Saturday, March 4
Seattle, WA
8:30 PM
University of Oregon
20-13, 8-10
56
vs
71
Stanford
27-5, 15-3
1
2
3
4
F
Oregon
25
9
13
9
56
Stanford
16
20
17
18
71
Semi-Tough: Stanford Ends UO Run
03/04/17 | Women's Basketball
A veteran Stanford team ended the young Ducks' Pac-12 Tournament run in the semifinals Saturday.
SEATTLE — Oregon's Pac-12 Tournament run ended Saturday in the semifinal round, as the sixth-seeded Ducks fell 71-56 to second-seeded Stanford at KeyArena. The Ducks (20-13) now await word of their NCAA Tournament fate after strengthening their case with two wins this week, including Friday's upset of No. 11 Washington.
How It Happened: Stanford's athleticism and activity on defense were the difference, as the Cardinal blocked 10 shots and limited Oregon to just six three-point attempts — of which the Ducks made five. Oregon missed its first nine shots of the fourth quarter, allowing the Cardinal to extend their lead from 53-47 to 66-51 before the UO women finally converted a field goal.
The Ducks trailed by two at the half, tied it 36-36 and then went 3:28 without a field goal. That scoreless drought ended with a Sabrina Ionescu bucket and a Maite Cazorla three from the wing that kissed off the glass and in, tying the score again, 42-42. But another scoreless drought ensued, of 3:36, and Stanford scored seven straight to take the lead into the final period.
Second-chance points helped Stanford open an early 10-2 lead in the first quarter, but the Ducks responded with a 10-0 run to lead 15-10. Oregon scored on its last two possessions of the quarter to lead 25-16, and still led by nine at 30-21 early in the second. In a hint of things to come, though, the UO women then went 4:06 without scoring, and Stanford finished the quarter on a 15-4 run led lead by two at the half.
Who Stood Out: Oregon's guard tandem of Ionescu and Cazorla scored 14 points apiece to lead the Ducks, and Mallory McGwire added 10. Ruthy Hebard grabbed nine rebounds but managed just four points on 1-of-9 shooting, after entering the night ninth in the NCAA in field-goal percentage at .623. Oti Gildon had another solid game off the bench, scoring eight points and grabbing six rebounds.
What It Means: The Ducks could return to Eugene with their heads held high after ending an eight-game conference tournament losing streak Thursday against Arizona, then upsetting the Huskies in the quarterfinals. Three games in three nights provided valuable postseason experience for a UO lineup that returns all five starters.
Quotable:
Kelly Graves, head coach
On his thoughts overall
"They deserved it tonight. They played just better and harder in that second half. Once we got behind a little bit, we tried like crazy to keep up and it just wasn't happening. … But I'm really proud of our team. Disappointed in the outcome today, but really proud of the effort all weekend. I couldn't have asked for more. We're not where Stanford is right now, but we're capable of beating teams like this, and that's what we learned this weekend."
On whether the Ducks maintained momentum moving forward
"We're enjoying the ride. I think we've earned a spot. That's not up to me, but we have four top-25 wins, one that came last night basically on their home floor. With this group, we just wanted to get to that tournament. And let's face it, the Pac-12 is going to prepare a team better than any conference out there."
Sabrina Ionescu, freshman guard
On whether fatigue was a factor
"That's definitely not an excuse, so we're not tired at all. We didn't come out like we should have, and they played great basketball. That's definitely not an excuse; we're doing fine."
Notable: The Ducks reached the tournament semifinals for the first time since 2005, which was the last season they reached the NCAA Tournament. … Stanford entered the game sixth nationally in field-goal percentage defense at .342, before holding Oregon to .333 (20-of-60). … The Cardinal paid particular attention this season to Bando, who was a combined 3-of-13 for 12 points in their three matchups.
Up Next: Stanford faces Oregon State in the Pac-12 Tournament final Sunday (6 p.m., ESPN2), and Oregon's NCAA Tournament fate will be known Monday, March 13 (4 p.m., ESPN).
All-Tournament Team:
MVP - Erica McCall, Stanford
Kristine Anigwe, Cal
Sydney Wiese, Oregon State
Alanna Smith, Stanford
Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon
Jordin Canada, UCLA
How It Happened: Stanford's athleticism and activity on defense were the difference, as the Cardinal blocked 10 shots and limited Oregon to just six three-point attempts — of which the Ducks made five. Oregon missed its first nine shots of the fourth quarter, allowing the Cardinal to extend their lead from 53-47 to 66-51 before the UO women finally converted a field goal.
The Ducks trailed by two at the half, tied it 36-36 and then went 3:28 without a field goal. That scoreless drought ended with a Sabrina Ionescu bucket and a Maite Cazorla three from the wing that kissed off the glass and in, tying the score again, 42-42. But another scoreless drought ensued, of 3:36, and Stanford scored seven straight to take the lead into the final period.
Second-chance points helped Stanford open an early 10-2 lead in the first quarter, but the Ducks responded with a 10-0 run to lead 15-10. Oregon scored on its last two possessions of the quarter to lead 25-16, and still led by nine at 30-21 early in the second. In a hint of things to come, though, the UO women then went 4:06 without scoring, and Stanford finished the quarter on a 15-4 run led lead by two at the half.
Who Stood Out: Oregon's guard tandem of Ionescu and Cazorla scored 14 points apiece to lead the Ducks, and Mallory McGwire added 10. Ruthy Hebard grabbed nine rebounds but managed just four points on 1-of-9 shooting, after entering the night ninth in the NCAA in field-goal percentage at .623. Oti Gildon had another solid game off the bench, scoring eight points and grabbing six rebounds.
What It Means: The Ducks could return to Eugene with their heads held high after ending an eight-game conference tournament losing streak Thursday against Arizona, then upsetting the Huskies in the quarterfinals. Three games in three nights provided valuable postseason experience for a UO lineup that returns all five starters.
Quotable:
Kelly Graves, head coach
On his thoughts overall
"They deserved it tonight. They played just better and harder in that second half. Once we got behind a little bit, we tried like crazy to keep up and it just wasn't happening. … But I'm really proud of our team. Disappointed in the outcome today, but really proud of the effort all weekend. I couldn't have asked for more. We're not where Stanford is right now, but we're capable of beating teams like this, and that's what we learned this weekend."
On whether the Ducks maintained momentum moving forward
"We're enjoying the ride. I think we've earned a spot. That's not up to me, but we have four top-25 wins, one that came last night basically on their home floor. With this group, we just wanted to get to that tournament. And let's face it, the Pac-12 is going to prepare a team better than any conference out there."
Sabrina Ionescu, freshman guard
On whether fatigue was a factor
"That's definitely not an excuse, so we're not tired at all. We didn't come out like we should have, and they played great basketball. That's definitely not an excuse; we're doing fine."
Notable: The Ducks reached the tournament semifinals for the first time since 2005, which was the last season they reached the NCAA Tournament. … Stanford entered the game sixth nationally in field-goal percentage defense at .342, before holding Oregon to .333 (20-of-60). … The Cardinal paid particular attention this season to Bando, who was a combined 3-of-13 for 12 points in their three matchups.
Up Next: Stanford faces Oregon State in the Pac-12 Tournament final Sunday (6 p.m., ESPN2), and Oregon's NCAA Tournament fate will be known Monday, March 13 (4 p.m., ESPN).
All-Tournament Team:
MVP - Erica McCall, Stanford
Kristine Anigwe, Cal
Sydney Wiese, Oregon State
Alanna Smith, Stanford
Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon
Jordin Canada, UCLA
Team Stats
ORE
STAN
FG%
.333
.426
3FG%
.833
.385
FT%
.917
.778
RB
37
40
TO
10
10
STL
2
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ 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
