CARROLLTON, Ga. - As the calendar turns to November, a new season is budding for UWG women's basketball as the Wolves are 2,600-plus miles from campus, opening the 2025-26 season against the Oregon Ducks in Eugene, Oregon.
When the ball is tipped at 9 p.m. EST, so will begin year two of Division I basketball for the Wolves, and year four under head coach Joanna Reitz.
The Wolves are poised to take the next step in building a DI foundation, and are coming off a successful opening year, winning 13 games and becoming the only UWG team across the department to reach the ASUN Tournament in their first season.
"We're excited to head out to Oregon," Reitz said of her season-opening road trip to a Big Ten foe. "Playing a team like Oregon gives us an opportunity to see where we measure up against a traditional powerhouse and consistent NCAA tournament team."
UWG has a core group of returners back from last year's team with the backcourt of Sydne Tolbert and Grace O'Gara providing experience and depth. Tolbert was third on the team in scoring last season at 9.2 points per game while leading the team with 83 assists. O'Gara played all 30 games with 28 starts and dished out 82 assists in her first season in Carrollton.
The Wolves also bring back ASUN All-Freshman performer Destiny Jones after she was the team's second-leading scorer and top rebounder in 2024-25.
Both Jones and Tolbert were named to the Preseason All-Atlantic Sun Conference team earlier this month.
New to the roster and expected to see significant minutes are Asia Donald and Jasmine Jones. Donald is a transfer from Indiana State who averaged 5.6 points per game as a freshman in 2023-24. Jones, a Carrollton High graduate, comes back to the City of Dreams after averaging 8.8 per game in one season at New Orleans following a solid JUCO career at Chipola.
West Georgia also has an international flair to the roster this season with four players hailing from overseas. Spaniard Gal-la Font is back for her second year in the program after playing 24 games as a sophomore in 2024-25. Reitz and her staff went added a pair of Australians to the roster in transfers Tayah Morgan and Georgia Gray. Anya McKenzie, a native of Luton in the United Kingdom, rounds out UWG's international players.
Oregon is coming off of a 20-win season in which they made the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks went 20-12 a season ago, reaching the second round of March Madness, defeating Vanderbilt in round one before bowing out to Duke in the second.
The Ducks graduated their top four scorers from last year's team with Elisa Mevius' 6.6 points per game representing the leading returning scorer for UO. Oregon reloaded, however, adding All-Conference performer Astera Tuhina from Washington State, Mia Jacobs from Fresno State who averaged a double-double last season, a 6-4 forward from Texas in Amina Muhammad, and Avary Cain who played as a freshman on UCLA's Final Four team last season.
"These games reveal a lot about what we're doing well and also where we need to improve," Reitz added, "With their size and athleticism, they can capitalize on any mistake we make and we need that. We have a team of tough resilient players that love challenges and we can't wait to compete."
It's a long trip for the Wolves, who travel West of the Mississippi for their longest road trip in program history. Since 2008-09, UWG is 1-6 when traveling beyond the mighty Mississippi, with the lone win coming at Henderson State in 2010.
"Lastly, the majority of our team has never been to that part of the country so we will have a great experience out there," concluded Reitz.
As UWG opens their second season of Division I, they look to build on last year's ninth-place finish in the league. The ASUN coaches picked the Wolves 10th this preseason, as did the league's media contacts. New this year, however, in the ASUN is all 12 teams will make the ASUN Tournament rather than the top-10 seeds as in years past. The tournament will be held in Jacksonville, Florida on March 3-9, 2026.
Tip-off from Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene is set for 9 p.m. EST. The game is being broadcasted on the B1G Network+ (subscription required). Live stats are available as well and linked here.
