Ducks Open Season With West Georgia

EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon women's basketball is set to embark on its 53rd season, and 12th under head coach Kelly Graves, on Monday against West Georgia at 6 p.m. PT at Matthew Knight Arena.

The Ducks return three regular starters among nine letterwinners from last year's team that reached that second round of the NCAA Tournament. UO also welcomes in three transfers to go with a pair of talented freshmen in guards Sara Barhoum and Janiyah Williams.

This year's version of the Ducks put on a face-paced display in their 113-36 exhibition victory over Western Oregon on Thursday at Matthew Knight Arena. Five players reached double-digit points, led by 28 from Sarah Rambus in just over 15 minutes of action.

Oregon seeks its 13th straight season-opening victory, going all the way back to the 2013-14 season. The Ducks, who have won 22 of their last 23 season openers, are 11-0 in the season's opening game under Graves.

Season and single-game tickets are now on sale and available at GoDucks.com/WBBtix.

GAME #1
Oregon (0-0) vs. West Georgia (0-0)
Monday, Nov. 3 | 6 p.m. PT | Matthew Knight Arena (Eugene, Ore.)
TV/Stream: B1G+
Play-by-play: Lily Crane | Analyst: Olivia Arciniega | Sideline: Ashley Davidson
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (KUGN 98.1 FM/590 AM)
Play-by-play: Chris Clayton | Analyst: Bev Smith
Listen Online | Live Stats | Tickets

A WIN WOULD…
» Extend Oregon's winning streak in season openers to 13 straight, dating back to the 2013-14 season.
» Improve the Ducks' record in season openers under head coach Kelly Graves to 12-0.
» Give UO its 23rd win in its last 24 season openers.
» Give the Ducks their 74th win in their last 76 nonconference home games.
» Improve Graves' nonconference record to 132-38 while at Oregon, with a 79-4 mark at home.
» Be the Ducks' first in the series with West Georgia.

SCOUTING WEST GEORGIA
Last season, West Georgia turned in an overall record of 13-17 (7-11 Atlantic Sun) in its first season of reclassifying to Division I. The Wolves retain three starters among seven returners while adding six newcomers, including one freshman.

Destiny Jones is the team's top returning scorer after averaging 11.2 points per game while ranking fourth in the ASUN with 7.7 rebounds a night. Jones was a unanimous selection to ASUN's all-freshman team and was tabbed ASUN freshman of the week three times in 2024-25.

Junior guard Synde Tolbert paced the Wolves in assists and was tied for eighth in the conference at 2.8 assists a game. Tolbert averaged 9.2 points a game and led her squad in free throw shooting at 87.0 percent. Both Jones and Tolbert were voted to the preseason all-ASUN team.

As a team, UWG ranked second in the Atlantic Sun in assists per game (13.6), second in 3-point defense (29.5 percent), fourth in offensive rebounds (12.8) and fifth in total rebounds (38.2). West Georgia was picked to finish 10th in this year's ASUN preseason coaches' poll.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Monday's season opener will mark the first-ever meeting between Oregon and West Georgia. UWG enters its second season as an NCAA Division I member, as the Wolves are in the process of reclassifying from Division II. The game will be West Georgia's first on the West Coast as a Division I program.

TUNING UP
Oregon women's basketball fans got their first look Thursday at a UO team committed to playing a more up-tempo, high-scoring style, and those in attendance at Matthew Knight Arena had to like what they saw.

Sarah Rambus scored 28 points to lead five players in double figures as the Ducks won an exhibition game over Western Oregon, 113-36. The UO women scored the first 15 points of the night, then blew the game open by scoring 25 straight in the third quarter to set the stage for their counting opener against West Georgia on Monday.

"It felt awesome getting back into Matthew Knight Arena," said Rambus, a starter Thursday after two seasons backing up departed senior Phillipina Kyei in the frontcourt. "And that fast pace, we showed it — it showed in the score and us running on our opponent. Love to see it."

Avary Cain hit five three-pointers to finish with 15 points, Katie Fiso and Ehis Etute scored 12 each and Astera Tuhina added 11 as the UO women saw 11 players score. Fiso also dished out nine of the Ducks' 30 assists on 40 made field goals, while Etute had nine rebounds and Rambus grabbed eight.

The Ducks combined to shoot 51 percent and were 14-of-31 from three-point range, showing some cohesion as head coach Kelly Graves spent the game letting different groups of players build chemistry for several minutes before making mass substitutions.

"I'm just really proud of the team," Graves said. "You know, sometimes these kind of games aren't easy to play in, and you tend to get a little selfish. And I thought for the most part we shared the ball well, made the right plays. Sometimes you want to just get yours, and we didn't tonight."

SEASON IN REVIEW
The 2024-25 season saw Oregon reach the NCAA Tournament for the 18th time in program history, and first time since the 2021-22 season. The Ducks earned a No. 10-seed after finishing last season with a 20-12 overall record while tying for the eighth in the Big Ten with a 10-8 mark, securing the eighth 20-win campaign in 11 seasons under head coach Kelly Graves.

Oregon upset seventh-seeded Vanderbilt 77-73 in overtime in the first round at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., as it was one of just two double-digit seeds to advance out of the Round of 64. The victory was Graves' 10th career win as a double-digit seed in the NCAA Tournament - most among active Division I head coaches. The postseason run snapped a two-year hiatus of missing out on the NCAA Tournament, with the Ducks' last bid coming in 2021-22. UO made a nine-win improvement from 2023-24 to 2024-25, tying for the 13th-best win improvement in the nation.

Despite averaging just 68.0 points per game (third-lowest in the Graves era), the Ducks were built on defense and pulling out close victories. UO allowed teams to score just 63.1 points per game while forcing 17.4 turnovers behind 8.9 steals a night, good for a plus-3.8 turnover margin. Oregon went unbeaten in games decided by two points or less (5-0), while going 7-1 in games decided by four points or fewer. UO played 14 games in which the score was within five points with five minutes or less to play, winning nine of those contests, including six straight such wins from Jan. 9 to Feb. 16.

RETURN AISLE
The Ducks did not lose a single player to the transfer portal and bring back nine letterwinners from last season's NCAA Tournament team, including starters G Sofia Bell, G Elisa Mevius and F Amina Muhammad to pair with key reserves F Ehis Etute, G Katie Fiso, G Ari Long and F Sarah Rambus - each of whom are poised to see an increased workload in the upcoming season.

» Mevius is the team's top returner in terms of points per game and steals per game after she averaged 6.6 points and 1.6 steals a night in her first season at Oregon.
» Muhammad averaged 6.3 points per game a season ago and is the team's leading returning rebounder with 3.6 rebounds per game.
» Fiso, a sophomore, is primed to take over the point guard spot with the graduation of lead guard Deja Kelly, who paced the Ducks in nearly every offensive category.
» Fiso saw action in 25 games and averaged 3.1 points and 0.8 assists per game, scoring in double figures three times.
» Etute is a relentless rebounder and a force in the frontcourt, averaging 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds while averaging under 10 minutes a game as a freshman (9.9 mpg).
» Long is a suffocating defender on the perimeter while also having the ability to knock down 3-pointers. She racked up 15 steals, with five coming against USC, while averaging 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game.
» Rambus will team up with Etute to present an intimidating frontcourt in the absence of 6-foot-8 Phillipina Kyei. Rambus made one start a season ago and twice cracked double-digit points, and finished the season shooting 48.9 percent from the floor.

NEW TO THE FLOCK
Despite losing its top four scorers, including G Deja Kelly who led the team in nearly every offensive category and leading rebounder C Phillipina Kyei (7.1 RPG), Oregon brought in three key transfers in addition to two talented freshmen in G Sara Barhoum and G Janiyah Williams. The incoming transfers include G Avary Cain (UCLA), F Mia Jacobs (Fresno State), and G Astera Tuhina (Washington State).

» Jacobs and Tuhina, both seniors, have combined to make 149 career starts and have played in 210 career games. Cain, a sophomore, saw action in 18 games while with 2024-25 champion UCLA a season ago as the Bruins reached the Final Four.
» Jacobs led the Mountain West with 19 double-doubles last season, which tied for No. 7 nationally, as she averaged 18.3 points and 10.0 rebounds while shooting 40.8 percent from the floor.
» Jacobs was named first-team all-Mountain West in 2024-25 while being named MW Player of the Week three times.
» Tuhina was voted all-West Coast Conference honorable mention as a junior and earned all-Pac-12 freshman honorable mention accolades in 2022-23.
» Tuhina ranked third in the WCC with a 1.95 assist-to-turnover ratio and ranked sixth in assists with 3.7 a game.
» Cain helped the Bruins reach the 2025 Final Four in Tampa last season, averaging 1.5 points with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.2 in her freshman season.
» Cain was a five-star recruit out of St. Joseph High School in Santa Maria, Calif., and the No. 20 prospect nationally in her class, as she recorded over 2,000 points in her prep career.

MKA MAGIC
Since its opening in 2011, the Ducks have been dominant in defending Matthew Knight Arena, posting an all-time record of 173-71 (.709). Since 2017-18, UO is 105-24 (.814) at home, with a 47-20 (.701) conference record, while outscoring opponents by an average of 19.9 points a game in that span. Last season, opponents averaged just 57.4 points a game while shooting 39.1 percent from the floor.

» The Ducks have posted a .500 record of better at home in 12 straight seasons, dating back to 2013-14.
» Oregon boasts a record of 78-4 (.951) against nonconference teams at home under head coach Kelly Graves (since 2014-15), and has won 73 of its last 75 nonconference home tilts.