Fresh off a dominant 4-0 start, the Ducks will travel to Corvallis for their first top-25 showdown against the Oregon State Beavers.

The last time Oregon stepped into Gill Coliseum was Jan. 26, 2020. That Sunday, the Ducks secured a victory against Oregon State in Corvallis for the first time since 2010. It was the same day the team rallied behind Sabrina Ionescu as they mourned the loss of Kobe Bryant. 

But a new team will be coming to face No. 15 ranked Oregon State this year. A different team, a different atmosphere, but the same goal.

The Beavers are looking to bounce back after their surprising 79-85 loss to Utah at home for their first loss of the season. For their Pac-12 conference opener, they swept past Colorado 79-53. 

“They’re going to play with a little more desperation knowing that they can’t lose another game at home I wouldn’t think,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said. “They’re going to be really focused and we have to make sure our kids understand that, listen, you can’t go and compare scores.” 

Oregon State’s guard Aleah Goodman has exploded in the past two games, scoring 20-plus in back-to-back games and leads the team averaging 17.7 points per game thus far. Goodman was named to the Preseason All Pac-12 Selection and is currently first in OSU’s career 3-point percentage at 42.9%. Maddie Scherr and Te-Hina Paopao will need to run her off the three point line. 

Behind Goodman, Oregon State’s Sasha Goforth has started well in her first year of play for the Beavers. The freshman earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors this past week and scored double-figures in all of the first four games of play. The Ducks will need to contain both Goodman and Goforth and from lighting it up offensively.

“She’s a great player,” Graves said. “She’s athletic and long. So she’s going to be a matchup headache for whoever we have to put on her. She just attacks the basket so well and gets to the line a lot.” 

Goforth’s long, athletic build makes her a concern on defense as well, fitting perfectly into OSU’s defense. 

“She’s going to be a great player for them, already is,” Graves said. “She’s got a lot of upside as well.”

In the post, Oregon State’s Taya Corosdale and Taylor Jones present a challenging matchup for the Ducks, with Jones scoring a combined 43 points in their first two games. 

Oregon’s Sedona Prince would be the first choice to match up with either of them on the block, but her status for Sunday’s game is currently questionable after sitting on the sidelines in a walking boot last game. If Prince is to play this weekend, she would match up well lengthwise with Oregon State’s bigs down low, but if not, others will have to step up in her absence. 

“It’s going to be a formidable match up, but I like what Nyara’s done defensively on the interior and Sedona can give us that length as well,” Graves said. “Lydia, of course, has also gone through the wars with these guys the whole time. We can match up with length, we just have to keep them off the block.”

Graves is prepared to play deep in the Duck’s bench once again, with 12 different players scoring at least twice this season and at least ten out of the 13 players have scored in all four games. 

Oregon currently stands at No. 8 and will need solid play from both ends of the floor to secure their first top-25 win of the season and a win against their rivals up the I5 freeway. 

“I anticipate a really tough, tough, hard-nosed game,” Graves said.