Big Ten Tournament Time in Indy

Wednesday, March 4

Indianapolis, Ind.

Approx. 5:30 p.m.

University of Oregon

Purdue

The Oregon women's basketball team takes on Penn State at Matthew Knight Arena on Jan. 24, 2026.

Photo by: GoDucks.com

03/03/26 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

Ducks kick off postseason Wednesday vs. Purdue (5:30 p.m. PT, Peacock).

INDIANAPOLIS – The Oregon women's basketball team heads to its second Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, where the 11th-seeded Ducks will meet 14-seed Purdue on Wednesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 5:30 p.m. PT on Peacock.

The Ducks and Boilermakers met on Feb. 25 in West Lafayette, with UO coming away with a 71-65 in its final road game of Big Ten play. Oregon is 2-0 all-time against Purdue, with both matchups coming since joining the Big Ten in 2024-25.

Under 12th-year head coach Kelly Graves, the Ducks are 12-9 in conference tournaments while winning two Pac-12 tournament titles. UO seeks its first Big Ten Tournament win.

GAME #32 – BIG TEN TOURNAMENT (FIRST ROUND)
(11) Oregon (20-11, 8-10) vs. (14) Purdue (13-16, 5-13)
Wednesday, March 4 | 5 :30 p.m. PT | Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, Ind.)
TV/Stream: Peacock
Play-by-play: Sloane Martin | Analyst: Meghan McKeown| Sideline: Nicole Auerbach
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 second round of the Big Ten Tournament to face six-seed Maryland on Thursday.
» Give the Ducks their 21st win of the season, marking their most in a season since winning 31 in 2019-20.
» Secure Oregon's first-ever Big Ten Tournament victory.
» Be Oregon's first as an 11-seed in a conference tournament.
» Be 12th-year head coach Kelly Graves' 13th conference tournament win in his UO tenure.
» Improve the Ducks' neutral record to 3-1 and 9-6 in all games away from home.
» Mark Oregon's second against Purdue this season and give it a 3-0 all-time record against the Boilermakers.

LAST TIME OUT
Oregon's cardiac kids nearly completed another double-digit comeback Sunday, but Washington pulled out a win, 70-69, in the regular-season finale at Matthew Knight Arena.

Katie Fiso had 27 points and fellow sophomore Ehis Etute had 21 for the Ducks, with each tallying two points as the UO women (20-11, 8-10 Big Ten) scored four straight to take a 69-67 lead with 21 seconds left. But UW tied it at the other end, the Ducks turned it over and the Huskies won on a free throw with five seconds to play.

Oregon ended up earning the No. 11 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, which starts Wednesday in Indianapolis. The Ducks will play in the third of three games that evening, against a Purdue team they beat on the road last week — a loss that at the time looked like it might keep the Boilermakers from qualifying for the tournament at all.

SCOUTING PURDUE
Purdue (13-16, 5-13) enters the Big Ten Tournament off a 67-62 win at Northwestern, a win it needed on the last day of the regular season to cement a bid into the tournament field. The win snapped the Boilermakers' three-game skid that included a 71-65 home loss to Oregon on Feb. 25.

Against the Wildcats, four Boilermakers finished in double figures, led by 18 points and eight rebounds from Tara Daye. Kiki Smith added 17 points and Nya Smith chipped in 16, with Lana McCarthy scoring 10 off the bench. Purdue forced 21 NU turnovers behind a dozen steals.

Daye leads her team with 6.7 rebounds a game, which ranks 14th in the Big Ten, while she ranks 17th in the conference in free throw shooting at 77.1 percent.

As a team, Purdue ranks fifth with 22.8 bench points per game, eighth with a plus-2.1 rebounding margin and ninth in 3-pointers made per game with 7.2.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Wednesday's game will mark the third all-time meeting, and second this season, between Oregon and Purdue - with each meeting coming since the start of last season when the Ducks joined the Big Ten Conference. The Ducks are 2-0 against the Boilermakers after a 71-65 win a Mackey Arena in West Lafayette just a week ago on Feb. 25. The matchup will be both the first neutral-site and first conference tournament meeting between the sides.

In the season's first matchup, the Ducks forced 21 Purdue turnovers behind 16 steals, their most in a Big Ten game this season. Oregon turned those turnovers into a 31-8 advantage in points from turnovers while five players registered multiple steals, including a career-high five from Sofia Bell and four by Ari Long. Katie Fiso paced the offense with 19 points and four assists and Ehis Etute added 17 points to go with eight boards.

DUCKS IN THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Oregon is set for its second-ever Big Ten Tournament, as the Ducks enter a conference tournament as an 11-seed for the first time in program history. Last season, UO earned the No. 8 seed and faced off with ninth-seeded Indiana in the second round, falling 78-62. Under 12th-year head coach Kelly Graves, Oregon is 12-9 in conference tournament games while winning two Pac-12 Tournament titles in a three-year span (2018, 2020).

OFF AND RUNNING
Oregon began the 2025-26 season 10-0 for just the third time in program history before suffering its first loss of the season on Dec. 7 at then-No. 4 UCLA. It marked the first 10-0 start since beginning the 2015-16 season 11-0, and the second 10-0 start or better under 12th-year head coach Kelly Graves. The Ducks' 12-1 start was its best 13-game start since the 2019-20 season, and the third 12-1 start or better under Graves. UO's offense has scored 80 or more points 14 times, including five straight to begin the season - its longest streak to open a season since seven straight such games to open the 2019-20 season. UO's scoring offense of 75.1 points per game ranks 43rd nationally and 10th in the Big Ten.

Seven different Ducks have led or tied for the team lead in scoring, with 11 different players producing a double-digit scoring performance. Four times this season five different players finished in double figures, most recently on Dec. 18 in win over Portland: Mia Jacobs (21), Amina Muhammad (12), Avary Cain (11), Sarah Rambus (11) and Katie Fiso (10). Five of the 11 players with a double-figure scoring game did so coming off the bench (Avary Cain, Ehis Etute, Muhammad, Astera Tuhina and Janiyah Williams).

» Oregon's offensive rating of 101.7 (points per 100 possessions) ranks 11th in the Big Ten while averaging 72.9 possessions per 40 minutes (sixth in the Big Ten). UO had an offensive rating of 96.0 with an average of 70.2 possessions per 40 minutes last year.
» The 2.8 increase in pace is the second-largest improvement in the Big Ten from a season ago while its increase in scoring offense of 7.1 points per game ranks as the fourth-best improvement.
» The 14 80-point outings are the most since posting 25 such games in 2019-20, and the fourth-most under Graves during his UO tenure.
» UO's field goal percentage of 45.6 is No. 32 in the country, with its 50.7 percent on two-point shots ranking 10th in the conference. The Ducks' field goal percentage is on pace for their highest efficiency since a program-record 50.9 percent in 2019-20.
» Oregon ranks 35th in the country and ninth in the league with an effective field goal percentage of 51.2 percent.
» The Ducks' bench is averaging 22.5 points per game, good for sixth in the Big Ten, scoring 32 points against Washington on March 1 - their eighth 30-point outing of the season.
» UO's 17.2 assists per game are good for 27th nationally, posting an assisted shot rate of 61.8 percent (fifth in the Big Ten).
» The Ducks' assisted shot rate has jumped by 7.2 percent from 2024-25, the third-largest leap from last season in the Big Ten.
» The Ducks are fifth in the Big Ten and No. 19 in the country in free throw shooting (77.4 percent), while their 1.14 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks 45th nationally. UO's free throw percentage would set the single-season program record, which was set during the 2019-20 season at 77.3 percent.

DUCK DEFENSE
Oregon's suffocating defense, a chief reason for Oregon's success a season ago, is back again this year. The Ducks have forced at least 20 turnovers 15 times and recorded double-digit steals in 20 of 31 contests this season. The 20 games with 10 or more steals are tied for the 17th-most in the country, and tied for most in the Big Ten, while the 15 20-turnover games are good for No. 4 in the conference. In 15 games this season, UO's defense has recorded double-digit steals while forcing 20 or more turnovers - tied for the second-most such games in the Big Ten.

Oregon forced a season-high 32 turnovers behind 24 steals against West Georgia in the season opener, its most steals in a game since 2013. Oregon's defense recorded 12 or more steals and forced at least 23 turnovers in four consecutive games to begin the season. UO turned in 10 or more steals in five consecutive games from Nov. 23 to Dec. 3, matching the longest streak from a season ago. The four consecutive games with 20-plus turnovers to start the season marked its longest since eight straight such games during the 2010-11 season.

» The 20 games with double-digit steals are already the most in a season under 12th-year head coach Kelly Graves, and matching the most in a single season since at least 1999 (also done during the 2010-11 season).
» Oregon's 10.7 steals per game rank fourth in the Big Ten and 37th in the country, and would be its highest average per game since posting 10.9 steals a game in 2010-11. The 10.7 steals a game would be fifth-most in a season in UO history.
» UO recorded 18 steals and forced 29 Utah State turnovers in its 70-34 win on Nov. 23, both the second-highest totals of the season.
» The 34 points allowed to the Aggies marked UO's fewest given up since a 97-33 win over Charleston on Dec. 18, 2022 - and only the ninth time yielding 34 points or fewer since 1999.
» The Aggies were just 1-of-18 (5.6 percent) from the 3-point line, while Montana State was 1-for-19 (5.3 percent) on Dec. 14.
» The two games mark UO's lowest 3-point percentages allowed since holding Baylor without a 3-point field goal in the 2019 Final Four (0-for-3).
» The Ducks' defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) is 86.0, which ranks fifth in the Big Ten.
» Oregon is recording a steal on 12.6 percent of opponent possessions, which is the fourth-highest rate in the Big Ten and 39th-best in the nation. It marks UO's highest steal rate since at least 2009-10 and 1.0 percent higher than the next highest (11.6 percent in 2019-20).
» Opposing teams are turning the ball over on 22.4 percent of its possessions, the Ducks' highest forced turnover rate since at least 2009-10 and the sixth-best rate in the conference this season.

CARDIAC DUCKS
Oregon has been no stranger to close games this season. The Ducks have played nine games that have been decided by five points or less after a one-point loss to Washington, 70-69, in the regular-season finale. Oregon has played 14 "clutch games" - games that are within five points with five minutes or less to play - this season, including each of the last five games. Since the start of last season, Oregon has played 28 clutch games, winning 15 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 the 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.

» Each of the Ducks' last five games have been clutch games, while 12 of the 14 games that have been within five points with five minutes or fewer remaining this season have come during Big Ten play (18 games).
» 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 19 games that have been decided by five points or fewer, going 11-8 in those tilts with five wins coming away from home.
» The nine 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 19 games decided by five points or less, five more than the next closest.
» UO's 14 games decided by single digits this season are second-most in the Big Ten and one off the conference lead.
» 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 eight 20-point games this season.

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 15.0 points per game after averaging just 3.1 a game last season. Her increase of 11.9 points per game is the second-highest improvement from a season ago among players in the Big Ten (26th-highest nationally).
» Her 199 total assists this season are already sixth-most in a single season in program history, as she surpassed Ionescu's 183 assists she recorded in her freshman season. Fiso's 6.4 assists per game rank as the fifth-highest average in a season in UO history.
» Fiso's eight 20-point games are 10th-most in the league among Big Ten guards.
» Against the Cornhuskers, she scored 12 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter on 3-of-3 shooting while going 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
» 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 three points-assists double-doubles.
» There have been 18 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.
» 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).
» Her and Ionescu are the only two Ducks since at least 1999 to have a minimum of four points-assists double-doubles in a season.
» 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 points-assists double-double without committing a turnover.
» Led (or tied) UO in assists in 28 of 31 outings this season and ranks second in the Big Ten at 6.4 assists a night (eighth nationally).
» On Dec. 8, Fiso earned her second selection to the Big Ten's weekly honor roll after averaging 18.5 points and 10.5 assists.
» Fiso is one of three players in the country averaging at least 6.4 assists and shooting 45.0 percent or better from the floor, and the only player in the Big Ten.

EHIS THE BEAST
Sophomore F Ehis Etute has begun to tap into her raw potential in her second season in Eugene. The Luxembourg product has scored in double figures in 17 of her last 23 games, including five 20-point efforts over her last eight 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 produced consecutive games with 20 or more points twice over a six-game span after her 27-point effort at Indiana. All five of her career 20-point outings have come over the last eight 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.
» 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. Six of her seven double-doubles this season have come over her last 15 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 in total rebounds at 261 and in offensive rebounds per game at 3.9, with her 8.7 rebounds a game ranking third. During conference play, Etute averaged 9.7 boards a night, good for No. 2 in the conference.
» Over her last five games, she is averaging a team-high 18.6 points and 11.0 rebounds while shooting 45.6 percent.
» Etute has led or tied UO in rebounding in 23 of 30 games in which she has played this season and has finished as the team leader 27 times in her career, including in eight straight games and in 14 of her last 15 games overall.
» Etute boasts a total rebounding rate of 21.2 percent, the second-highest rate in the Big Ten and 16th-highest rate in the country among players averaging at least 15.0 minutes per game, while her offensive rebounding rate of 19.8 percent is tops in the Big Ten and third nationally among those players.