for Kyei, who had eight early points and dominated the paint with her height advantage.
The Ducks had the lead for most of the first quarter, but a three from USC redshirt sophomore guard Taylor Bigby (a transfer from Oregon prior to last season) allowed USC to take a one-point lead into the second quarter.
Gottlieb turned to 6-foot-6 junior center Clarice Akunwafo over Marshall to begin the second quarter, rejuvenating the Trojans’ defense. Akunwafo’s impact was instantly felt, making two blocks in her first three minutes of play.
“I think we just have to figure out the best way for us to be the most effective basketball team we can be,” Gottlieb said. “We have a lot of depth and versatility options.”
The Trojans’ defense held the Ducks to only ten points in the second quarter, closing out the first half with a 30-23 lead.
The third quarter became a back-and-forth between both offenses as Oregon regained a presence in the paint, outscoring the Trojans 10 to four in the area. However, USC still ended the quarter with a six-point lead.
The Trojans broke away in the fourth quarter with significant scoring contributions from Marshall in the post and Forbes’ shooting, closing the game with a double-digit win at home.
After slow starts, Marshall and Forbes found their rhythm, with both of them scoring double digits in the second half, and offering another option on offense beyond Watkins. Marshall came alive in the paint, providing her strong rebounding ability; she grabbed six of her nine rebounds in the second half.
“I am proud of my teammate Clarice. When I came into the locker room for halftime, she told me to play better defense,” Marshall said. “I did that when I came out, made that [defensive] adjustment. I was like, wow.”
USC is back in action next Sunday in a rematch versus the No. 2 UCLA Bruins (14-0, 3-0) at 2 p.m. at Galen Center. The Trojans suffered their first-season loss against the Bruins just a week ago.
“The game plan doesn’t change: box the heck out, go be the tougher team, and try to keep them off the boards. That’s what we have to do,” Gottlieb said ahead of the rematch. “There’s no way to beat UCLA unless you’re willing to do the dirty work on the boards.”
Oregon
Where Oregon Ducks rank in industry recruiting rankings for 2027 class
With the winter evaluation period of high school football recruiting now behind us, we’ve seen some of the top recruiting sites update their rankings over the past few weeks and start to reset their boards for the 2027 class. In February, On3 shifted players around after getting fresh looks at the class, and 247Sports did the same earlier this week.
So with Oregon’s handful of commits getting new ratings, where does the Ducks’ class rank nationally in this cycle?
If you look at sites individually, it looks different, with 247Sports having Oregon sitting at No. 13 in the nation. At Rivals, though, they take the industry ranking, which factors in their own rankings, plus an average from 247Sports and ESPN.
In the industry rankings, Oregon sits at No. 9 in the nation, with five commitments.
Going into the summer months, the Ducks are in a great spot, leading or among the top schools for a handful of the top prospects in the nation, like 5-star QB Will Mencl or 5-star WR Dakota Guerrant. We will see what movement Oregon can make in the coming months after official visits take place early in the summer.
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Oregon
New Data Shows Oregon E-Scooter Injuries on the Rise
Data released by the Oregon Health Authority this week suggests Oregonians are getting hurt on electric scooters more every year.
In recent years, according to OHA, an “e-scooter-specific code” was developed for health care tracking purposes.
From 2021 to 2024, annual injury reports under this code from Oregon hospitals and emergency departments jumped from 211 to 418.
And in just the first nine months of 2025, there had been 509 such reports.
“These injuries are not minor scrapes,” said Dagan Wright, an OHA epidemiologist, in a written statement. “They often involve head injuries, broken bones, and other serious trauma that requires emergency or inpatient care.”
The city of Portland signed contracts with three e-scooter rental companies in 2018, as the transportation craze spread across the country. But e-scooter injury diagnosis codes are relatively new in health care reporting, Wright said in the OHA statement.
“While the overall numbers remain smaller than for other transportation-related injuries, the rapid increase over a short period of time is a clear safety signal,” OHA added.
The agency highlighted the story of Portland e-scooter commuter Daniel Pflieger, who it says was riding a scooter home when he reportedly slid on ice. He bruised several ribs.
Sometimes outcomes are worse. OHA identified 17 deaths linked to electric or motorized scooters since 2018, and seven of those occurred in 2025.
OHA says that e-bikes raise many similar safety concerns as e-scooters. The first full year for which e-bike injuries were coded for reporting was 2023. State data shows 392 reported e-bike injuries that year, 683 in 2024, and 760 in the first nine months of 2025.
“Injuries involving e-bikes and e-scooters share common risk factors—speed, lack of helmet use, roadway design, and interactions with motor vehicles,” Wright said.
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Oregon
Oregon women’s basketball playing for March Madness seeding vs. Purdue
Hear Oregon women’s Graves, Etute and Fiso after loss to Washington
The Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team finishes the regular season with a March 1 home loss to Washington.
At times, the Oregon women’s basketball team has certainly made things much harder on themselves than it needs to be. The team has also produced some miraculous comeback victories, putting itself in position to make women’s March Madness for the second straight season.
March 1, in their final regular season game, the Ducks (20-11, 8-10 Big Ten) finished on the wrong end of yet another tight game to Washington, 70-69. It’s the second time this season Oregon has come back from a double-digit deficit, but ended up losing to the Huskies (20-9, 10-8).
Those aren’t the only times Oregon has come back from a double-digit deficit, like it did in wins vs. Nebraska and USC. The No. 11-seed Ducks are hoping they won’t need heroics in a Big Ten tournament first-round game against No. 14 Purdue this Wednesday.
Watch Oregon basketball on Peacock
“I think our biggest weakness this year has been our inconsistency,” coach Kelly Graves said, “something we’ve battled all year. The great thing is our kids know, regardless of the score, we’ve got a chance. We’ll make it a game at some point. As a coach, it drives you nuts. Hopefully we can figure it out and play more consistent basketball.”
Oregon’s volatility has seen it earn three double-digit comeback wins this year, but also blow several games in the final moments.
Against Wisconsin, the Ducks held a 6-point lead with less than a minute remaining, but lost in overtime. Against Illinois, Oregon held a 21-point lead at halftime, blew it in the third quarter, trailed by eight with minutes to play and somehow eked out a win.
That makes UO somewhat of a wild card heading into the conference tournament this week at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
“It’s definitely (been) a rollercoaster,” guard Katie Fiso said. “A lot of highs and a lot of lows. But one thing that I try to see through all games is our grittiness and our toughness. One thing that stays consistent throughout the season is our toughness and our grittiness. The game isn’t over until the last bell rings.”
The Ducks will be taking on a Boilermakers (13-16, 5-13) team that has struggled against most of the top competition in the league, but played Oregon tight in a Feb. 25 Ducks win.
Graves said when the Ducks went throughout the postgame handshake line after, the Boilermakers felt like their season would end after the regular season. Thanks to some upsets, Purdue is in the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 14 seed.
“We’re playing a team that probably feels like it’s playing with house money,” Graves said. “We’ve got to pick ourselves back up and get it done.”
What channel is Oregon vs. Purdue on today in Big Ten tournament?
Oregon will tip off vs. Purdue on Peacock, with no TV option to watch the game.
Oregon vs. Purdue start time in Big Ten tournament
- Date: Wednesday, March 4
- Time: Around 5:30 p.m. PT
Oregon and Purdue will play around 5:30 p.m. PT at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The first game of the day begins at 12:30 p.m. PT, with the next game 25 minutes after the first game ends, and so on. The Ducks play in the third game of the day, so no official tip time is listed.
Oregon women’s basketball schedule 2025-26
Below are the past five games of Oregon’s 2025-26 basketball season. For the full schedule, click here.
| Feb. 15 | Washington 51, Oregon 43 |
| Feb. 19 | Oregon 80, Nebraska 76 |
| Feb. 22 | Indiana 72, Oregon 65 |
| Feb. 25 | Oregon 71, Purdue 65 |
| March 1 | Washington 70, Oregon 69 |
| March 4 | Oregon vs. Purdue (Big Ten tournament) |
Purdue women’s basketball schedule 2025-26
Below are the past five games of Purdue’s 2025-26 basketball season. For the full schedule, click here.
Feb. 14
Purdue 72, Rutgers 57
Feb. 19
Iowa 83, Purdue 74
Feb. 22
Maryland 99, Purdue 66
Feb. 25
Oregon 71, Purdue 65
March 1
Purdue 67, Northwestern 62
March 4
Oregon vs. Purdue (Big Ten tournament)
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football and women’s basketball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com.
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