Friday, February 23
Tempe, Ariz.
5:00 PM
University of Oregon
26-4, 15-2
57
at
44
Arizona State
19-10, 10-7
1
2
3
4
F
Oregon
8
16
20
13
57
Arizona State
12
13
8
11
44
Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Ducks Clinch Share of Pac-12 Title with Record-Setting Win
02/23/18 | Women's Basketball
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Oregon women's basketball team overcame early offensive struggles to set a program record for wins with their 26th of the season on Friday, a 57-44 victory over Arizona State that also clinched a share of the team's first Pac-12 Conference championship since 1999-2000.
The win also snapped Oregon's (26-4, 15-2) 15-game losing streak in Tempe, with its last win at Arizona State coming on March 2, 2000. Sabrina Ionescu led all scorers with 16 points, while Maite Cazorla and Ruthy Hebard each added 14, including 10 second-half points from Cazorla.
The win gives Oregon the opportunity to clinch the school's first outright Pac-12 Conference title since 2000 on Sunday at Arizona.
Head coach Kelly Graves' team displayed its championship fiber by overcoming its early struggles, which included just eight points in the first quarter, before responding with a dominating second half for the 13-point victory.
"Our championship mettle was tested in the first half," said Graves. "We rose to the challenge, and I think that's the sign of a championship team. When you're not playing at your best, you're on the road, things just aren't going well, you're not in sync, and in the second half, they were able to turn it around, and that's a true testament of a really great team."
Ionescu's team-high 16 points marked her 25th consecutive game in double figures while she also added a game-high eight assists and five rebounds.
"I just knew I had to come out and play with a lot of intensity on the defensive end," said Ionescu. "I think in that second quarter towards the end, we picked it up and started playing more together on the defensive end."
How It Happened: Oregon outscored Arizona State 33-19 in the second half, as Satou Sabally's layup with 5:16 remaining in the third quarter gave the Ducks a 33-31 advantage and a lead they would never relinquish. The Ducks took the game over late in the third, using an 11-0 run to take a 44-33 lead heading into the final frame. Oregon held ASU scoreless for 5:33 during the third quarter before a late layup snapped a string of 10 consecutive missed FGs. Oregon shot 67 percent while out-scoring ASU 20-8 in the third, while the Sun Devils shot just 24 percent.
The Ducks struggled offensively early in the first half and scored only eight points in the first quarter, trailing ASU 12-8 at the end of the first frame after shooting only 28.6%. Ionescu scored the first six points of the game and led the Ducks with nine at the intermission.
Arizona State built a seven-point lead, 22-15, midway through the second quarter, but a tough Oregon defense and a late 7-2 run that included a 3-pointer by Sabally with two seconds remaining narrowed the ASU lead to 25-24 at the half. The aforementioned 11-point run late in the third quarter included consecutive layups from Hebard, a three-pointer from Ionescu, and a layup from Cazorla with 1:20 left in the frame.
There was little drama in the fourth quarter, as Oregon outscored ASU 13-11 in the final stanza to end up with a 13-point win that ended the 15-game losing streak in the Valley of the Sun for the Ducks.
Who Stood Out: Ionescu scored Oregon's first six points and led the team with 16 overall, including eight assists and five rebounds to go along with two blocked shots and two steals. Hebard finished 7-of-11 shooting for 14 points while also tallying six rebounds. Cazorla scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half. Oti Gildon was tremendous defensively and finished with six rebounds in the victory, while Lexi Bando contributed two clutch second-half three pointers. Despite finishing with five points, Sabally's two baskets were arguably the most critical of the game, a three-pointer to cut the lead to one right before the first-half buzzer, and a layup to give Oregon a 33-31 lead it would never relinquish.
What It Means: It is difficult to overstate the impact of what the win at Arizona State means, as the Ducks can now clinch their first Pac-12 title since 2000 with a win at Arizona Sunday. The Ducks own a one-game lead on Stanford, who plays at Washington State on Sunday.
Just 13-17 three seasons ago and 4-27 as recently as 2013, Oregon's turnaround under fourth-year head coach Kelly Graves is nothing short of amazing as the Ducks now own a school record 26 wins.
Up Next: The Ducks' regular season finale at Arizona on Sunday will tip at 11 a.m. Pacific on the Pac-12 Network.
The win also snapped Oregon's (26-4, 15-2) 15-game losing streak in Tempe, with its last win at Arizona State coming on March 2, 2000. Sabrina Ionescu led all scorers with 16 points, while Maite Cazorla and Ruthy Hebard each added 14, including 10 second-half points from Cazorla.
The win gives Oregon the opportunity to clinch the school's first outright Pac-12 Conference title since 2000 on Sunday at Arizona.
Head coach Kelly Graves' team displayed its championship fiber by overcoming its early struggles, which included just eight points in the first quarter, before responding with a dominating second half for the 13-point victory.
"Our championship mettle was tested in the first half," said Graves. "We rose to the challenge, and I think that's the sign of a championship team. When you're not playing at your best, you're on the road, things just aren't going well, you're not in sync, and in the second half, they were able to turn it around, and that's a true testament of a really great team."
Ionescu's team-high 16 points marked her 25th consecutive game in double figures while she also added a game-high eight assists and five rebounds.
"I just knew I had to come out and play with a lot of intensity on the defensive end," said Ionescu. "I think in that second quarter towards the end, we picked it up and started playing more together on the defensive end."
How It Happened: Oregon outscored Arizona State 33-19 in the second half, as Satou Sabally's layup with 5:16 remaining in the third quarter gave the Ducks a 33-31 advantage and a lead they would never relinquish. The Ducks took the game over late in the third, using an 11-0 run to take a 44-33 lead heading into the final frame. Oregon held ASU scoreless for 5:33 during the third quarter before a late layup snapped a string of 10 consecutive missed FGs. Oregon shot 67 percent while out-scoring ASU 20-8 in the third, while the Sun Devils shot just 24 percent.
The Ducks struggled offensively early in the first half and scored only eight points in the first quarter, trailing ASU 12-8 at the end of the first frame after shooting only 28.6%. Ionescu scored the first six points of the game and led the Ducks with nine at the intermission.
Arizona State built a seven-point lead, 22-15, midway through the second quarter, but a tough Oregon defense and a late 7-2 run that included a 3-pointer by Sabally with two seconds remaining narrowed the ASU lead to 25-24 at the half. The aforementioned 11-point run late in the third quarter included consecutive layups from Hebard, a three-pointer from Ionescu, and a layup from Cazorla with 1:20 left in the frame.
There was little drama in the fourth quarter, as Oregon outscored ASU 13-11 in the final stanza to end up with a 13-point win that ended the 15-game losing streak in the Valley of the Sun for the Ducks.
Who Stood Out: Ionescu scored Oregon's first six points and led the team with 16 overall, including eight assists and five rebounds to go along with two blocked shots and two steals. Hebard finished 7-of-11 shooting for 14 points while also tallying six rebounds. Cazorla scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half. Oti Gildon was tremendous defensively and finished with six rebounds in the victory, while Lexi Bando contributed two clutch second-half three pointers. Despite finishing with five points, Sabally's two baskets were arguably the most critical of the game, a three-pointer to cut the lead to one right before the first-half buzzer, and a layup to give Oregon a 33-31 lead it would never relinquish.
What It Means: It is difficult to overstate the impact of what the win at Arizona State means, as the Ducks can now clinch their first Pac-12 title since 2000 with a win at Arizona Sunday. The Ducks own a one-game lead on Stanford, who plays at Washington State on Sunday.
Just 13-17 three seasons ago and 4-27 as recently as 2013, Oregon's turnaround under fourth-year head coach Kelly Graves is nothing short of amazing as the Ducks now own a school record 26 wins.
Up Next: The Ducks' regular season finale at Arizona on Sunday will tip at 11 a.m. Pacific on the Pac-12 Network.
Team Stats
ORE
ASU
FG%
.455
.305
3FG%
.267
.300
FT%
.750
.455
RB
33
41
TO
8
11
STL
4
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ 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
