The clapping started rhythmically, with nostalgic frequency.
It’s a tradition inside Matthew Knight Arena for women’s basketball games. Fans and players clap during a pregame video, while highlights from media day and games prior are shown on the videoboard.
The cheering for the night started then, and didn’t subside until nearly two hours later, with Oregon women’s basketball (3-0) rolling up an 18-point advantage in an 84-66 win over Grand Canyon University (0-3).
A fairly impressive Veterans’ Day contingent of 5,177 was on site to see eight different Ducks add buckets in the wire-to-wire win. Mia Jacobs and Katie Fiso led Oregon with 26 and 20 points each.
Starting in place of Elisa Mevius, who the team recently announced would miss the rest of the season, Ari Long hit a 3-pointer to give Oregon a 10-2 lead in the first quarter. From there, at least on the scoresheet, everything was fairly smooth sailing for a Ducks team that was stronger, faster and more athletic than their opponents.
“She’s been our most solid guard,” Graves said of choosing Long to replace Mevius in the starting lineup. “We opted to go with Ari because she gives us some more length and defensively makes some things happen.”
Graves was less complimentary of his team’s intensity, which notably dipped after the strong start. Against better opponents, that will need to be addressed, but for the night it was easily made up for by a sizable talent disparity.
“This[part] is on me. This is the third straight game we’ve played everybody,” Graves said. “We had a couple of bad combinations out there. Defensively, we were not on point in that second half at all.”
At least on paper, the Antelopes provided a unique challenge to the Ducks as GCU rostered two players at six-foot-four (Oregon has just one player over six-four in Amina Muhammad). But Oregon was too skilled and played at too high a pace for the outmatched Antelopes.
GCU’s top scorer, Chloe Mann, was held to just two points and shot a measly 1-9 from the field.
Ball movement was aplenty for a Ducks team that shot 57.4% from the field and was 17-21 from the free-throw line. There was a sizable letup in the second quarter, where Oregon was outscored 15-14, but the Ducks soon responded and were relatively unchallenged the rest of the way.
More importantly for the team’s long-term goals, Oregon’s guards played well without Mevius, whose presence will surely be missed.
“Senior guards, they always play about the same, and some games she spikes.” Graves said of Mevius. “It’s unfortunate that this happened, obviously for her… I’m confident somebody will step into that role, and right now it might not be one person, but every person has to give a little bit more.”
Added Jacobs: “I could not do the things Elisa does, she’s insane with the ball.”
It was a particularly lively crowd for a seemingly inconspicuous game, fans shouted loudly for fouls and willing balls to fall Oregon’s way.
In terms of the actual gameplay, well, the Ducks gave them plenty to clap about, too.
The Ducks will remain home to take on Army on Sunday at 2 p.m.
![The Oregon Ducks throw up their “O”s to the crowd after winning the match. On May 30, 2026, The Oregon Ducks defeated the Washington State Cougars [4-0] in game 4 of the NCAA D1 Baseball Regionals at PK Park, at University of Oregon, based in Eugene, Ore. (Fred Hall/Emerald)](https://dailyemerald.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026.5.30.EMG_.FJH_.BSBLvsWashingtonStNCAA-15-1200x800.jpg)
