Oregon Ducks Face Tall Task vs Oregon State Beavers

The first Civil War between Oregon State and Oregon takes place Friday night and the Ducks have a lot to play for.

Matthew Knight Arena will host the first Women’s Basketball Civil War that will have some meaning in the Standings for the Oregon Ducks. While Oregon State sits at the top of the Pac-12 Conference, the Ducks are muddled in the middle of the Conference, but have some positive momentum entering the first matchup of two over the weekend.

Sabrina Ionescu has shown she can play. The Freshman has become a Star for the Ducks with three triple-doubles already in 2016. She is nearly recovered from a broken thumb that hampered her earlier in Pac-12 play, but she showed persistence in a win over Cal on the road with a final buzzer-beating shot. The key on Friday night will be to stay out of foul trouble early.

Ionescu has a solid supporting cast led by Maite Cazorla and of late Jacinta Vandenberg has shown good inside presence, but admitted recently she needs to take more shots. Oregon may need her to against Oregon State.

Oregon State is on the right end of the stick winning eleven straight in the series over Oregon. Both teams enter the game winning four of their last five. The Beavers come in at number 8 Nationally in RPI and a win by the Ducks would give them a solid boost in that area.

Sydney Weise is the one to watch for Oregon State. She owns the record for career three-pointers in the Pac-12 Conference and showed against Stanford earlier this season that she can step up to the challenge with 26 points scoring 13 in overtime and putting in 47 minute on the floor when she was needed most.

The Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers tipoff Friday night from Matthew Knight Arena. (8pm Pacific Time, Pac-12 Network)