It was Oct. 15, and Katie Fiso drove her team down the floor. Elisa Mevius pulled her group into a huddle after Ehis Etute finished the program’s 15th preseason practice with an and-1 layup. Phillipina Kyei was standing on the sideline in street clothes.

It wasn’t always that way. Last year, the 6-foot-8 22-year-old would’ve been in the paint, and Oregon wouldn’t have been playing the high-tempo offense and five-out defense that its new roster allows for. Last year, she would’ve been waiting in the paint to deny the game-winning layup.

Not anymore.

In the new era, head coach Kelly Graves and Oregon will rely on small ball, fueled by a deep group of guards. All nine players eligible to return to Matthew Knight Arena did so, and Fiso (a sophomore) leads a starting five and group of nine guards that she and Graves say is ready to play faster on both ends of the floor.

Fiso, who missed significant time during the 2024-25 season due to personal matters, returns as a leader – she’s been the subject of praise in every media availability so far (including immediately after practice on Oct. 15) and averaged 10 points, 7.5 assists and 3 steals through Oregon’s first two games.

Mevius, who scored 15 and 10 points in the Ducks’ first two games, missed the stretch run last year with a hand injury. However, she suffered a knee injury at the end of Oregon’s non-conference game against the University of Montana on Nov. 8 that the team announced was season-ending.

Mevius led the Ducks in steals in her first year at Oregon, with 1.6 per game, and shot 44.2% from the field and 30.3% from beyond the arc while averaging 6.6 points per game. Ari Long, who put up 2.5 points per game and 1.4 rebounds in a bench role last year, is another part of the group that has focused on pace throughout the offseason. Sofia Bell (3.8 ppg, 30.3% FG in 2024-25) should elevate from starting 11 games last year to a consistent starting role, and while Sammie Wagner missed some of preseason with a wrist injury, she’ll return after putting up 2.5 points per game last year.

The losses include Deja Kelly (last year’s star portal add) and veterans Nani Falatea and Peyton Scott (the latter of whom returns on the Ducks’ coaching staff). The additions – transfers sophomore Avary Cain (6 foot 1 from UCLA) and senior Astera Tuhina (5 foot 9 from Washington State University), and freshmen Sara Barhoum (Clackamas, Oregon) and Janiyah Williams (Edmond, Oklahoma) make up a deep group that Graves believes benefits the aggressive, up-tempo style that Oregon’s new brand of play will require.

Cain (11 points off the bench against Montana) and Tuhina (9 assists in 31 minutes against Montana and the University of West Georgia) allow the Ducks to rotate early and often. Williams went 5-5 (including 4-4 from 3-point range) against the Seattle University Redhawks in preseason, and while Barhoum was held out early, she tossed up five 3-point shots and made two against West Georgia to draw praise from Graves.

Oregon doesn’t have Kyei anymore, who remains the fifth-best all-time rebounder in Oregon women’s basketball history. This year, she’s moved on – she’s just training in Eugene before heading to play in the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association.

Oregon has moved on, too, and the answer is just a little bit shorter.