Roughly three weeks until the Oregon women’s basketball team gets its season started, coach Kelly Graves and players Sofia Bell and Mia Jacobs traveled to Rosemont, Ill., Wednesday, Oct. 8., for Big Ten Women’s Basketball Media Day.
The Ducks are fresh off a 20-12 first season in the conference that saw them make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years. UO upset Vanderbilt in the first round of the tournament before falling in the Round of 32 to Duke behind senior playmakers like Deja Kelly, Peyton Scott and Phillipina Kyei, who have all graduated.
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Bringing in a swath of talent and expected to finish in the middle of the Big Ten after finishing eighth a season ago, here are three things we learned from Big Ten Women’s Basketball Media Day.
Oregon Head Coach Kelly Graves during Big Ten Women’s Basketball Media Days at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.
Kelly Graves, Oregon women’s basketball want to pick up the pace
Graves has made it no secret that he wants the Ducks to return to the fast-paced, offense-oriented attack that became synonymous with UO women’s basketball while Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally starred for the Ducks in the late 2010s.
After spending the offseason recruiting for that style of play, Graves said that’s the way to combat the style of play in the Big Ten, anyway.
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“I want to get back to that style of play and make offense the focal point of our program,” Graves said. “It starts with good guard play … I think we’ve got the necessary ingredients and as a coach I’m trying to be that chef to put it all together. We’ll see what happens in the end. I’m excited every day to go to practice because I really like this group.”
Bell, a third-year player from Portland, and Jacobs, a senior transfer from Fresno State, also expressed excitement over the style change.
“We’re trying to play a fast style of basketball, get up and down the court in as few seconds as we can,” Bell said. “That really has just started in practice and getting reps with that. Pushing the pace, looking for early shots in transition, trying to create chaos on defense and just getting up and running the floor.”
Oregon’s Sofia Bell speaks during Big Ten Women’s Basketball Media Days in Rosemont, Illinois. Bell said the Ducks are working to push the pace in practice.
Kelly Graves says Ducks will be led by young guards, including Katie Fiso
Graves has been effusive in his praise of sophomore guard Katie Fiso since before she arrived on campus in Eugene. Fiso, the former four-star guard out of Seattle, is in line for a much-greater role with the Ducks in her second season.
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Now in his 12th year at Oregon, Graves said while Kelly, Scott and Nani Falatea have graduated this season, a much-younger guard line that will feature Fiso and other wings like UCLA transfer Avary Cain and Ari Long will feature prominently in 2025-26.
Graves was especially complimentary of Washington State transfer Astera Tuhina, who will play lead guard for the Ducks.
“She’s great, she’s been a godsend for us in a lot of ways,” Graves said. “Solid at the point, makes good decisions, we’re trying to play faster this year so I’m trying to speed her up a little bit. But I think that’s going to be one of our strengths this year. We’ve got (Tuhina) at the point, we’ve got Elisa Mevius returning and then Katie Fiso. We’ve got three really good players that can be lead guards for us. We’re trying to play fast; with that, you need a veteran like Astera to calm things down.”
Oregon’s Mia Jacobs will be leaned on heavily this year as a high-scoring transfer from Fresno State.
Kelly Graves on Fresno State transfer Mia Jacobs: ‘She’s fun to coach’
Oregon’s prized transfer over the offseason, Jacobs averaged 18.3 points, 10 rebounds and two steals per game for Fresno State last season and supplies much-needed proven scoring to the Ducks’ lineup.
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Jacobs’ ability to play at all three levels, while serving as an intimidating rebounder down low, was the perfect addition for a team looking to play faster.
“She’s fun to coach,” Graves said. “I call her Larry Bird because she does a little bit of everything and she does it well. She can shoot with range, she can score at every level, draws a lot of fouls and is really good on the boards. We’re going to rely on her a lot.”
Jacobs said she decided to transfer to Oregon because of the resurgent style of play and the “family aspect” of the team. The senior said practices have been incredibly spirited so far this year and the “most intense” she’s ever been a part of.
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on Bluesky and X.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: What we learned about Oregon women’s hoops at Big Ten Media Day
