Oregon's Te-Hina Paopao named Pac-12 Player of the Week
After a sensational run of games over the past week, Oregon junior guard Te-Hina Paopao has been named the Pac-12 player of the week.
This marks the first time in her career that Paopao, who helped lead the Ducks to a sweep of the Arizona schools over the weekend, has received the honor.
Over the course of two games, Paopao averaged 22.0 points while shooting 63.3 percent from the field (14-for-22) and 66.7 percent from three (12-of-18). She also averaged 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
During the program’s senior day on Sunday, Paopao scored a season-high 23 points in a 77-48 win over Arizona State. She buried a career-high 3-pointers — six of which came during the first half.
During Oregon’s upset of No. 14 Arizona in Eugene two days earlier, she led the Ducks with 21 points and went 5-for-8 from three. in UO’s 73-59 upset of the Wildcats.
The pair of strong performances served as a significant bounceback for Paopoa, who has struggled mightily in the month of February. During a six-game span from Jan. 29 through Feb. 17, Paopao was held to single-digit scoring. Oregon lost all six contests.
She broke out of the slump on Feb. 19 with a 22-point showing against Washington. But the Ducks lost that game, too.
Following Oregon’s win on Sunday, Oregon coach Kelly Graves praised Paopao’s resiliency for enabling her to bounce back and help the team back on track.
“That’s called character. She’s got great character and she’s a great competitive spirit,” Graves said. “She’s tough. She believes in herself her teammates believe in her. We believe in her. And it was just a matter of time. I’m glad that it’s right now because it’s made us a more dynamic team. And we know we can count on her.
“So I’m really proud of her. It could have not ended that well. She picked herself up; it’s a great life lesson. Sometimes things don’t go so well for all of us, and you just make the best of it and keep grinding. And in the end, good things can happen.”
Oregon (16-13, 7-11 Pac-12) ended the regular season in seventh place in the conference standings. After breaking out of their month-long slump against the Arizona schools, the Ducks will hope to carry their momentum into the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas this week.
Oregon will kick off tournament play on Wednesday when they face Washington (15-13, 7-11) at 2:30 p.m. PT at Michelob Ultra Arena.
