Friday, March 20
Austin, TX
10:30 a.m.
University of Oregon
vs
Virginia Tech
Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
March Madness at hand for Women's Hoops
03/19/26 | Women's Basketball
The Ducks arrived in Texas on Wednesday and practiced Thursday for their NCAA Tournament matchup Friday against Virginia Tech.
AUSTIN, Texas — The stage looks similar, but their roles in the play have changed considerably.
Ehis Etute and Katie Fiso are back in the NCAA Tournament with the Oregon women's basketball team. Bit players as freshmen when the Ducks won a first-round game a year ago, the two sophomores are now stars of the show for the UO women.
Etute, Fiso and the Ducks (22-12) open this year's tournament as a No. 8 seed on Friday. They'll face No. 9 seed Virginia Tech, in a 10:30 a.m. PT tip on ESPN2 at a regional hosted by Texas.
At a press conference Thursday prior to Oregon's practice at the Moody Center, head coach Kelly Graves reflected on one of the last times he took a team to the tournament with such a young leadership core — the 2017 team that was headlined by freshmen Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard, and which made it all the way to the Elite Eight.
"They just didn't know any better, so the pressure didn't get to them," Graves said Thursday. "The moment wasn't too big. And I think maybe there could be a little bit of that in this group. That's what I'm hoping."
Fiso played in both games of Oregon's tournament appearance last season. She had eight points in 19 minutes off the bench during the Ducks' overtime win over Vanderbilt in the first round; Etute and Fiso were both scoreless in 11 combined minutes of the UO women's loss to Duke in the second round.
Fast forward a year and the two sophomores were Oregon's leading scorers in Big Ten play this season. Over the past 10 games, late in the regular season and into the Big Ten Tournament, Etute leads the Ducks with 17.3 points per game and Fiso is right behind with 16.1.
"A lot more expectations this year, a lot more responsibilities," Fiso said when comparing this year's tournament appearance to a year ago. "Other than that, it's the same thing: coming here to hoop, gave fun, get some dubs."
The Ducks arrived in Austin on Wednesday afternoon, checking into a hotel adorned with the familiar blue signage of an NCAA event. Come Thursday, it was time to get a first look at the Moody Center, all dressed up for March Madness.
"I'm always kind of just overwhelmed by everything that's going on, and how much effort people put into this," Etute said.
Moody Center will be more familiar to Etute in the coming years — her sister, Isi Etute, has committed to play at Texas. The two spoke on the phone earlier this week about the potential for the Ducks and Longhorns to meet in the second round this weekend.
"And basically she was like, yeah, I just want you to know I'm rooting for Texas," Etute recalled Thursday with a laugh. "And I was like, damn, so blood doesn't matter these days."
The blue March Madness signage was familiar to Oregon senior Mia Jacobs as well. But in her case, it was from watching the NCAA Tournament on television — Jacobs joined the UO women as a transfer this season, moving to her third school with the goal of finally making it to the Big Dance.
The season didn't go quite as hoped for Jacobs, who is playing through a leg injury that Graves said Thursday will require postseason surgery. But she's about to make her NCAA Tournament debut and give whatever she can.
"Seeing all the March Madness signs, seeing our name up, it's just cool," Jacobs said. "It's something that I've been working towards, and it's just really exciting that I get to be there and be around this, and try to soak it all in."
Jacobs is Oregon's second-leading scorer on the season at 12.6 points per game, tied with Etute and behind Fiso (15.3), and her 59 made three-pointers are one less than Sofia Bell's 60. Jacobs has averaged 7.0 per game in four appearances since returning from injury.
"She can be that X factor for us," Graves said. "If she's shooting the three well, we become so much more difficult to defend. … This is her first NCAA Tournament; she's not going to miss this, so she's playing through some pain and doing the best she can."
Oregon's coaching staff has spent the days since Sunday's NCAA Tournament selection show familiarizing itself with Virginia Tech. The Hokies are 23-9 overall and went 12-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, with a NET ranking of 40, 16 spots below the Ducks.
Like the Ducks, Virginia Tech has a quality inside-outside combination. Forward Carys Baker and guard Carleigh Wenzel combined for 44 percent of the team's offense in ACC play, and 77.4 percent of the Hokies' three-pointers.
And point guard Mackenzie Nelson has the respect of Graves, who knows a little something about quality point-guard play.
"I've been very impressed with her," Graves said. "Her ability to catch-and-shoot the three when she needs it, she does a great job. But she does an awesome job of getting downhill, getting into the paint, creating for others."
Ehis Etute and Katie Fiso are back in the NCAA Tournament with the Oregon women's basketball team. Bit players as freshmen when the Ducks won a first-round game a year ago, the two sophomores are now stars of the show for the UO women.
Etute, Fiso and the Ducks (22-12) open this year's tournament as a No. 8 seed on Friday. They'll face No. 9 seed Virginia Tech, in a 10:30 a.m. PT tip on ESPN2 at a regional hosted by Texas.
At a press conference Thursday prior to Oregon's practice at the Moody Center, head coach Kelly Graves reflected on one of the last times he took a team to the tournament with such a young leadership core — the 2017 team that was headlined by freshmen Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard, and which made it all the way to the Elite Eight.
"They just didn't know any better, so the pressure didn't get to them," Graves said Thursday. "The moment wasn't too big. And I think maybe there could be a little bit of that in this group. That's what I'm hoping."
Fiso played in both games of Oregon's tournament appearance last season. She had eight points in 19 minutes off the bench during the Ducks' overtime win over Vanderbilt in the first round; Etute and Fiso were both scoreless in 11 combined minutes of the UO women's loss to Duke in the second round.
Fast forward a year and the two sophomores were Oregon's leading scorers in Big Ten play this season. Over the past 10 games, late in the regular season and into the Big Ten Tournament, Etute leads the Ducks with 17.3 points per game and Fiso is right behind with 16.1.
"A lot more expectations this year, a lot more responsibilities," Fiso said when comparing this year's tournament appearance to a year ago. "Other than that, it's the same thing: coming here to hoop, gave fun, get some dubs."
The Ducks arrived in Austin on Wednesday afternoon, checking into a hotel adorned with the familiar blue signage of an NCAA event. Come Thursday, it was time to get a first look at the Moody Center, all dressed up for March Madness.
"I'm always kind of just overwhelmed by everything that's going on, and how much effort people put into this," Etute said.
Moody Center will be more familiar to Etute in the coming years — her sister, Isi Etute, has committed to play at Texas. The two spoke on the phone earlier this week about the potential for the Ducks and Longhorns to meet in the second round this weekend.
"And basically she was like, yeah, I just want you to know I'm rooting for Texas," Etute recalled Thursday with a laugh. "And I was like, damn, so blood doesn't matter these days."
The blue March Madness signage was familiar to Oregon senior Mia Jacobs as well. But in her case, it was from watching the NCAA Tournament on television — Jacobs joined the UO women as a transfer this season, moving to her third school with the goal of finally making it to the Big Dance.
The season didn't go quite as hoped for Jacobs, who is playing through a leg injury that Graves said Thursday will require postseason surgery. But she's about to make her NCAA Tournament debut and give whatever she can.
"Seeing all the March Madness signs, seeing our name up, it's just cool," Jacobs said. "It's something that I've been working towards, and it's just really exciting that I get to be there and be around this, and try to soak it all in."
Jacobs is Oregon's second-leading scorer on the season at 12.6 points per game, tied with Etute and behind Fiso (15.3), and her 59 made three-pointers are one less than Sofia Bell's 60. Jacobs has averaged 7.0 per game in four appearances since returning from injury.
"She can be that X factor for us," Graves said. "If she's shooting the three well, we become so much more difficult to defend. … This is her first NCAA Tournament; she's not going to miss this, so she's playing through some pain and doing the best she can."
Oregon's coaching staff has spent the days since Sunday's NCAA Tournament selection show familiarizing itself with Virginia Tech. The Hokies are 23-9 overall and went 12-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, with a NET ranking of 40, 16 spots below the Ducks.
Like the Ducks, Virginia Tech has a quality inside-outside combination. Forward Carys Baker and guard Carleigh Wenzel combined for 44 percent of the team's offense in ACC play, and 77.4 percent of the Hokies' three-pointers.
And point guard Mackenzie Nelson has the respect of Graves, who knows a little something about quality point-guard play.
"I've been very impressed with her," Graves said. "Her ability to catch-and-shoot the three when she needs it, she does a great job. But she does an awesome job of getting downhill, getting into the paint, creating for others."
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's BasketballSofia Bell, Katie Fiso & Mia Jacobs | Selection Sunday
Monday, March 16
Kelly Graves | Selection Sunday
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Ehis Etute & Katie Fiso | Postgame vs. Washington
Monday, March 02
Kelly Graves | Postgame vs. Washington
Monday, March 02
