Sunday, March 22
Austin, TX
3 p.m.
University of Oregon
at
Texas
Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Big Challenge Awaits Ducks In Second Round
03/21/26 | Women's Basketball
Oregon will have to contend with both perimeter pressure and size in the post against Texas on Sunday (3 p.m., ESPN).
AUSTIN, Texas — There probably won't be a chance for Oregon women's basketball to pick its poison Sunday. The Ducks will have to contend with the relentless defensive pressure of Texas, and the Longhorns' impressive size as well.
The UO women will meet the No. 3 Longhorns in a second-round NCAA Tournament game at Moody Center (3 p.m., ESPN). Advancing the ball past halfcourt won't come easily for the Ducks. Once they've done that, a forest of Texas posts awaits.
Oregon (23-12) is the No. 8 seed in its tournament region. As the Ducks have scouted Texas since beating Virginia Tech on Friday, they've seen plenty to support the Longhorns' case as the top seed in the region.
"They hang their hats on their defense, and their pressure defense — especially right off of their bucket," UO sophomore Katie Fiso said at a press conference Saturday, which followed the Ducks' practice at Moody Center. "You know, they're not even thinking about celebrating or anything that. They're going to be getting into you."
In beating the Hokies on Friday, the Ducks committed 13 turnovers, a couple under their season average. They'll face a stiff challenge on that front from the Longhorns.
Fiso may be the primary ballhandler for the UO women, but beating Texas' pressure will require everyone on the court working in unison.
"It's going to be everybody," UO coach Kelly Graves said. "Everybody's going to have to help. And sometimes we even use Ehis (Etute) as our secondary ball handler, our center. So it's just all hands on deck tomorrow, no question about it."
Fiso can't be expected to go all 40 minutes Sunday, Graves said after Saturday's practice. So guards Ari Long and Astera Tuhina will need to be ready to handle the pressure, too, even if they're on the floor at the same time as Fiso.
"I mean, I think I'm ready for it," Long said. "I feel like Katie takes a lot of the load most of the time, but I try to help whenever I can. And then obviously, we have AT who comes in and helps handle the rock a little bit. But yeah, I think I'm definitely comfortable. Just get it across, get it back to her, get into our sets, and then go to work from there."
Going to work from there, meanwhile, means contending with the size of the Texas front line — 6-foot-6 center Kyla Oldacre and 6-4 forward Breya Cunningham.
"They're going to be significantly bigger than us across the board," Graves said. "It's going to be one of those things where you try to neutralize their best rebounders, their inside kids, and then the guards are going to have to do a great job of picking up the scraps. But that's going to be the biggest challenge tomorrow, is how we can handle the boards."
Etute, Oregon's starting post at 6 feet even, is used to giving up some size to the opposition. But this isn't just a small disparity, as she noted with a chuckle Saturday.
"An inch or two would be one thing; I'm giving up half a foot over there," Etute said. "Obviously you know it's gonna be a hard defensive assignment, especially, and offensive assignment too. You just have to outwork them. That's all you can really do. Because there's not a lot that will change; I can't grow in a day or two."
Another UO forward who will have to help the Ducks fight on the boards Saturday is Amina Muhammad.
A 20-game starter for Texas in 2023-24, Muhammad has played her final two collegiate seasons at Oregon. Now, she's about to face her old team.
"Honestly, I expected to end up playing them on Sunday," she said. "So I'm really excited to play my old teammates. It's Kumbaya before and after the game, but during the game, it's all competitiveness, so I'm just really excited."
Oregon is the underdog in a second-round game at an opponent's home venue for the second year in a row.
A year ago, it was Duke that awaited the Ducks after they won in the first round. The UO women dropped a tightly contested, 59-53 battle in that one.
"Obviously it's going to be a tough game, and we're just trying to control what we can control," Long said. "Yeah, getting a taste of it was cool, to just kind of know a little bit more what to prepare for."
The UO women will meet the No. 3 Longhorns in a second-round NCAA Tournament game at Moody Center (3 p.m., ESPN). Advancing the ball past halfcourt won't come easily for the Ducks. Once they've done that, a forest of Texas posts awaits.
Oregon (23-12) is the No. 8 seed in its tournament region. As the Ducks have scouted Texas since beating Virginia Tech on Friday, they've seen plenty to support the Longhorns' case as the top seed in the region.
"They hang their hats on their defense, and their pressure defense — especially right off of their bucket," UO sophomore Katie Fiso said at a press conference Saturday, which followed the Ducks' practice at Moody Center. "You know, they're not even thinking about celebrating or anything that. They're going to be getting into you."
In beating the Hokies on Friday, the Ducks committed 13 turnovers, a couple under their season average. They'll face a stiff challenge on that front from the Longhorns.
Fiso may be the primary ballhandler for the UO women, but beating Texas' pressure will require everyone on the court working in unison.
"It's going to be everybody," UO coach Kelly Graves said. "Everybody's going to have to help. And sometimes we even use Ehis (Etute) as our secondary ball handler, our center. So it's just all hands on deck tomorrow, no question about it."
Fiso can't be expected to go all 40 minutes Sunday, Graves said after Saturday's practice. So guards Ari Long and Astera Tuhina will need to be ready to handle the pressure, too, even if they're on the floor at the same time as Fiso.
"I mean, I think I'm ready for it," Long said. "I feel like Katie takes a lot of the load most of the time, but I try to help whenever I can. And then obviously, we have AT who comes in and helps handle the rock a little bit. But yeah, I think I'm definitely comfortable. Just get it across, get it back to her, get into our sets, and then go to work from there."
Going to work from there, meanwhile, means contending with the size of the Texas front line — 6-foot-6 center Kyla Oldacre and 6-4 forward Breya Cunningham.
"They're going to be significantly bigger than us across the board," Graves said. "It's going to be one of those things where you try to neutralize their best rebounders, their inside kids, and then the guards are going to have to do a great job of picking up the scraps. But that's going to be the biggest challenge tomorrow, is how we can handle the boards."
Etute, Oregon's starting post at 6 feet even, is used to giving up some size to the opposition. But this isn't just a small disparity, as she noted with a chuckle Saturday.
"An inch or two would be one thing; I'm giving up half a foot over there," Etute said. "Obviously you know it's gonna be a hard defensive assignment, especially, and offensive assignment too. You just have to outwork them. That's all you can really do. Because there's not a lot that will change; I can't grow in a day or two."
Another UO forward who will have to help the Ducks fight on the boards Saturday is Amina Muhammad.
A 20-game starter for Texas in 2023-24, Muhammad has played her final two collegiate seasons at Oregon. Now, she's about to face her old team.
"Honestly, I expected to end up playing them on Sunday," she said. "So I'm really excited to play my old teammates. It's Kumbaya before and after the game, but during the game, it's all competitiveness, so I'm just really excited."
Oregon is the underdog in a second-round game at an opponent's home venue for the second year in a row.
A year ago, it was Duke that awaited the Ducks after they won in the first round. The UO women dropped a tightly contested, 59-53 battle in that one.
"Obviously it's going to be a tough game, and we're just trying to control what we can control," Long said. "Yeah, getting a taste of it was cool, to just kind of know a little bit more what to prepare for."
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
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Kelly Graves | Postgame vs. Washington
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