Oregon women’s basketball is off to a hot start. It’s 5-0 (4-0 at home, 1-0 away), scoring at least 80 points in each game and, so far, the three guard lineup has been working well for head coach Kelly Graves. The Ducks did take a hit in the second game of the season, when Elisa Mevius took a season ending injury in the fourth quarter against the Montana Grizzlies, but they bounced back with Ari Long in Mevius’ role. 

After their dominant, 70-34 win over Utah State on Nov. 23, the Ducks head into an early season tournament in Frisco, Texas — the Hoopfest Women’s Challenge. It’s a two game series held at Comerica Center, where Oregon will take on Saint Mary’s College on Nov. 25, then after a day off play Old Dominion University on Nov. 27.

The Ducks season begins to ramp up after this tournament. From Nov. 30 through Dec. 7, Oregon plays tough teams in Auburn University, Oregon State and highly ranked UCLA. The tournament in Texas serves as a shift in the Ducks season. Although both teams Oregon is playing are not ranked, they offer strong competition. 

Saint Mary’s (5-1) is a solid squad. With just one loss — to Cal by 8 points on Nov. 20 — the Gaels shouldn’t be a nail-biting game for Oregon, though there are some players to watch out for. 

Sophomore Edie Clarke is the driving point of the team. The power forward from Melbourne, Australia leads the Gaels in minutes played at 147, points at 54 and shoots 58 percent from the field. Clarke is also a tremendous rebounder: she has 31 total on the year — 15 on offense and 16 on defense. 

The other Gaels star that the Ducks are going to have to lend attention to is guard Addi Wedin. The redshirt junior from Happy Valley, Oregon is the leading 3-point shooter for Saint Mary’s, shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc, 45.7 percent from the field and sits one point behind Clarke with 53. 

The Gaels have also been running the same style as the Ducks — a three-guard starting lineup with Wedin, Jada Hunter and Malia Latu. Saint Mary’s does not play at the same pace as Oregon; they are noticeably slower on the court and do not control the ball as well. The Gaels have 17.0 turnovers per game, ranked 183rd nationally, through six games. The Ducks only have 12.6, 28th-best in the nation.

Despite the success that the Gaels display in rebounding, the Ducks have a stronger overall roster. The Gales run behind Clarke and Medin, the Ducks have the ability to turn to their bench and get a solid performance out of the rest of the team. With this, and the faster pace of play coupled with better ball control, Oregon should not have a problem dealing with the Gaels. 

Game two, against Old Dominion University (5-1) looks to be a cake walk for Oregon. The Big Blue have the same record as the Gaels, but have struggled in competitive games despite blowing weaker opponents out of the water. Old Dominion beat the College of William and Mary by three points, East Carolina University by six and dropped their lone game so far to the University of Massachusetts, which beat them by six.

Old Dominion, like Saint Mary’s, has an issue with turnovers, averaging 18.2 per game, which is 223rd in the nation. The two biggest culprits are starters Simaru Fields, who has 18, and Nevaeh Scott, who has 17. The Old Dominion squad is dependent on three starters: En’Dya Buford, Simone Cunningham and Simaru Fields. They drive the offense, but that’s about it. 

The only starter who is able to play on both ends of the court is Buford. She has 30 rebounds, 19 of those coming on defense, she has 15 steals and two blocks. The other player who excels on defense is Riley Stack. Stack has 27 rebounds, 20 on defense, and 14 blocks.  

Besides Buford and Stack, the rest of Old Dominion is lackluster. Oregon is better in almost every aspect of the game. After what should be a semi-competitive game against Saint Mary’s, Old Dominion looks to be a breeze. 

The Ducks have two relatively simple matchups in this tournament. It’s their chance to fine-tune parts of their game that may need some special attention before they go into tougher competition and eventual conference play. 

Oregon opens tournament play in Frisco Nov. 25 against Saint Mary’s.