Sunday, November 23
Eugene, OR
2 p.m.
University of Oregon
6-0,0-0Big Ten
70
vs
34
Utah State
3-3,0-0Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Utah St.
9
11
6
8
34
Oregon
14
18
23
15
70
Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Defense Fuels Comfortable Win For Ducks
11/23/25 | Women's Basketball
The Oregon women's basketball team forced 29 turnovers Sunday in a win over Utah State.
EUGENE, Ore. — It wasn't the sharpest day for the Ducks offensively, but when they play defense the way they did Sunday, the UO women are tough to beat regardless.
Oregon forced 29 turnovers and limited Utah State to 26.3 field-goal shooting Sunday — including 1-of-18 three-point shooting — as the Ducks beat the Aggies at Matthew Knight Arena, 70-34. The UO women (6-0) now head out on the road for three games during Thanksgiving week.
Katie Fiso and Sarah Rambus had 13 points each to lead the Ducks, freshman Janiyah Williams added 12 and Mia Jacobs had 11 points with seven rebounds and six steals. Oregon got hot from three-point range coming out of halftime to break the game open; otherwise it wasn't the most consistent performance offensively. But the Ducks' defense was suffocating.
"We had some really good stretches offensively here and there, but it was just one of those nights," UO coach Kelly Graves said. "We just weren't really in sync offensively. Our shooting percentage has been one of our biggest strengths, but we didn't hit any of our goals overall, from the field, from the three-point line or from the free-throw line; just one of those games. But we powered through with some really good defense and a ton of disruptions."
Oregon's staff tracks disruptions over the course of the game, for things like blocks, steals, shot-clock violations forced and the recovery of a loose ball. The Ducks' goal any given game is 30; on Sunday, they had twice that.
"It's got to be one of our main ingredients every game," Graves said. "We've got to be able to turn people over and create a little bit of chaos."
How It Happened: Oregon opened the game on an 8-0 run, including four points by Rambus. The Aggies didn't score until the 6:23 mark of the opening quarter, but the Ducks managed just one field goal the rest of the quarter and Utah State actually outscored them 9-6 after those eight straight UO points to open the game.
Three-pointers by Jacobs and Williams early in the second kept the Ducks from surrendering their cushion. But they finished the first half on an 8-2 run to lead 32-20 at halftime, the last basket a layup by Fiso off a steal by Jacobs.
"She showed up tonight," said Graves, who challenged Jacobs before the game to have an impact defensively. "You could tell that was a priority for her. She played her butt off and got six steals. So I was really proud of her. She took the challenge and got better, and we were better for it."
Oregon broke things open in the third, forcing nine turnovers and allowing just two points until the final minute of the quarter. The Ducks got two three-pointers from Jacobs and one by Ari Long to open the quarter and then, after Utah State scored, went on a 13-0 run that included fastbreak layups by Fiso, Astera Tuhina and Amina Muhammad.
"The second half we came out, we just talked to him about spacing the floor — let's simplify our execution," Graves said. "So we ran a couple of very simple sets and got the shots that we needed."
The comfortable lead allowed the Ducks to lean on their depth in the fourth quarter, getting some rest for the starters prior to the upcoming road trip. Williams had seven points in the period, including her second three-pointer.
Up Next: The Ducks open the Hoopfest Women's Challenge in Frisco, Texas, against Saint Mary's on Tuesday (FloSports, 11:30 a.m.).
Oregon forced 29 turnovers and limited Utah State to 26.3 field-goal shooting Sunday — including 1-of-18 three-point shooting — as the Ducks beat the Aggies at Matthew Knight Arena, 70-34. The UO women (6-0) now head out on the road for three games during Thanksgiving week.
Katie Fiso and Sarah Rambus had 13 points each to lead the Ducks, freshman Janiyah Williams added 12 and Mia Jacobs had 11 points with seven rebounds and six steals. Oregon got hot from three-point range coming out of halftime to break the game open; otherwise it wasn't the most consistent performance offensively. But the Ducks' defense was suffocating.
"We had some really good stretches offensively here and there, but it was just one of those nights," UO coach Kelly Graves said. "We just weren't really in sync offensively. Our shooting percentage has been one of our biggest strengths, but we didn't hit any of our goals overall, from the field, from the three-point line or from the free-throw line; just one of those games. But we powered through with some really good defense and a ton of disruptions."
Oregon's staff tracks disruptions over the course of the game, for things like blocks, steals, shot-clock violations forced and the recovery of a loose ball. The Ducks' goal any given game is 30; on Sunday, they had twice that.
"It's got to be one of our main ingredients every game," Graves said. "We've got to be able to turn people over and create a little bit of chaos."
How It Happened: Oregon opened the game on an 8-0 run, including four points by Rambus. The Aggies didn't score until the 6:23 mark of the opening quarter, but the Ducks managed just one field goal the rest of the quarter and Utah State actually outscored them 9-6 after those eight straight UO points to open the game.
Three-pointers by Jacobs and Williams early in the second kept the Ducks from surrendering their cushion. But they finished the first half on an 8-2 run to lead 32-20 at halftime, the last basket a layup by Fiso off a steal by Jacobs.
"She showed up tonight," said Graves, who challenged Jacobs before the game to have an impact defensively. "You could tell that was a priority for her. She played her butt off and got six steals. So I was really proud of her. She took the challenge and got better, and we were better for it."
Oregon broke things open in the third, forcing nine turnovers and allowing just two points until the final minute of the quarter. The Ducks got two three-pointers from Jacobs and one by Ari Long to open the quarter and then, after Utah State scored, went on a 13-0 run that included fastbreak layups by Fiso, Astera Tuhina and Amina Muhammad.
"The second half we came out, we just talked to him about spacing the floor — let's simplify our execution," Graves said. "So we ran a couple of very simple sets and got the shots that we needed."
The comfortable lead allowed the Ducks to lean on their depth in the fourth quarter, getting some rest for the starters prior to the upcoming road trip. Williams had seven points in the period, including her second three-pointer.
Up Next: The Ducks open the Hoopfest Women's Challenge in Frisco, Texas, against Saint Mary's on Tuesday (FloSports, 11:30 a.m.).
Team Stats
USU
Oregon
FG%
.263
.429
3FG%
.056
.316
FT%
1.000
.667
RB
40
42
TO
29
16
STL
8
18
Game Leaders
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballKelly Graves | Postgame vs. Utah State
Monday, November 24
Sarah Rambus & Mia Jacobs | Postgame vs. Utah State
Monday, November 24
Sofia Bell & Amina Muhammad | Postgame vs. Army
Monday, November 17
Kelly Graves | Postgame vs. Army
Monday, November 17
