Ducks, Aggies Square Off Sunday at MKA

EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon women's basketball team returns to Matthew Knight Arena for its final home game in the month of November, hosting Utah State on Sunday at 2 p.m. PT.

The Ducks and Aggies will meet for the first time since the 2018-19 season, when UO came away with a 109-52 victory at Matthew Knight Arena. UO is 5-0 all-time against USU, with a 2-0 home record in the series.

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

GAME #6
Oregon (5-0) vs. Utah State (3-2)
Sunday, Nov. 23 | 2 p.m. PT | Matthew Knight Arena (Eugene, Ore.)
TV/Stream: B1G+
Play-by-play: Charles Martindale | Analyst: Devlin Christiansen | Sideline: Olivia Arciniega
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (KUGN 97.1 FM | ESPN Portland 910 AM)
Play-by-play: Chris Clayton | Analyst: Bev Smith
Listen Online | Live Stats | Tickets

A WIN WOULD…
» Mark the second straight season the Ducks begin a season 6-0.
» Be the sixth 6-0 start or better under head coach Kelly Graves in his 12th season.
» Be Oregon's sixth straight win, matching its longest winning streak from a season ago.
» Give the Ducks a 6-0 lead in the all-time series with Utah State.
» Improve UO's home record against the Aggies to 3-0.
» Extend Oregon's nonconference home winning streak to 18 games.
» Give the Ducks their 78th win in their last 80 nonconference home games.
» Improve Graves' nonconference record to 137-38 while at Oregon, with an 83-4 home mark.

LAST TIME OUT
Oregon passed its first road test of the season with flying colors, using a sharp-shooting second half to run away with an 86-59 win over Washington State at Beasley Coliseum.

For the second time in its last three games, UO's one-two punch of Katie Fiso and Mia Jacobs turned in 20-point scoring efforts with 22 and 20 points, respectively. That, in addition to 10 points off the bench from Avary Cain and 13 rebounds from Ehis Etute, helped the Ducks pick up their first road win of the season and extend their season-opening winning streak to five games.

Oregon's offense, which went 2-for-9 from the 3-point line in the first half, went 9-of-15 in the second for its best 3-point shooting game of the season. Five different players drilled a triple, led by a season-high five from Jacobs who connected on 4-of-5 tries in the second half.

Etute flirted with her first career double-double, as she had nine points in addition to her career-high 13 boards off the bench.

SCOUTING UTAH STATE
Utah State is off to a 3-2 start to the 2025-26 season, as its coming off a 96-41 home victory over Division II Stanislaus State. Prior to the big home win, the Aggies visited Oregon State last Tuesday and fell to the Beavers 71-52.

Aaliyah Gayles paces the USU offense at 13.3 points a night while shooting 40.0 percent from downtown. Sophie Sene leads her team in rebounding at 6.2 a game to go with 9.0 points per game.

As a team, the Aggies lead the Mountain West with 9.0 made 3-pointers a game and are second in 3-point percentage at 35.7 percent. USU's defense is forcing 21.6 turnovers a game, good for second in the conference. Utah State's bench is averaging 27.6 points a game, the second-highest average in the league.

Utah State was picked to finish 11th in the 12-team Mountain West Conference by the coaches.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Oregon and Utah State have met five times previously, with the Ducks earning victories in all five matchups. Sunday's game will mark the first meeting between the teams since the 2018-19 season, and the third meeting all-time in Eugene. The Ducks have scored at least 100 points in three of the five meetings, including the last time the teams faced off when UO won 109-52 at Matthew Knight Arena. Head coach Kelly Graves is 3-0 in his Oregon tenure against the Aggies.

OFF AND RUNNING
The Oregon women's basketball team is off to a 5-0 start for second straight season and the sixth time under 12th-year head coach Kelly Graves after an 86-59 road victory over Washington State on Wednesday. The Ducks have scored at least 80 points in all five games to start the season, its longest streak to begin a season since seven straight such games to open the 2019-20 season. UO ranks 14th in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten at 88.0 points per game.

In three of its five wins, five players have scored in double figures, including five in a Nov. 16 win over Army: Mia Jacobs (17), Sofia Bell (14), Amina Muhamad (14), Katie Fiso (12) and Sarah Rambus (12). Nine different Ducks have finished a game with 10 or more points this season, with three coming off the bench (Avary Cain, Ehis Etute, Muhammad).

Oregon got the 2025-26 season started with an emphatic 100-59 victory over West Georgia on Nov. 3, and followed that up with a 90-47 win over Montana on Nov. 8. The 100-point scoring outburst marked the 66th time under Graves that the Ducks reached the 100-point mark, and the first time since the 2022-23 season opener against Northwestern (100-57).

» Oregon's offensive rating of 119.6 (points per 100 possessions) ranks fourth in the Big Ten while averaging 73.3 possessions per 40 minutes (ninth in Big Ten).
» UO's field goal percentage of 52.3 is No. 8 in the country, with its 61.6 shooting percentage on two-point shots ranking as the fifth-best in the nation.
» Oregon ranks 11th in the country with an effective field goal percentage of 58.1 percent, good for fourth in the Big Ten.
» The Ducks' bench accounted for 47 of 90 points against Montana on Nov. 8, while reserves are averaging 30.4 points per game this season (eighth in Big Ten).
» UO's 21.8 assists per game are third in the Big Ten and sixth nationally, posting an assisted shot rate of 62.6 percent (sixth in Big Ten).
» The Ducks are averaging 12.6 turnovers per game, the 30th-best rate in the nation and fifth-best in the Big Ten.
» UO's turnover rate of 14.8 percent is fifth-lowest in the Big Ten and No. 37 in the country.
» The 1.73 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks eighth nationally and third in the Big Ten.

STORM AND SWARM
Oregon's swarming defense, which was a chief reason for Oregon's success a season ago, is back and better this season. The Ducks forced 32 West Georgia turnovers behind 24 steals in the season opener, leading to 41 points off turnovers. Their 24 steals, their most since 2013, helped the Ducks pile up 32 fast-break points and 54 points in the paint. Oregon's defense recorded 12-plus steals and forced at least 23 turnovers in four consecutive games to begin the season. The four straight games with double-digit steals were one shy of matching the longest streak from a season ago, while the four consecutive games forcing 20-plus turnovers was its longest since eight straight such games during the 2010-11 season.

» Oregon is recording a steal on 18.1 percent of opponent possessions - the second-highest rate in the Big Ten and 11th-highest in the nation.
» Opposing teams are turning the ball over on 29.0 percent of its possessions, the third-highest rate in the conference and 21st-highest in the country.
» The four games with 20-plus forced turnovers are two shy of the national lead (6, Utah Valley) and tied for second in the Big Ten.
» The Ducks have started hot in all four games this season, averaging 21.0 points and shooting 57.3 percent from the field in the first quarter of games while teams are scoring just 9.2 points on 28.6 percent shooting.

HERE WE GO, FISO
Sophomore point guard Katie Fiso has stepped into the lead guard this season, as she takes over the spot after the graduation of veteran guards Deja Kelly and Peyton Scott. Fiso, who was the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Washington her senior season, got her first career start in the season opener against West Georgia and turned in her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 assists - without a turnover. She produced her first 20-point scoring effort while handing out 10 assists against Grand Canyon on Nov. 11 and again put up a points-assists double-double with 12 points and 10 helpers Nov. 16 against Army.

» Scored a career-high 22 points at Washington State on Wednesday while going 10-for-14 from the floor and dishing out a team-high eight assists.
» Over her last three games, she has gone 24-of-30 (80.0 percent) from the floor while averaging 18.0 points and 12.7 assists.
» In two wins last week, she averaged 16.0 points and 10.0 assists while going 14-of-16 from the field (87.5 percent) and was named to the Big Ten's weekly honor roll on Nov. 17.
» She leads the team and ranks third in the Big Ten with a 67.3 field goal percentage.
» Three double-doubles in four games (first double-doubles of her career) to tie for the Big Ten lead.
» Turned in the first 20-point, 10-assist double-double by a Duck since Sabrina Ionescu had 20 points and 12 assists against Stanford on March 8, 2020.
» First Duck with multiple points-assists double-doubles in a season since Ionescu during the 2019-20 campaign (17).
» One of just three Ducks since 2009 to have multiple points-assists double-doubles in a season (Maite Cazorla, Ionescu).
» She has led UO in assists in all five outings this season and is the Big Ten leader at 8.6 assists a night (fourth nationally).
» Her double-double against West Georgia was the first points-assists double-double by a Duck since the 2022-23 season when Te-Hina Paopao did so in the WNIT on March 3, 2023.
» First Duck with 10-plus assists without a turnover since Minyon Moore did so at USC on Feb. 16, 2020, and first Duck since Ionescu on Feb. 1, 2020 with a point-assists double-double without committing a turnover.
» Fiso is one of two players in the country averaging at least 5.0 assists, 25.0 minutes and shooting over 60.0 percent from the field with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.0 or better (Sarah Strong, UConn).

MAMA MIA
Senior F Mia Jacobs, a Fresno State transfer, has made an immediate impact for Oregon on the young season. She leads the team with 17.2 points per game while shooting 50.0 percent from the floor. Jacobs has finished as the team's leading scorer in four of five games, including a season-high 26 points in UO's 84-66 win over Grand Canyon on Nov. 11. It marked the highest scoring performance by a Duck since Te-Hina Paopao scored 28 points against Stanford on March 2, 2023. Additionally, she has connected on 24-of-26 free throw attempts on the season (92.3 percent).

» Jacobs drilled a season-high five 3-pointers against Washington State on Wednesday on her way to her second 20-point outing of the season, going 4-for-5 in the second half of UO's 86-59 victory.
» Her free throw percentage is fourth-highest in the Big Ten overall, while she ranks seventh nationally in free throw shooting among players with at least 20 made free throws (tops in the conference).
» She went 12-of-13 from the line against GCU, marking the most made free throws by a Duck since Sabrina Ionescu made 17 against Mississippi State on Dec. 18, 2018.
» Last season, 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.
» Jacobs is also a passionate and talented photographer and can often be seen on the sidelines capturing the action at several different Oregon Athletics events.