EUGENE, OR - Duck fans, rejoice, you’ve got another team to root for once again. A new season in Eugene is underway for the Oregon Women’s Basketball team, which opened up the regular season by hosting the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine.
While it could be said about almost every year, the Ducks have a huge opportunity to make a run. They were originally planning on having four of their five starters from last year, an unfortunate season-ending injury to senior guard Sofia Bell will see Oregon down a big playmaker. Ehis Etute, Katie Fiso, and Ari Long, however, are all slated to once again rep the green and yellow. Can they, along with their teammates, answer the call to step up in Bell’s absence? Can this team make some real noise this season? Tonight is the beginning of the answer to that question.
The talent is on the roster. You have an experienced staff with a head coach at the helm entering his 13th season with this team. And to put the cherry on top, there is every resource needed for success readily available. There are zero excuses.
The first few minutes were shaky, to say the least, and a couple of bad trends - poor passes, missed defensive cues, not capitalizing on open chances - were exposed by the visitors and would carry on through the game. While Oregon did take control after the shaky start and would not let up the lead the rest of the match, the team still walked away knowing that there is a lot of room for improvement.
“Good first start. I thought we did some really good things tonight,” head coach Kelly Graves said postgame. “I love the effort, I love the fact that we got everybody in, everybody contributed… [but] we got some things now we can work on.”
One of the biggest challenges for Oregon in this game was the ability to guard Hawaii’s standout center Ritorya Tamilo, who put up 14 points on 50% shooting, along with 12 rebounds, two steals, and seven blocked shots.
“Yeah, we’re not a big team. So, we’re gonna have to get used to those kinds of players. And I thought we did a better job in the second half of trying to bring [her] away from the basket. You want your kids to be aggressive to the basket, but my goodness. At some point you gotta realize she’s standing right there and she’s gonna go get it.”
The Ducks are going to see a lot more 6’5” or taller bigs throughout the rest of the year, especially in the Big Ten, and tonight exposed how well that type of player can generate positives against them. And while it is certainly possible for them to fix this flaw in their game plan, it will be an uphill battle the entire year.
Fiso and Mallory Heyer went out and produced great games, giving them the honor of being the first two players to speak with the media this season. Fiso had a strong night as the Ducks’ floor general, posting 14 points, four boards, nine assists, and a steal. Alongside her, it was an even better night for Heyer as she went for 16 points (6-12 FG, 4-8 3PT), 7 boards and 1 assist/block/steal. Though when asked about her thoughts on her performance, Fiso did not shy away from owning up to her mistakes.
“I’m actually kinda thankful that they had such a big post presence, because that’s all we're gonna see in the Big Ten,” said Fiso. “Being able to make the read, go off two feet, I think I was struggling a lot with that today…definitely room for improvement.”
Was this game enough to say that Oregon will be fine in Sofia Bell’s absence? Did it tell us if they will be able to go toe-to-toe with strong conference competition? Will they make a run towards the postseason? We don’t know yet. You cannot answer those questions after one game. Nevertheless, this match still allowed us to see what they can be when everything comes together. We saw that they can shoot it. We saw their ability to play the fast-paced style of ball that is the Oregon identity. They have depth. The players can make big plays and, most importantly, play for the team and not themselves. Will this be sustainable? I think so. But every game is different, and they are played on a hardwood floor, not paper.
It’s easy to root for this team because of the top to bottom continuity that they show. But that’s not the same as believing in them to find success. What makes that easy is the energy that they have as a collective unit. Again, even in just one game, there is an unmistakable vibe that should have every supporter excited for what's to come.
Coach Graves was asked about his thoughts regarding this team's moxie.
“This is my 40th year of coaching, and I really love this team. I love their energy; they are easy to be around. They like each other; they work hard for each other. They’re selfless. They are great teammates, and they make coaching fun.”It’s early, and there are a plethora of things this team can improve on as they get ready to face harder competition each and every week. The coaches know it, the players know it, and they are ready to attack every day. But for the fans out there wondering what they can expect for the rest of this season from this team, Katie Fiso was short and sweet with her message to you and why you should continue to show up and support.
“Just expect great energy from all our players. From the bench, to the five on the floor.”
Oregon hits the court again this Friday, November 6th, as they host the Washington State Cougars. What should the goal be for them? To get 1% better.