Friday, March 3
Seattle, WA
8:30 PM
University of Oregon
20-12, 8-10
70
vs
69
Washington
27-5, 15-3
1
2
3
4
F
Oregon
22
10
19
19
70
Washington
17
14
26
12
69
Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Party Crashers: Ducks Upset UW In Seattle
03/03/17 | Women's Basketball
Sabrina Ionescu hit two free throws with 6.4 seconds to go as Oregon beat No. 11 UW and moved on to Saturday's semifinals vs. Stanford (8:30 p.m., Pac-12).
SEATTLE — Taking on the No. 11 team in the country in its hometown, one that boasted the NCAA's all-time leading scorer, the Oregon women's basketball team recorded one of the great upsets in program history Friday, defeating Washington 70-69 before a sold out crowd of 9,686 in KeyArena. The Ducks, who won on two free throws by freshman Sabrina Ionescu with 6.4 seconds left, advanced to the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals, and will face Stanford on Saturday (8:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
How It Happened: The Ducks (20-12) trailed by nine in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, after a three-pointer by NCAA all-time leading scorer Kelsey Plum, before mounting a dramatic comeback. Junior Lexi Bando scored Oregon's first 11 points of the quarter, and Ionescu followed with consecutive buckets to cap a 10-0 run that gave the UO women a 66-64 lead.
Chantel Osahor, the NCAA's leading rebounder who had 27 on Friday, tied it at 66-66 with a putback and then gave UW a 69-66 lead with a three-point play. But those would be UW's final points, as the youthful Ducks outplayed the veteran Huskies in the final minutes.
With just more than a minute left, Ionescu set up Bando for a bucket that got the Ducks within one. Oti Gildon had a screen to set up the scoring play, after her defensive rebound at the other end gave Oregon possession. On the next trip, the Ducks forced a turnover, and though Ionescu followed with a miss, Gildon made yet another huge play with an offensive rebound to give Oregon possession with a fresh shot clock at 26 seconds left.
With 6.4 seconds to go, Ionescu was fouled on the way to the basket. The freshman coolly drilled both free throws for a 70-69 lead. Washington's last chance came on an inbounds play with 3.9 to go, and Osahor got it into the hands of Plum, but Oregon's Maite Cazorla and Ruthy Hebard collapsed on her and a three-point attempt didn't come close.
The first half went largely according to plan for the Ducks. Oregon shot just .316 through the first two quarters but held the Huskies to .375 shooting and had a 24-23 advantage on the boards with just a single turnover. But Plum took the reins in the third quarter, scoring six points during a 9-0 UW run that gave the Huskies a 48-41 lead. Washington shot .632 in the quarter, 12-of-19, putting the Ducks in a hole from which they would improbably emerge in the fourth quarter.
Who Stood Out: Bando made 5-of-7 three-point attempts for 23 points, two off her season high, including 17 in the second half. Ionescu added 18 points with six rebounds and six assists, and Hebard had 13 points with nine rebounds. Cazorla added 12 points and also played tough defense on Plum, who scored 34 but needed 33 attempts to get there, and only attempted two free throws all night.
What It Means: The Ducks won twice in the same conference tournament for the first time since its inaugural year, in 2002. They also all but locked up an NCAA Tournament bid, having been generally considered safely inside the bubble after Thursday's win over Arizona.
Quotable:
Lexi Bando, junior wing
On Oregon's demeanor down the stretch
"We were staying confident in each other, and we came together. In the past we've kind of broken apart and gotten down on ourselves. So I think what was important was that we stayed up, and I think we were really confident we were going to win the game."
On stepping up early in the fourth quarter
"(The freshmen) won the game for us last night. They did, the three freshmen. My team needed me tonight, and I was up to the challenge. Sab was feeding me, I had the hot hand, so I was feeling ready."
Sabrina Ionescu, freshman guard
On feeling pressure during the game-winning free throws
"A little bit, but I've been there a few times. So I was just excited that we had a chance to win it at the end, and I didn't have to force up a shot."
Up Next: The Ducks face Stanford in the semifinals Saturday (8:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
How It Happened: The Ducks (20-12) trailed by nine in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, after a three-pointer by NCAA all-time leading scorer Kelsey Plum, before mounting a dramatic comeback. Junior Lexi Bando scored Oregon's first 11 points of the quarter, and Ionescu followed with consecutive buckets to cap a 10-0 run that gave the UO women a 66-64 lead.
Chantel Osahor, the NCAA's leading rebounder who had 27 on Friday, tied it at 66-66 with a putback and then gave UW a 69-66 lead with a three-point play. But those would be UW's final points, as the youthful Ducks outplayed the veteran Huskies in the final minutes.
With just more than a minute left, Ionescu set up Bando for a bucket that got the Ducks within one. Oti Gildon had a screen to set up the scoring play, after her defensive rebound at the other end gave Oregon possession. On the next trip, the Ducks forced a turnover, and though Ionescu followed with a miss, Gildon made yet another huge play with an offensive rebound to give Oregon possession with a fresh shot clock at 26 seconds left.
With 6.4 seconds to go, Ionescu was fouled on the way to the basket. The freshman coolly drilled both free throws for a 70-69 lead. Washington's last chance came on an inbounds play with 3.9 to go, and Osahor got it into the hands of Plum, but Oregon's Maite Cazorla and Ruthy Hebard collapsed on her and a three-point attempt didn't come close.
The first half went largely according to plan for the Ducks. Oregon shot just .316 through the first two quarters but held the Huskies to .375 shooting and had a 24-23 advantage on the boards with just a single turnover. But Plum took the reins in the third quarter, scoring six points during a 9-0 UW run that gave the Huskies a 48-41 lead. Washington shot .632 in the quarter, 12-of-19, putting the Ducks in a hole from which they would improbably emerge in the fourth quarter.
Who Stood Out: Bando made 5-of-7 three-point attempts for 23 points, two off her season high, including 17 in the second half. Ionescu added 18 points with six rebounds and six assists, and Hebard had 13 points with nine rebounds. Cazorla added 12 points and also played tough defense on Plum, who scored 34 but needed 33 attempts to get there, and only attempted two free throws all night.
What It Means: The Ducks won twice in the same conference tournament for the first time since its inaugural year, in 2002. They also all but locked up an NCAA Tournament bid, having been generally considered safely inside the bubble after Thursday's win over Arizona.
Quotable:
Lexi Bando, junior wing
On Oregon's demeanor down the stretch
"We were staying confident in each other, and we came together. In the past we've kind of broken apart and gotten down on ourselves. So I think what was important was that we stayed up, and I think we were really confident we were going to win the game."
On stepping up early in the fourth quarter
"(The freshmen) won the game for us last night. They did, the three freshmen. My team needed me tonight, and I was up to the challenge. Sab was feeding me, I had the hot hand, so I was feeling ready."
Sabrina Ionescu, freshman guard
On feeling pressure during the game-winning free throws
"A little bit, but I've been there a few times. So I was just excited that we had a chance to win it at the end, and I didn't have to force up a shot."
Up Next: The Ducks face Stanford in the semifinals Saturday (8:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
Team Stats
ORE
WASH
FG%
.400
.426
3FG%
.478
.208
FT%
.875
.545
RB
38
40
TO
8
7
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
9
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballKelly Graves | Selection Sunday
Monday, March 17
Deja Kelly, Peyton Scott & Phillipina Kyei | Selection Sunday
Monday, March 17
Peyton Scott & Ari Long: "A good, competitive basketball game."
Thursday, February 27
Kelly Graves: "We've played really well."
Thursday, February 27
