Maryland women’s basketball’s gauntlet of ranked opponents has not gone the way it and head coach Brenda Frese would have hoped. The banged-up Terps have lost three straight, and four out of their last five games, including their most recent two in heartbreaking fashion in overtime.
Due to its recent results, Maryland faces what many would consider a “must-win” game against a beatable Oregon opponent at home. The game will air on Big Ten Network and tip off at 5 p.m.
Oregon Ducks (16-7, 4-6 Big Ten)
After a successful 9-1 run in nonconference
play, losing only to Stanford, the Ducks have taken a step back in Big Ten play. Head coach Kelly Graves is in his 12th season in charge of Oregon, where he saw success in the Pac-12, and also led the Ducks to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 10-seed his first season in the Big Ten.
The Ducks arrive in College Park off the back of two straight wins against conference bottom dwellers in Rutgers and Penn State.
Players to watch
Katie Fiso, sophomore guard, 5-foot-11, No. 2 — Fiso has taken a massive leap from being a non-factor her freshman year to the team’s primary option on offense. She averages over 15 points per game as an efficient downhill scorer who can draw in defenses and make smart passes to her teammates. Fiso is second in the conference with 6.9 assists per game.
Mia Jacobs, senior forward, 6-foot-2, No. 1 — Jacobs is one of the shooters that Fiso likes to get involved in the offense. After three years at La Salle and Fresno State, the Australian native has made the successful leap to the Big Ten, shooting almost 40% from beyond the arc and averaging 14 points per game.
Ehis Etute, sophomore forward, 6-foot, No. 35 — Etute does a lot of Oregon’s dirty work down low, averaging 9.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest. Similar to Fiso, she made a big leap from being a minor contributor to a regular starter this season. Etute had one of the best games of her freshman year against Maryland last season, scoring 14 points.
Strength
Ball movement. Led by Fiso, Oregon plays a very unselfish brand of basketball, averaging 18.1 assists per game. The ball moves early and often on offense and attempts to find shooters on the perimeter or cutters at the basket. It will be a good chess match against Maryland’s length and activity in passing lanes.
Weakness
Late-game execution. Oregon has suffered a couple heartbreaking losses in double overtime, to Michigan and Wisconsin. The only team to truly blow the Ducks out was UCLA, and their record is probably not indicative of the quality of their team. A lot of that can be attributed to their best players’ relative inexperience, particularly in the Big Ten.
Three things to watch
1. Cancer awareness. Saturday’s game will be Maryland’s ovarian cancer awareness night. Former Terp guard Vicki Brick-Zupancic passed away in April 2025 after a long battle with the disease.
2. Terps try to even the score. Maryland got its first-ever win against the Ducks when it visited them in Eugene last season, moving the head-to-head to 1-2. The Terps will look to remain undefeated against the Ducks since they joined the Big Ten and make the all-time series 2-2.
3. Welson’s availability. Rainey Welson has been missing from the lineup for the last three games after suffering a concussion against UCLA. Unfortunately for her and Maryland, the injury came right as she began to hit her stride, and the Terps desperately needed all the guard help they could get.
