The Oregon women’s basketball season played its first game in front of fans in a 113-36 exhibition win over Division II Western Oregon on Thursday, Oct. 30 at Matthew Knight Arena.
The win might not count toward the record book, but the Ducks showcased a new speed, roster and style in a dominant showing over the Wolves.
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UO shot 51.8% from the field, led by junior Sarah Rambus’ 28 points and eight rebounds. Rambus was joined by Katie Fiso (12 points), Astera Tuhina (11 points), Ehis Etute (12 points) and Avary Cain (15 points) in double figures.
Here are three takeaways from the Ducks’ dominant win in Eugene.
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Sarah Rambus excels in Ducks’ increased pace
The junior from Flint, Mich., patiently bided her time behind 6-foot-8 center Phillipina Kyei, who has graduated, and appears ready for the limelight in Oregon’s fast-paced system.
The former No. 66 national recruit in the 2023 class and 6-foot-4 forward scored eight of the first 10 points for the Ducks and had 15 points at the half in just seven minutes of play. With Oregon’s point guards pushing the pace on makes, misses and turnovers, Rambus ran the floor and was on the receiving end of a healthy amount of passes from Fiso, Elisa Mevius and Tuhina.
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“That’s one of her biggest strengths,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said. “She can really run the floor. She’s been doing that all fall. I just think she’s showed as much improvement as anyone we have and it showed tonight. I expect her to continue that. We just have mobile posts so we’re able to run a little bit more.”
Oregon guard Avary Cain provided a spark from outside against Western Oregon with 15 points on five 3-pointers.
Could Avary Cain be Oregon women’s basketball’s most reliable 3-point threat?
The UCLA transfer didn’t wait long to make an impact coming off the bench for the Ducks. Cain, a former five-star recruit, made a trio of treys within the first five minutes of checking in and finished with 15 points and five 3-pointers.
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Though Graves said he didn’t expect the sophomore to shoot the ball that well, he’s been encouraged by her continued development throughout the fall.
“That’s what she can do,” Graves said. “She’s had a great fall. It was unexpected for her to make five but that’s fantastic. That’s the one thing she can really do … Long arms, quick twitch, athletic, I think she can become a real defensive stopper.”
Cain said she was a bit nervous before her debut for her new team at Matthew Knight Arena, but after her first 3-point attempt she settled in.
“It was really exciting,” Cain said. “I was a little nervous at first but I think after getting that first shot off, all the nerves kind of went away.”
Oregon’s bench celebrates a foul as the Oregon Ducks host the Western Oregon Wolves in an exhibition game at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene on Oct. 30, 2025.
Oregon women’s basketball adapts without true rim protector
Perhaps what is missed most from Kyei’s graduation is her defensive presence. Even if Kyei wasn’t blocking shots, the 6-foot-8 center was certainly affecting them. This year’s rendition of the Ducks doesn’t pose a player with that same intimidating presence in the low block.
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But it opens up different avenues to get stops.
The Ducks are long on the outside and have a lot more speed both on the perimeter and inside. Graves wasn’t totally happy with his team’s defensive effort Thursday but says the pieces are there to get better.
“Defensively we let down a few times,” Graves said. “They had some open looks. We didn’t want them to take as many 3s as they did. Unfortunately, they had a lot of pretty open looks. We’ve got to do a better job, I think, overall defensively.”
Junior Sofia Bell had four steals and Fiso added three on the outside and also had two blocks.
Forward Sarah Rambus led Oregon in its exhibition win against Western Oregon with 28 points and eight rebounds. The Ducks open the regular season Nov. 3 at home against Western Georgia.
What’s next for Oregon women’s basketball?
The Ducks will get their season started officially at 6 p.m. Monday against West Georgia at Matthew Knight Arena. The game will air on the B1G+ streaming service. The Wolves are part of the Atlantic Sun Conference and finished 13-17 last season.
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Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football and women’s basketball 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: Takeaways from Oregon women’s basketball exhibition vs. Western Oregon
