When the Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team began this season, fans weren’t sure what to expect.
The team saw seven new faces join the roster, but together they formed the No. 3 ranked recruiting class in the nation. With so much inexperience on the roster, the media selected the Ducks to finish seventh in the Pac-12. However, the team concluded the nonconference portion of their schedule with a 10-2 record. The Ducks picked up a signature victory when they beat then-No. 24 Michigan State at home by 33 points. Their only losses were to No. 5 Mississippi State in Honolulu, Hawaii and Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi.
“We knew we’d have some ups and downs with a young team,” head coach Kelly Graves told reporters after Oregon’s nonconference schedule concluded with a win over Idaho.
The Ducks get Pac-12 play started this weekend, and will be one of the more intriguing teams and a loaded conference race. Oregon will start it’s Pac-12 schedule with a home matchup against the No. 9 Washington Huskies on Friday. This weekend will mark Oregon’s only games against the Washington schools this season. The Huskies are led by a pair of seniors in guard Kelsey Plum and forward/center Chantel Osahor. Plum leads the nation in scoring with 30.2 points per game and is the Pac-12’s current all-time scoring leader. Osahor is averaging a double-double with 14.3 points and 14.2 rebounds per game. Her rebounds total leads the nation.
After a New Year’s Day matchup with 5-7 Washington State Cougars, the Ducks hit the road for a four-game road trip that includes matchups against No. 13 Stanford Cardinal, California Golden Bears, USC Trojans and No. 10 UCLA Bruins. The Cardinal is coached by Tara VanDerveer, who is approaching 1,000 career wins with a record of 989-227. Only one other coach, the late Pat Summitt, has won at least 1,000 career women’s college basketball games.
Following that game, the Ducks will play California and will be challenged by sophomore post Kristine Anigwe, who earlier this season tied the Pac-12 all-time scoring record with a 50-point game against Sacramento State. The Golden Bears had a signature nonconference win, beating then-No. 20 Oklahoma in Las Vegas. In the middle of January, the Ducks head to Los Angeles for games against USC and UCLA. The Trojans went on the road and knocked off then-No.25 Texas A&M in nonconference play. The game against the Bruins could be the third matchup against a top-10 team for the Ducks.
After the trip to Los Angeles, the Ducks return home for two against the Colorado Buffaloes and Utah Utes. The Buffaloes enter Pac-12 play ranked No. 20 after beating No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats at home in their signature non-conference game.
To end the month of January, the Ducks face a weekend doubleheader against Oregon State and senior guard Sydney Wiese, who leads the conference in all-time 3-point shooting. With two more 3-pointers she will become the first player to hit 300 shots from three in a career. The first week of February the Ducks take on No. 18 Arizona State and Arizona on the road in their only matchup against the Arizona schools.
With seven teams ranked in the top-25 and teams around the conference earning quality wins,  there will be several opportunities to add to a potential NCAA tournament resume during Pac-12 play, starting Friday against the No. 9 Huskies.
Follow Zak Laster on Twitter @zlast3445