Ducks Meet Top-Seed Texas in Second Round

AUSTIN, Texas – The Oregon women's basketball team has reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season, and eye a Sweet Sixteen berth on Sunday against top-seed Texas at 3 p.m. PT at Moody Center.

The Ducks have won 14 NCAA Tournament games since the 2017 tournament, reaching at least the Sweet Sixteen four times in their six previous appearances under 12th-year head coach Kelly Graves.

Oregon and Texas will meet for the first time since 2000 and the fifth time ever. The Longhorns hold a 4-0 lead in the all-time series, with this being the second matchup in Austin.

GAME #36– NCAA TOURNAMENT (SECOND ROUND)
(8) Oregon (23-12) at (1) No. 3 Texas (32-3)
Sunday, March 22 | 3 p.m. PT | Moody Center (Austin, Texas)
TV: ESPN
Play-by-play: Dave O'Brien | Analyst: Jimmy Dykes
Radio: Oregon Sports Network (KUGN 98.1 FM | ESPN Portland 910 AM)
Play-by-play: Chris Clayton
Listen Online | Live Stats

A WIN WOULD…
» Advance the Ducks to the Sweet Sixteen for the fifth time in program history and first time since 2021.
» Be Oregon's 20th NCAA Tournament win in program history, improving its all-time tournament record to 20-18.
» Mark the fifth time UO has won multiple games in the NCAA Tournament over its last seven appearances.
» Be 12th-year head coach Kelly Graves' 15th NCAA Tournament win in his UO tenure.
» Improve the Ducks' neutral record to 6-2 and 12-7 in all games away from home.
» Mark the fourth ranked win of the season, all coming away from home.
» Be Oregon's ninth program win against a top-five team and first since defeating No. 4 Stanford on March 8, 2020.
» Be UO's first against Texas in the series' history (currently 0-4) and snap UT's 43-game home winning streak.

LAST TIME OUT
The eighth-seeded UO women advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 70-60 victory Friday over Virginia Tech. Oregon is playing the first weekend of the tournament at Texas, and will play Sunday against the winner of Friday's later game between the Longhorns and Missouri State.

Oregon's sensational sophomores, Katie Fiso and Ehis Etute, led the way Friday, as they have throughout this postseason. But the Ducks got big contributions throughout their rotation, and they held the Hokies to 31.8 percent shooting that included 11 straight misses during the third quarter.

The Ducks (23-12) led by double digits in the first half, then saw their lead cut to just four at 35-31 when Virginia Tech scored first out of halftime. But the Hokies would then go nearly seven minutes without scoring again, with Oregon putting together an 18-0 run thanks to its lockdown defense.

SCOUTING TEXAS
Top-seeded and third-ranked Texas (32-3) cruised into the second round of the NCAA Tournament with an 87-45 win over No. 16-seed Missouri State on Friday. The win marked the Longhorns' ninth straight win overall and 43rd straight in at Moody Center.

Against Missouri State, Texas saw four players reach double-digit points , led by 19 points from Jordan Lee to go with 14 points and 12 rebounds by Madison Booker. UT's bench outscored the Bears 37-6 while also holding a 50-12 edge in points in the paint.

On the season, Booker paces the Longhorns with 18.7 points a night, followed by Lee's 13.4 points and Kyle Oldacre's 10.6. Guard Rori Harmon averages 6.1 assists per game to rank fourth in the SEC. Harmon is the first player in NCAA history to record 1,500 points, 900 assists, 600 rebounds and 350 steals.

As a team, UT is third in the country in scoring margin (plus-28.7) and turnover margin (plus-8.8) while ranking fifth in field goal percentage (50.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.49).

INSIDE THE SERIES
Oregon and Texas will meet for the fifth time in the series' history, and the first time since 2000, on Sunday. The Longhorns own a 4-0 lead in the series with a 1-0 record in Austin - an 82-58 victory on Dec. 9, 2000. The three other meetings all occurred at neutral sites, while UT has been ranked in the top 25 in three of the four previous meetings. Sunday's game will be the second straight year that Oregon goes up against an SEC team in the NCAA Tournament after defeating Vanderbilt in the first round a season ago, 77-73 in overtime. Head coach Kelly Graves is 3-0 against the SEC in the NCAA Tournament during his UO tenure, including an 88-84 win over current UT head coach Vic Schaefer's Mississippi State squad in the 2019 Elite Eight. The win knocked out the top-seeded Bulldogs while the No. 2-seed Ducks reached the program's first Final Four.

DUCKS AGAINST THE TOP 25
No. 3 Texas marks the 11th top-25 opponent the Ducks will face this season, and second inside the top five. UO is 3-7 against the Associated Press top 25, including a 73-68 victory over 14th-ranked Maryland in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on March 5. All three ranked wins this season have come away from home, the most ranked wins away from home in a season since tallying eight such wins in 2019-20. Each of its last four top-25 victories have come on the road after defeating 16th-ranked Michigan State a season ago. The victory over the Terrapins marked head coach Kelly Graves' 50th ranked win during his 12-year tenure in Eugene.

Against ranked teams this season, two players average double-figure points in sophomores Ehis Etute (14.6) and Katie Fiso (13.4), with Mia Jacobs adding 9.1 points. Etute also averages 9.4 rebounds while shooting 51.5 percent from the floor with 1.9 steals a game. Sofia Bell is shooting at a 40.3 clip from the 3-point line goal in those contests and adds 1.4 steals. Fiso is averaging 5.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds while totaling 14 steals against top-25 opponents. Oregon is outscoring ranked teams 195-153 in the fourth quarter while holding a plus-23 point differential in the second half overall.

DANCING DUCKS
The Ducks have experienced their highest level of success in the NCAA Tournament under 12th-year head coach Kelly Graves. Graves has now led UO to seven NCAA Tournament appearances, all coming over the last nine tournaments, while going 14-6 in the tournament in his UO tenure. Under Graves, Oregon has reached one Final Four, two Elite Eights and one Sweet Sixteen - winning multiple tournament games in four straight seasons (2017-21). Graves owns 14 of the Ducks' 19 all-time tournament victories, all coming since 2017. The 14 tournament victories are tied for 12th-most nationally since the 2016-17 season, and tied for third-most among current Big Ten members during that span.

» The Ducks played 11 teams that made this year's tournament field (14 games), winning five times.
» In his 29th season as a Division I head coach, Graves earns his 15th career NCAA Tournament bid (seventh at UO).
» As a 10 seed last season, Oregon was one of just two double-digit seeds to advance out of the first round with its 77-73 overtime win over seventh-seeded Vanderbilt. The win marked Graves' 10th as a double-digit seed in his coaching career, the most among active Division I head coaches.
» Oregon brings back nine returners that were part of last season's NCAA Tournament team that reached the second round.
» Over the two games, Sofia Bell averaged 5.5 points and 2.5 rebounds while recording four steals while Katie Fiso put up 4.0 points with a pair of steals as a freshman.
» Muhammad was a part of Texas' Elite Eight team in 2023-24, with the Longhorns earning their first No. 1 seed since 2004.
» Over four games in that season's tournament, Muhammad averaged 3.0 points and 3.0 rebounds over 12.0 minutes a game.
» She has now played in eight career postseason games, including a second-round run while with Texas in 2023 and with the Ducks a season ago.
» Sophomore Avary Cain was part of UCLA's Final Four team last year, but did not appear in any of the Bruins' five postseason contests.
» Senior guard Astera Tuhina was a freshman on Washington State's 2023 Pac-12 Tournament champion squad, where the Cougars earned a No. 5 seed but were upset by 12th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast in the first round. Tuhina scored nine points with six assists and four rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench.
» With the exception of UO's two freshmen (Sara Barhoum, Janiyah Williams), the only player on Oregon's roster without an NCAA Tournament appearance is senior Mia Jacobs, who spent the last two seasons at Fresno State after a freshman season at La Salle.

CARDIAC DUCKS
Oregon has been no stranger to close games this season. The Ducks have played 10 games that have been decided by five points or less after its 73-68 win over Maryland on March 5 at the Big Ten Tournament. Oregon has played 15 "clutch games" - games that are within five points with five minutes or less to play - this season, including six of its last nine games. Since the start of last season, Oregon has played 29 clutch games, winning 16 of them. After a 80-76 comeback win over Nebraska on Feb. 19, UO has produced three double-digit comeback wins, equaling the most in a season under 12th-year head coach Kelly Graves.

At then-No. 21 USC on Jan. 6, Oregon overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to upset the Trojans on their home floor 71-66. Junior guard Ari Long went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc over the game's final 2:43 to erase a six-point hole and finish the game on a 14-0 run. The comeback victory tied for the second-largest halftime deficit overcome under 12th-year head coach Kelly Graves, tying a 16-point comeback at USC back on Jan. 13, 2017. Trailing at one point by 17 in the third quarter, it was the largest comeback win since the 2021-22 season against Arizona.

» Six of the Ducks' last nine games have been clutch games, while 13 of the 15 games that have been within five points with five minutes or fewer remaining this season have come against Big Ten opponents.
» Oregon produced its third comeback victory of at least 10 points against Nebraska, as the Ducks trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half and 11 points in the fourth quarter. The three double-digit comeback wins tie the most in a single season under head coach Kelly Graves.
» The Ducks went on a 15-2 run over a 4:30 stretch that flipped a 10-point hole into a three-point lead. Guard Katie Fiso closed the game by scoring 10 of Oregon's final 14 points over the game's final 3:40.
» On Feb. 4 against Illinois, the Ducks saw their 21-point halftime lead disappear in the second half, trailing by as many as eight in the fourth quarter before rallying to win 76-73.
» Down one with eight seconds to go, Fiso hit a driving layup to take a 74-73 lead, and later knocked down two free throws with a second on the clock to salt away the Ducks' smallest margin of victory of the season.
» The win against the Trojans marked the second double-digit comeback win of the season after Oregon trailed by 14 points at Auburn on Nov. 30, outscoring the Tigers 34-20 in the second half.
» The double-OT game against Michigan was the first time the Ducks have gone into double overtime since the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament against Belmont on March 19, 2022. UO has played two double-overtime contests this season (at Wisconsin).
» This marks the first season with multiple double-overtime games played since 2021-22, when UO played two over the season's final five games. Oregon played three games that season that went into an extra period, going 1-2.
» Over the last two seasons, the Ducks have participated in 20 games that have been decided by five points or fewer, going 12-8 in those tilts with five wins coming away from home.
» The 10 games decided by five points or fewer are the most such games in the Big Ten this season. Since joining the Big Ten last season, the Ducks have played a league-leading 20 games decided by five points or less, six more than the next closest.
» UO's 15 games decided by single digits this season are tied for the most in the Big Ten.
» A season ago, UO went 9-5 in clutch games, winning six straight at one point, while going 5-0 in games decided by two points or less and 7-1 in games decided by four points or less.

GO, FISO, GO
Sophomore point guard Katie Fiso has stepped into the Ducks' lead guard spot this season, as she takes over after the departures of graduate 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 on Nov. 3 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 has since recorded points-assists double-doubles against Army (12 points, 10 assists), Saint Mary's (15 points, 10 assists), Oregon State (23 points, 14 assists), Portland (10 points, 11 assists) and Penn State (15 points, 10 assists). She set a career high with 27 points against Washington on March 1 and now owns a team-best 11 20-point games this season - the most such games by a Duck since Ruthy Hebard recorded 15 efforts in 2019-20.

Against Oregon State on Dec. 3, Fiso turned in one of the best games of her career with 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting to go with a career-high 14 assists. Her 14 assists equaled the second-highest assist total in a game in program history, and were three shy of Sabrina Ionescu's record of 17 set in 2018. The 14 assists are tied for the second-most in a game by any player in the Big Ten, while there have been just 10 games nationally this season where someone produced at least 14 assists.

» Fiso leads the Ducks with 15.5 points per game after averaging just 3.1 a game last season. Her increase of 12.4 points per game is the second-highest improvement from a season ago among players in the Big Ten (20th-highest nationally).
» Her 219 total assists this season are already fourth-most in a single season in program history, as she surpassed Ionescu's 183 assists she recorded in her freshman season. Fiso's 6.3 assists per game rank as the fifth-highest average in a season in UO history.
» Her seven points-assists double-doubles this season are tied for second-most in the nation, while only 11 players in the country have more than two points-assists double-doubles.
» There have been 16 points-assists double-doubles in the Big Ten this season, with Fiso accounting for seven of them and the only player with more than three.
» Led (or tied) UO in assists in 33 of 35 outings this season and ranks second in the Big Ten at 6.3 assists a night (ninth nationally).
» Fiso is one of three players in the country averaging at least 6.3 assists and shooting 45.0 percent or better from the floor, and the only player in the Big Ten.
» Fiso is one of five players in the country, and only player in the Big Ten, to average at least 15.0 points and 6.0 assists per game - while her field goal percentage of 48.9 is highest among the group.

EHIS THE BEAST
Sophomore Ehis Etute has tapped into her raw potential in her second season in Eugene. The Luxembourg product has scored in double figures in 16 of her last 19 games, including six 20-point efforts over her last 12 contests. Etute logged a career-best 27 points and 17 rebounds on Feb. 22 at Indiana, becoming the first player in the Big Ten this season with a 27-point, 17-rebound performance - and just the 10th such game in the country. In UO's win at No. 16 Maryland on Jan. 31, she scored a then-career-best 26 points to go with 11 board and was tabbed Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on Feb. 2, becoming the first Duck to earn the weekly honor after averaging 21.5 points and 10.0 rebounds during the week.

» Etute has turned in five straight double-doubles after her 11-point, 11-rebound game against Virginia Tech on Friday and now leads the team with 11 double-doubles on the season. She has carded six double-doubles over her last seven games and seven in her last 12 games overall.
» Etute produced consecutive games with 20 or more points twice over a six-game span after her 27-point effort at Indiana. All six of her career 20-point outings have come over the last 12 games.
» Etute's career rebounding effort against the Hoosiers included 11 offensive boards, the most of any player in the Big Ten this season and tied for the 10th-highest offensive rebound total in the country this season. It is just the fifth time a Duck has registered 11 offensive boards in a single game since 2009-10.
» With 11 points and 12 rebounds against Minnesota, Etute turned in a double-double in back-to-back games for the first time in her career. Nine of her 10 double-doubles this season have come over her last 18 games, while she was one rebound shy of a double-double at Rutgers and against Illinois, and one point away from another against Penn State in that stretch.
» Etute leads the Big Ten with 9.0 rebounds per game, total rebounds at 305 and in offensive rebounds per game at 4.1. During conference play, Etute averaged 9.7 boards a night, good for No. 2 in the conference.
» Over her last 13 games, she is averaging a team-high 17.5 points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 51.9 percent.
» Etute has led or tied UO in rebounding in 27 of 34 games in which she has played this season and has finished as the team leader 31 times in her career, including in 12 straight games and in 18 of her last 19 games overall.
» Etute boasts a total rebounding rate of 21.4 percent, the second-highest rate in the Big Ten and 12th-highest rate in the country among players averaging at least 15.0 minutes per game, while her offensive rebounding rate of 20.2 percent is tops in the Big Ten and second nationally among those players.

University of Oregon Athletics

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Sara Barhoum

Sofia Bell

Avary Cain

Ehis Etute

Katie Fiso

Mia Jacobs

Deja Kelly

Ari Long

Peyton Scott

Astera Tuhina

Janiyah Williams

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