OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | JANUARY 31, 2026

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL | @OregonWBB

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The first road game of January for the Oregon women's basketball team was an upset of a ranked opponent, and the month ended in the same fashion.

The Ducks went across the country and knocked off No. 16 Maryland on Saturday, 68-61, taking the lead midway through the fourth quarter on a trio of three-pointers by junior Sofia Bell. That capped an 11-0 run that put the Ducks up 61-54, a run sparked by two of Ehis Etute's career-high 26 points before Bell caught fire from behind the arc.

The UO women won their first road game of January at No. 21 USC, and capped the month with another ranked win Saturday. The Ducks (17-7, 5-6 Big Ten) ended the month with a season-best three-game win streak in conference play, and play three of their next four at home beginning Wednesday against Illinois.

"I think this means that we've finally pieced it together, we finally found each other," said Etute, whose team endured a four-game losing streak in the middle of January before winning their last three in a row. "We have finally worked on our team chemistry and got way better, and now we've finally translated that into our games and are finally winning the hard ones."

Etute's 26 points came on 10-of-15 shooting, and she grabbed 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season. Bell added 16 points on four made three-pointers, including the three in a row that gave the Ducks the lead.

"I think we're playing really well together," Bell said. "We know our strengths at this point, and we've kind of identified ways that we need to improve. And I think we're doing those things, and that's going to help us in March."

The Ducks shot 45 percent and held Maryland to 37 percent shooting Saturday, and Oregon had a 39-35 advantage on the boards. The UO women also had 17 assists on 25 made field goals, and improved to 3-5 this season in games decided by single digits.

"We've been in games like this before, and we haven't always finished them," UO coach Kelly Graves said. "It was great to finally finish one tonight. … This was a really great win — certainly one of my most memorable."

How It Happened: The Ducks misfired on their first three shots of the day, while Maryland hit its first three – all coming from Oluchi Okananwa – as the Terrapins built an early 7-1 lead. Mia Jacobs connected a triple for UO's first bucket and later converted a layin to cap a 6-0 run that handed Oregon its first lead at 10-9, as the Ducks held the Terps scoreless over a four-minute stretch. As the quarter closed, an Amina Muhammad layup put the Ducks in front after 10 minutes, 14-13.

 
Oregon's lead grew to eight after hitting on its first three field goals in the second, including a three-pointer by Avary Cain. Astera Tuhina later knocked down a triple, putting the score at 25-19 in favor of the Ducks. After Maryland converted an and-one, Bell pushed the lead up to eight with her team's third three-pointer of the quarter, followed by a floater to put the score at 30-22 with 3:41 remaining in the half.

"I thought our kids executed really well," Graves said. "Our turnovers were a little high (19); when we struggled, it's because we were trying to do too much. But when we settled down and tried to run something in the halfcourt — and usually that something ended up trying to get the ball inside to Ehis — we made it work. We executed it."

The Terrapins held the Ducks scoreless the rest of the quarter, however, as they proceeded to score the half's final 14 points to take a 36-30 lead into the locker room. Okananwa accounted for nine of her team's points during the spurt to lead all scorers with 23 first-half points. Etute paced the Ducks with 10 points and six rebounds.
 
After a Maryland bucket, Oregon scored 10 straight points to begin the third quarter to reclaim the lead at 40-38, getting eight points from Etute in that stretch. Etute finished the quarter with eight points, five rebounds and two steals, but the Ducks trailed 50-44 headed into the fourth quarter. With UO leading 40-38, the Terps ended the frame on a 12-4 run.

"I appreciated the trust my teammates showed in me, and how they kept giving me the ball," Etute said. "Obviously, I wanted to show up for them, and they needed me in that moment, so I delivered."

Etute got the fourth quarter started with back-to-back layups, her first of four layins in the quarter's first four minutes, to inch the Ducks within two at 54-52. From there, Bell knocked down three consecutive three-pointers over a three-minute span to give Oregon a 61-54 lead with under three minutes to go.

"I was pretty open, and my teammates found me," Bell said. "So all that was going through my mind was just knock it down."

The Ducks then went scoreless for the next two minutes, and Maryland crawled back within 63-61 with 27 seconds left. But Katie Fiso, Jacobs and Bell all knocked down free throws down the stretch and Oregon got the win. 

Up Next: The Ducks return to Matthew Knight Arena to host Illinois on Wednesday (6 p.m., B1G+).

I am really loving this team.

Way to play Lady Ducks!!!

Love how this group is learning what it takes, and evolving into the team they know they have the pieces to be.