Some rivalries are natural, the result of in-state hatred.
Others sneak up on you when you least expect it. Consider Arizona’s budding rivalry with No. 19 Oregon, which will visit McKale Center on Friday night in what’s expected to be the loudest — and best-attended — game of the eighth-ranked Wildcats’ home schedule so far.
The game has been on UA fans’ minds since Jan. 15, when Oregon coach Kelly Graves and UA coach Adia Barnes got into it on the sidelines during the Ducks’ overtime win in Eugene. But in reality, the rivalry between Arizona and Oregon has been building for much longer.
The seeds were planted during the 2017-18 season, when the Wildcats won just six games and Oregon won the Pac-12 title. After Oregon beat Arizona 74-61 on the final day of the regular season, the Ducks celebrated their title on the McKale floor.
The rivalry has grown as Arizona’s stature within the Pac-12 — and the country — has elevated. Arizona swept the Ducks last season, and enter Friday’s game ranked No. 8 nationally; Oregon is 19th.
Here’s a look at four big moments in the budding Arizona-Oregon rivalry:
1. A fresh foe
Arizona’s Sam Thomas and Oregon’s Satou Sabally were both freshmen during the 2017-18 season. Thomas averaged 10.2 points, seven rebounds and 1.4 assists per game while adding 39 blocks and 46 steals. Sabally, meanwhile, averaged 10.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game with 26 blocks and 39 steals.
Sabally won Pac-12 Freshman of the Year award even though Thomas edged her in three of the five categories. Why? It was likely because Sabally played on a winning team. Oregon went 33-5 while capturing the Pac-12 title and advancing to the Elite Eight. Arizona, meanwhile, finished 6-24 overall and 2-16 in league play.
Thomas got her revenge two years later, when she held Sabally to nine points — nearly eight below her per-game average — and three rebounds in a Pac-12 Tournament game. Sabally was averaging 16.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game at the time.
2. Cate Reese gets her shot
Arizona beat Oregon twice last season. First, the Wildcats held the Ducks to 32.6% shooting in a 57-41 win in Tucson. The UA then dominated Oregon in Eugene, winning 79-59 thanks to 25 points from forward Cate Reese.
Reese went 11 of 14 from the field and hit all three of her 3-point attempts. Reese said she was motivated after scoring just five points in the first UA-UO matchup; during that game, she said, Oregon players told her that she couldn’t shoot.
“I just heard some stuff they were saying about me,” Reese said with a laugh. “I took that personal.”
3. Duck, Duck … Cat
A few weeks after Arizona played UCLA in April’s national championship game, a Duck became a Wildcat — and a Wildcat became a Duck.
Junior guard Taylor Chavez transferred from Oregon to her native Arizona, in part because she was impressed by Barnes’ program.
“Seeing Coach Adia and how she interacted with her team and just her whole aura and the way she coaches was something that really was attractive to me, and something that I wanted to be a part of,” she said.
Chavez watched the rivalry up close for years. She was in the stands at McKale Center when the Ducks celebrated winning the Pac-12 Championship on Arizona’s floor; following the game, Chavez — an Oregon commit — took photos with the trophy. Chavez then played for the Ducks for three years, witnessing both the highs and lows.
Around the same time, Jackie Nared Hairston — a UA assistant coach — left Tucson for Oregon. Nared Hairston was on Oregon’s staff during the 2017-18 season as director of creativity and video. Her family lives near Eugene.
Oregon forward Nyara Sabally is surrounded by Arizona defenders in the first half of last year's game in McKale Center. Defensive intensity is always on display when the two teams meet.
4. Finally, four
Oregon, led by Sabrina Ionescu, Ruthy Hebard and Sabally, was ranked second nationally when the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. When the tournament returned last season, it was Arizona — and not Oregon — that made its tournament run, advancing to the national championship game as a No. 3 seed.
Following the season, Chavez, Jaz Shelley (Nebraska) and Angela Dugalic (UCLA) all transferred away from Oregon.
Don’t feel too bad for the Ducks, though: They’re doing just fine with Sedona Prince, Te-Hina Paopao and Endyia Rogers, among others, leading the way.
Rim shots
Ultimately, Barnes said, the Wildcats’ rivalries may be a byproduct of their newfound success.
“Stanford probably has (rivalries) with everybody,” Barnes said. “I think … you get better and that’s the way it is. I think that game (against Oregon) was just really competitive. It was really good game for women’s basketball. I don’t look at it any different. I just look at it as like a big game against two talented teams. But I don’t think it’s like an extra big rival.”
UA signee Maya Nnaji is a semifinalist for the Naismith Girls High School Basketball Player of the Year. She is one of 10 players on the list. Two other future Wildcats are showing why they’re considered among the nation’s top prospects. Last Thursday, Kailyn Gilbert, who is playing for IMG Academy, dropped 40 points in a game. Barnes was in attendance. Paris Clark managed a triple-double Tuesday night, putting up 42 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals and 5 assists.
Following Friday’s game, the Pac-12 Networks will air “Our Stories: Made For It: The 2020-21 Arizona Wildcats,” a look at the UA’s run to the 2021 national title game. The show, which features interviews with Barnes, Reese, Thomas, ex-UA great Aari McDonald and the Pac-12 Networks’ Joan Bonvicini, Mary Murphy and Ann Schatz, is also available on the Pac-12 Networks app.
