No. 2 seed Ducks Host Seattle U Friday

EUGENE, Ore. - The No. 2 seed Oregon women's basketball team opens up the 2018 NCAA Tournament on Friday against No. 15 seed Seattle U. Tip time is 4:30 PM PT on ESPN2.

#6 OREGON DUCKS (30-4, 16-2 Pac-12)
PPG: 81.9 | FG%: 49.8 | 3FG%: 40.6 | FT%: 75.7
Notable: Oregon's No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament is the best in program history. UO won both the Pac-12 regular season and tournament titles this year with a school-record 30 wins. The Ducks rank 10th in the NCAA in scoring (81.9 ppg), 4th in field goal percentage (49.8%), 2nd in three-point percentage (40.6%) and 7th in assists (19.0 apg). Sabrina Ionescu, a first team All-American, is a finalist for the Wooden Award, the Wade Trophy, the Naismith Trophy, the Dawn Staley Award and the Lieberman Award.

SEATTLE U REDHAWKS (18-14, 9-5 WAC)
PPG: 68.9 | FG%: 40.5 | 3FG%: 32.5 | FT%: 72.4
Series Record: UO leads, 9-0 (6-0 in Eugene)
Last Game: UO won, 82-62 (12/28/16, Eugene)
Notable: Seattle U is making its first ever NCAA appearance after winning the WAC Tournament title in Las Vegas. The No. 4 seed Redhawks defeated No. 2 seed CSU Bakersfield, 57-54, in the championship game. Seattle U upset No. 1 seed New Mexico State, 84-61, in the WAC semifinals. WAC Tournament MVP Kamira Sanders had a game-high 20 points in the title game. Alexis Montgomery is the team's leading scorer at 18.9.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV - ESPN2 with LaChina Robinson and Dave Pasch
Stream - WatchESPN, ESPN app with a cable login
Radio - Terry Jonz on the call at KUGN 590 (Eugene), KUIK 1360 (Portland) & TuneIn. Search for "Oregon IMG" in the TuneIn app or online at TuneIn.com.

A WIN WOULD...
- Give the Ducks 31 wins, matching Kelly Graves' career-best for wins in a season.
- Give the Ducks a first round NCAA Tournament win for the second straight season and seventh time in program history.
- Improve UO's NCAA Tournament record to 9-13.
- Improve UO to 10-0 all-time vs. Seattle U.
- Give UO 10 straight wins going back to Feb. 9.

OREGON'S NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
- The Ducks are making their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and the 14th overall in program history.
- Oregon's No. 2 seed this season is the best in program history. The Ducks' previous best was a No. 3 seed in 1984 when the tournament was just 32 teams.
- Oregon is 8-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
- The Ducks are 2-3 in NCAA Tournament games played in Eugene, with the last being an 80-79 overtime loss to UAB in 2000.
- UO made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1982, losing 59-53 to Missouri in Eugene.
- The Ducks' made a program-best eight straight NCAA appearances from 1994-2001. The Ducks went 12 seasons between a 2005 trip and when they qualified as a No. 10 seed last season.
- The most points scored by a UO player in a NCAA Tournament game is 24 by Alison Lang against Missouri on March 13, 1982.
- The most rebounds by a UO player in a NCAA Tournament game is 20, also by Lang vs. Missouri.
- The most assists by a UO player in a NCAA Tournament game is 10 by Lauri Tennant vs. San Diego State on March 16, 1984.

OREGON'S RUN LAST YEAR
- The Ducks advanced to the program's first ever Sweet 16 and Elite 8 last season. The No. 10 seed Ducks upset No. 7 seed Temple, 71-70, No. 2 seed Duke, 74-65, and No. 3 seed Maryland, 77-63, before falling to No. 1 seed UConn, 90-52.
- Ruthy Hebard averaged a team-high 17.8 points and 8.0 rebounds over four tournament games last year.

GRAVES MAKES TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Only three times in the history of the NCAA women's basketball tournament has a double digit seed reached the Elite Eight. Kelly Graves was the coach of two of those teams. Graves and the No. 10 seed Ducks advanced to the Elite Eight last year while Graves and No. 11 seed Gonzaga accomplished the same in 2011.

KELLY GRAVES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
- In his fourth year at UO, Graves is taking the Ducks to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.
- Graves has made 10 total trips to the tournament.
- Oregon's No. 2 seed this year is the highest in program history and the best in Graves' career.
- Graves was a double-digit seed seven times.
- Graves is 11-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
- Graves has made two trips to the Elite Eight.
- Graves is the only coach in NCAA women's basketball history to take two double-digit seeded teams to the Elite Eight (No. 10 Oregon in 2017, No. 11 Gonzaga in 2011)
- Graves has been in the Sweet 16 four times.
- Graves first went to the NCAA Tournament as the head coach of Saint Mary's as a No. 12 seed in 1999. Graves then went dancing seven more times at Gonzaga, going as a No. 12 seed three times, No. 11 seed twice, No. 7 seed once and No. 6 seed once. He took the Ducks to the dance last season.
- Graves took Gonzaga to the Sweet 16 in three straight seasons - 2010, 2011 and 2012.
- In 2011, Graves and Gonzaga advanced to the Elite Eight. The No. 11 seed 'Zags were the lowest seed ever to reach the Elite Eight. They beat No. 6 seed Iowa, No. 3 seed UCLA and No. 7 seed Louisville before falling to No. 1 seed Stanford in the regional final.
- Graves' teams have upset No. 2 seeds twice and No. 3 seeds three times in the NCAA Tournament.

IONESCU A FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICAN
After being named Pac-12 player of the year and Pac-12 Tournament MVP, sophomore Sabrina Ionescu continued to collect more accolades when both USA Today and ESPNW named her a first team All-American. Ionescu is Oregon's first first team All-America selection since Bev Smith in 1982.

IONESCU EARNS PAC-12 TOURNAMENT MVP
After leading the Ducks to their first ever Pac-12 Tournament title, sophomore Sabrina Ionescu was named tournament MVP. The guard scored a Pac-12 championship game record and career-high 36 points as the No. 1 seed Ducks defeated No. 2 seed Stanford, 77-57, on March 4 at KeyArena in Seattle. The Ducks had never been to the Pac-12 tournament title game before and came away with a win in their first appearance, thanks to Ionescu's dominating performance. Ionescu tallied her 36 points on 14-of-24 shooting, including four three-pointers. Ionescu also had four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Ionescu led the Ducks, averaging 21.0 points over three games at the Pac-12 Tournament on 51.0 percent shooting. She also averaged five rebounds and 7.3 assists per game.

IONESCU NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE YEAR
After leading the conference in both scoring and assists during the regular season, Sabrina Ionescu was named the Pac-12 player of the year. Ionescu is the third player in program history to be named Pac-12 player of the year, joining Shaquala Williams, who won in 1999-2000, and Lauri Landerholm, who won in 1986-87, the first year the Pac-12 handed out the award. After winning Pac-12 freshman of the year honors last season, Ionescu joins Washington's Kelsey Plum, Stanford's Chiney Ogwumike, and Stanford's Jayne Appel as players in the last 10 years to win both the league's freshman and player of the year honors. Williams also won both for the Ducks, taking freshman of the year honors in 1998-99 before being named player of the year the following season. Ionescu is the league's first sophomore to win player of the year since Stanford's Candice Wiggins did it in 2004-05.

SABALLY NAMED PAC-12 FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
After being the top scoring rookie in the Pac-12 this season, forward Satou Sabally was named the Pac-12 freshman of the year. Sabally is the second-straight conference freshman of the year for the Ducks, after Sabrina Ionescu won last season. Sabally is the third all-time at Oregon to win it, as Shaquala Williams also won in 1998-99. Sabally, a native of Berlin, Germany, is the third international player to be named Pac-12 freshman of the year, joining Washington State's Alke Dietel (Germany) and Oregon State's Tanja Kostic (Sweden). Sabally averaged 10.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while appearing in all 31 of the Ducks' regular season games with 22 starts. Sabally made her first career start on Dec. 2 against Weber State. Three games later, against Ole Miss on Dec. 17, Sabally was back in the starting lineup for good, starting Oregon's last 21 regular season games.

BANDO BREAKS UO THREE-POINT RECORD
With a three-pointer in the fourth quarter of a thrilling Pac-12 Tournament semifinal win over UCLA on March 3, Lexi Bando became the Ducks' all-time leader in made three-pointers. Bando hit her 271st career three-pointer, breaking Taylor Lilley's record of 270, set between 2007-2010. Bando now has 272 career made threes heading into the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

BANDO ON RECORD PACE
Senior guard Lexi Bando is close to setting multiple three-point percentage records. The guard is a career 46.1 percent three-point shooter (272-for-590), the best among active players in the NCAA.
- The NCAA career record is 47.6 percent (262-of-550), set by Notre Dame's Alicia Ratay from 2000-03.
- The Pac-12 career record is 45.2 percent (191-of-423), set by Stanford's Jennifer Azzi from 1988-90.
- The Oregon career record is 44.6 percent (66-of-148), set by Jennifer Bourn from 1987-91.

IONESCU TOPS SINGLE-SEASON ASSISTS RECORD
With 264 assists this year, Sabrina Ionescu has shattered the UO record for single-season helpers. The previous record was 209, set by Corrie Mizusawa in 2004-05. Ionescu has matched the single-game assists record twice this season, with 14 against both Weber State on Dec. 2 and Ole Miss on Dec. 17. Ionescu has posted double-digit assists in 11 games.

OREGON'S CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- With a win over Arizona in the final game of the regular season, the Ducks clinched their first Pac-12 title since the 1999-2000 season. The Ducks won the title outright, ahead of Stanford in second.
- Oregon had only won two Pac-10/12 titles in program history prior to this season. The Ducks shared the title in 1998-99 when they went 15-3 in conference play. Oregon won an outright title a year later in 1999-2000 when the Ducks went 14-4 in league games.
- Prior to the Pac-10 adopting women's sports for the 1986-87 season, the Ducks won six league titles in the Northwest Basketball League and the NorPac Conference, including four straight from 1978-79 to 1981-82. The Ducks were 23-2 (the fewest losses in program history) in 1978-79 and went a perfect 11-0 in the Northwest Basketball League.

GRAVES' CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Kelly Graves has won 11 regular season league titles in his career, 10 at Gonzaga and one at Oregon.
- Graves won 10 straight WCC regular season titles while at Gonzaga, stretching from 2005-2014.
- Graves won his first league title at Gonzaga in his
fifth season. He won his first conference title at Oregon in 2018, his fourth season with the Ducks.
- Graves and the Ducks won the first Pac-12 Tournament title in program history in 2018. It was the seventh conference tournament title in Graves' career after also winning six WCC tournament titles in his 14 seasons as head coach at Gonzaga.

OREGON'S PAC-12 TOURNAMENT HISTORY
- UO won the Pac-12 Tournament for the first time in 2018, defeating Stanford, 77-57, in the title game.
- Oregon is 9-16 all-time at the Pac-12 Tournament and 5-1 over the last two seasons.
- UO is 5-5 at the Pac-12 Tournament in Seattle, with all five wins coming in 2017 (2) and 2018 (3).
- Oregon posted its biggest Pac-12 Tournament win in program history in 2018 with an 84-47 win over Colorado in the quarterfinals. The Ducks led by as much as 51 midway through the third quarter.
- The Ducks had made it to the semfinals three times before breaking through for their first title game trip in their fourth semifinals appearance. The Ducks have gone to the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals in 2002, 2005, 2017 and 2018.
- Sabrina Ionescu matched the Pac-12 Tournament single-game record with 13 assists against Colorado in the 2018 quarterfinals. Ionescu then scored 36 points in the title game against Stanford, setting a new Pac-12 championship game scoring record. Ionesc was named Pac-12 Tournament MVP in 2018.
- Five of Oregon's nine Pac-12 Tournament wins have come against the Washington schools. The Ducks have beaten the Cougars twice (2008, 2002) and the Huskies three times (2017, 2005, 2002).
- Oregon's loss to WSU in 2013-14 was the highest scoring game in Pac-12 Tournament history as the Ducks lost, 107-100. The 207 combined points beat the previous mark, which was 179 point when Oregon lost, 90-89, to Arizona in 2011.

OVERALL & CONFERENCE WINS RECORD
At 30-4 overall and 16-2 in the Pac-12, the Ducks have set program records in both categories. The previous wins record was 25, set in both 1980-81 (25-7) and 1998-99 (25-6). The previous conference wins record was set in 1998-99 (15-3).

SHARP SHOOTERS
- Oregon ranks fourth in the NCAA in field goal percentage, shooting 49.8 percent from the floor.
- The Ducks are second in the country, shooting 40.6 percent from three-point range.
- Oregon is 32nd in the NCAA and is second in the Pac-12, shooting 75.7 percent at the free throw line.
- Individually, Ruthy Hebard is third in the nation, shooting 65.9 percent on field goals.
- Lexi Bando ranks second in the NCAA, shooting 47.3 percent from three-point range. Sabrina Ionescu is 13th in the country, shooting 43.7 percent from deep.
SHARE THE ROCK
- Oregon ranks sixth in the NCAA with 647 assists.
- The Ducks are averaging 19.0 assists per game this year, good for seventh in the NCAA.
- Sabrina Ionescu ranks third in the NCAA in total assists (264) and fourth in assists per game (7.8 apg).

THE SCOREBOARD, IT'S LIT
- UO ranks 10th in the NCAA, averaging 81.9 ppg.
- UO is outscoring its opponents by 18.8 points per game, the eighth-biggest margin in the NCAA.