To kick off the weekend of Halloween festivities, fans piled into Matthew Knight Arena to witness an interstate women's basketball matchup between the Oregon Ducks and the Western Oregon Wolves. After a second-round exit in last year's NCAA tournament, the Ducks came into this exhibition match once again led by head coach Kelly Graves in his 12th year leading the Ducks. The Wolves came to Eugene, led by head coach Jessica Peatross, after a 9th-place finish in the GNAC conference.
Going into the 2025-2026 season, the Ducks returned nine letterwinners, led by two starting guards, Sofia Bell and Elisa Mevius, as well as post Amina Muhamad. The Ducks also brought in three transfers: two seniors in Mia Jacobs and Astera Tuhina, along with sophomore Avary Cain.
From the first tip, the Ducks started the first quarter on a tear. With a blend of well-executed offense and defense, Oregon went on a 15-0 run to start the game. After quarter one, the Ducks showed no signs of offseason rust as they held a commanding lead, 27-12, led by Cain — a transfer from UCLA — with 9 points.
In the first half, the Wolves could not get anything going against this stout Oregon defense. Shooting 28% from the field. For the Ducks, they never looked back after a blazing start. Led by junior forward Sarah Rambus with 15 points, the Ducks went into the half winning by a large margin, 54-18.
“A lot upstairs – Sarah's mentally is a lot better,” Graves said of Rambus’s huge night on the offensive side of the ball. “She just lives in the gym. You don’t see a lot of players go for smaller roles to the starting 5 in this day and age… I'm proud of her.”
After the half, Oregon continued a dominant offensive explosion. Despite an unwavering Wolves team, they could not keep pace with the Rambus-led Ducks, who got it done in Eugene with a final score of 113-36. Rambus led the team with 28 points and 9 assists.
“We have really good depth,” Graves said of how his team can show an outpour of offense no matter which five players are on the court. “Someone can have a big game on any given night.”
Next up for the Ducks, they officially begin their 2025-2026 season on Monday, November 3rd, when they will host West Georgia back at Matthew Knight Arena at 6 p.m. PT. For the Wolves, they look to host Corban University on November 15th, at 2 p.m. PT, back home at Wolves Athletic Center.