Top-Seeded Texas Ends Oregon's NCAA Run

Sunday, March 22

Austin, TX

3 p.m.

University of Oregon

23-13,8-10Big Ten

100

Texas

33-3,13-3SEC

Oregon

Texas

100

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

03/22/26 | Women's Basketball

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The UO women lost to the Longhorns in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

By: Rob Moseley

AUSTIN, Texas — The top seed in Oregon's NCAA Tournament bracket proved every bit of that Sunday, as the UO women saw their 2025-26 season come to an end with a 100-58 loss to host Texas at Moody Center.

Concerned about Texas' size, the Ducks held their own up front — they were outrebounded 37-26 but only outscored 32-26 in the paint. But the Longhorns' defensive pressure forced 15 turnovers that Texas converted into 23 points, and they made 8-of-12 three-point attempts.

"I think Texas just kind of put together good possession after good possession," UO junior Ari Long said. "And you know, slowly it just kind of crept away from us. When it gets to a point, it kind of gets a little tough to just kind of keep working back into it, but I think we still tried till the end. So I'm proud of us for that."

The Ducks (23-13) trailed 45-34 at halftime, and felt like they could work back into it by taking better care of the ball and getting a few more shots to fall. Instead, Texas outscored Oregon in the third quarter, 28-8, with Madison Booker scoring 13 of her career-high 40 points in the period.

NCAA Tournament Second Round

"We're disappointed that we're not moving on, but at the same time, I'm not going to be negative and down, because this was a great year," UO coach Kelly Graves said. "For us, we were kind of a homegrown team in terms of, we had players that had smaller roles last year, and they moved into bigger roles. We didn't just go out and pay and plug and play kids, and I'm proud of that. And they stepped up."

Oregon's Katie Fiso capped her breakout sophomore season with 16 points, and Ehis Etute had 11 points with 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double in five postseason games this year.

"It was obviously a different role, a different position, different expectations this year," Fiso said. "But I feel like everyone that was needed to step up, they stepped up, whether that was Ari, Sofia (Bell), Sarah (Rambus), Ehis. They did an exceptional job this year, and I'm really proud of them, really proud of the work that they put in, and just excited to see the next step that they take. You know, the ceiling is high for them. So just super, super excited for that, for that growth."

NCAA Tournament Second Round

How It Happened: Texas had a 6-4 lead in the opening minutes until Etute completed a three-point play and Mia Jacobs followed with a three-pointer that put Oregon up 10-6. After a bucket for the Longhorns, Fiso hit a three and Oregon had a five-point lead. But Texas took the lead for good with a 12-2 run, with Booker scoring seven on an array of midrange shots.

"She's just a tough matchup, and she had a great night," Graves said. "She really did. She shot it well, got to the rim. She was aggressive. Hats off to her. I mean, she's a first-team All-American for a reason. And she played like it tonight."

Booker hit one of two three-pointers by the Longhorns late in the first quarter, and they hit two more late in the second to take a 45-34 lead into halftime. The three-point shot hadn't been a huge factor for Texas much of this season, and those made shots Sunday softened up Oregon's defense.

"We were trying to pack it in, but then they hit some, so we kind of had to space out a little bit," Long said. "And then that kind of left the big kids exposed down low. So it's tough. I mean, it's tough when they make shots, and they made a lot of them tonight."

NCAA Tournament Second Round

Oregon went into halftime with a little momentum after Janiyah Williams closed the second quarter with a three-pointer. But the Ducks ended up making just two field goals in the third quarter, which Texas opened on a 19-5 run to take the wind from the UO sails.

Still, the Ducks felt positive about their tournament experience as a whole, following Friday's win over Virginia Tech, and about their progress as a program this season.

"What an amazing experience," Fiso said. "What an amazing experience to share with these people that I care about. Like, it's just a blessing, and I'm just super thankful for the future to come. So stay tuned."