Oregon women set for key battle, Hawks lose and Thorns get nabbed
The Oregon men's basketball team, fresh from a weekend sweep of the Washington schools, is in Los Angeles with a chance to move into second place in the Pac-12 Conference.
Oregon plays at USC Thursday night, then at UCLA Saturday.
The Trojans and Bruins are both at 8-5 in conference play, with the Ducks tied with Washington at 7-5. Oregon held Washington to just 40 points in its 65-40 win over the Huskies Thursday. They followed it up with a 84-57 win over Washington State.
Oregon State, in 10th place at 5-7, plays UCLA and USC as well.
Arizona leads the conference at 10-3.
2. OREGON WOMEN GET No. 7 UCLA THIS WEEKEND
The Oregon women's basketball team, fresh from a pair of wins over the Washington schools, plays host to the Southern California schools this weekend, with No. 7 UCLA on tap for 7 p.m. Monday night.
The ninth-ranked Ducks, Bruins and Stanford are tied atop the Pac-12 Conference standings at 12-2, wich Oregon State in fourth at 10-4. The Beavers, ranked 15th, get their shot at the Bruins on Friday night in Corvallis.
USC, in seventh in the conference at 7-7, plays at Oregon on Friday, and OSU on Sunday.
Both Oregon schools wrap up the regular season with games in Arizona, then head to the conference tournament in Las Vegas, March 2.
3. WINTERHAWKS RUN OUT OF SHOTS
Portland's Valentine's Day game with Vancouver turned went vastly haywire as the Hawks outshot the Giants 49-19, but still lost 4-2.
Portland has a week off to prep for a home game with Kelowna before a three-game road trip.
4. THORNS STARS HEAD FOR NATIONAL DUTY
Portland Thorns midfielder Lindsey Horan and defender Emily Sonnett were named to the 26-player preliminary U.S. Women’s National Team roster Wednesday.
The USWNT plays host to the SheBelieves Cup for a third consecutive year with matches against Germany, France and England. Head coach Jill Ellis will name the final 23-player tournament roster near the end of training camp that begins Monday.
The opening games of the tournament will take place March 1 at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, as the United States squares off against Germany at 4 p.m.