Sunday, December 14
Eugene, OR
12 p.m.
University of Oregon
11-1,0-1Big Ten
69
vs
44
Montana State
6-3,0-0Big Sky
1
2
3
4
F
Montana St.
10
4
14
16
44
Oregon
21
16
21
11
69
Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Ducks Dominate Sunday Matinee
12/14/25 | Women's Basketball
Oregon got balanced production and used suffocating defense to beat Montana State in Matthew Knight Arena.
EUGENE, Ore. — Back in action a week after their 10-game season-opening win streak ended, the Oregon women's basketball team got to work trying to put together another.
The Ducks (11-1) bounced back from their lone loss — on the road against No. 4 UCLA — with a commanding 69-44 win Sunday over Montana State before 4,169 fans in Matthew Knight Arena. The UO women forced 23 turnovers and held the Bobcats to 28.6 percent shooting, helping Oregon dominate on a day the Ducks themselves shot just 32.8 percent.
"It was a good win," UO coach Kelly Graves said. "It was a little up and down; we weren't at our best all the time. But I thought defensively, that first half, we played really, really well and took them out of pretty much everything they were trying to run. They're a good team — they're going to win the Big Sky, get to the NCAA Tournament."
Sofia Bell scored 15 points to lead the Ducks, and Mia Jacobs added her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Ari Long added 10 points — that trio combined to go 9-of-18 from three-point range — and Katie Fiso also scored 10 while attempting a season-low five shots.
"Katie does such a good job distributing so that obviously defenses are going to focus on her, which leaves opportunities for us to be open in space and able to knock down shots," said Bell, whose 15 points matched her career high. "I think it's good to be as dynamic of a team as we can be."
How It Happened: Montana State's pressure defense slowed the Ducks down out of the gate, and the Bobcats took advantage to lead 8-5 less than four minutes into the matinee. But the UO women allowed just one more field goal the first of the opening quarter, and used a 14-0 run to take control of the game.
Jacobs sparked that run with a three-pointer, Bell followed with another, Jacobs hit two more from behind the arc and Fiso scored in transition to cap the 14-0 run. The Ducks ended up committing 21 turnovers on the day, but after opening the game on their heels the 14-0 run provided them all the momentum they needed.
"Being able to hit some shots definitely spread them out a little bit and gave more opportunities to create, so I think we handled that well," Bell said of Montana State's defensive pressure. "And then in the second half, I thought Katie did a really good job, and it kind of fell back after a bit."
The second quarter was all Oregon. After each team scored two points in the opening minutes of the period, the Ducks put together another 14-0 run that included a pair of three-pointers by Bell. Montana State had just two points in the period until throwing over the top of the UO defense for a fastbreak bucket with 1:32 left in the first half, which ended with Oregon comfortably ahead, 37-14.
Long then scored Oregon's first 10 points of the second half, including a pair of three-pointers. Known mostly for her pesky defense, the junior guard showed she can score in bunches too, much to the delight of her teammates.
"She's a great connector," UO coach Kelly Graves said of the team's joyful reaction to Long's scoring outburst. "… She kind of connects with everybody, and I think that's why. And she's very humble and a hard worker, and everybody sees that — they know who's putting in time in the gym."
Long's final two points to open the half sparked a 6-0 run that gave the Ducks their biggest lead to that point, 51-18. The UO women ultimately led by as much as 36, at 68-32 midway through the fourth quarter; Montana State then ended the game on a 12-1 run that included the Bobcats' only three-pointer of the day, on 19 attempts.
Up Next: The Ducks host Portland in another matinee Thursday (11 a.m., B1G+).
The Ducks (11-1) bounced back from their lone loss — on the road against No. 4 UCLA — with a commanding 69-44 win Sunday over Montana State before 4,169 fans in Matthew Knight Arena. The UO women forced 23 turnovers and held the Bobcats to 28.6 percent shooting, helping Oregon dominate on a day the Ducks themselves shot just 32.8 percent.
"It was a good win," UO coach Kelly Graves said. "It was a little up and down; we weren't at our best all the time. But I thought defensively, that first half, we played really, really well and took them out of pretty much everything they were trying to run. They're a good team — they're going to win the Big Sky, get to the NCAA Tournament."
Sofia Bell scored 15 points to lead the Ducks, and Mia Jacobs added her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Ari Long added 10 points — that trio combined to go 9-of-18 from three-point range — and Katie Fiso also scored 10 while attempting a season-low five shots.
"Katie does such a good job distributing so that obviously defenses are going to focus on her, which leaves opportunities for us to be open in space and able to knock down shots," said Bell, whose 15 points matched her career high. "I think it's good to be as dynamic of a team as we can be."
How It Happened: Montana State's pressure defense slowed the Ducks down out of the gate, and the Bobcats took advantage to lead 8-5 less than four minutes into the matinee. But the UO women allowed just one more field goal the first of the opening quarter, and used a 14-0 run to take control of the game.
Jacobs sparked that run with a three-pointer, Bell followed with another, Jacobs hit two more from behind the arc and Fiso scored in transition to cap the 14-0 run. The Ducks ended up committing 21 turnovers on the day, but after opening the game on their heels the 14-0 run provided them all the momentum they needed.
"Being able to hit some shots definitely spread them out a little bit and gave more opportunities to create, so I think we handled that well," Bell said of Montana State's defensive pressure. "And then in the second half, I thought Katie did a really good job, and it kind of fell back after a bit."
The second quarter was all Oregon. After each team scored two points in the opening minutes of the period, the Ducks put together another 14-0 run that included a pair of three-pointers by Bell. Montana State had just two points in the period until throwing over the top of the UO defense for a fastbreak bucket with 1:32 left in the first half, which ended with Oregon comfortably ahead, 37-14.
Long then scored Oregon's first 10 points of the second half, including a pair of three-pointers. Known mostly for her pesky defense, the junior guard showed she can score in bunches too, much to the delight of her teammates.
"She's a great connector," UO coach Kelly Graves said of the team's joyful reaction to Long's scoring outburst. "… She kind of connects with everybody, and I think that's why. And she's very humble and a hard worker, and everybody sees that — they know who's putting in time in the gym."
Long's final two points to open the half sparked a 6-0 run that gave the Ducks their biggest lead to that point, 51-18. The UO women ultimately led by as much as 36, at 68-32 midway through the fourth quarter; Montana State then ended the game on a 12-1 run that included the Bobcats' only three-pointer of the day, on 19 attempts.
Up Next: The Ducks host Portland in another matinee Thursday (11 a.m., B1G+).
Team Stats
MSU
Oregon
FG%
.286
.328
3FG%
.053
.290
FT%
.846
.846
RB
34
46
TO
23
21
STL
10
14
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballSofia Bell & Ari Long | Postgame vs. Montana State
Sunday, December 14
Kelly Graves | Postgame vs. Montana State
Sunday, December 14
Kelly Graves: "Everybody gets involved."
Friday, December 12
Kelly Graves: "Good to be back home."
Tuesday, December 02
