Saturday, March 7
Las Vegas, NV
6:00 PM
University of Oregon
30-2,17-1Pac-12
88
vs
70
Arizona
24-7,12-6Pac-12
1
2
3
4
F
Arizona
20
13
23
14
70
Oregon
23
20
24
21
88
Photo by: @EricEvansPhoto
On To The Final For Ducks
03/07/20 | Women's Basketball
The UO women's basketball team scored 88 points against the Pac-12's best defensive team to beat Arizona on Saturday and reach the Pac-12 Tournament final Sunday (5 p.m., ESPN2).
LAS VEGAS — In its quest to win a national championship, the Oregon women's basketball team has taken a big step forward on the defensive end in 2019-20.
The Ducks still take a back seat to nobody on offense, though. Arizona was reminded of that Saturday night, as the Ducks shot 53.2 percent and beat the Wildcats, 88-70, in the semifinal round of the Pac-12 Tournament at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
The UO women put up the most points in the tournament through nine games this week, and Sabrina Ionescu became the tournament's all-time leading scorer with her 31-point night. Oregon won its 18th straight game by scoring the most points allowed this season by Arizona, which leads the Pac-12 in scoring defense at 56.6 points per game allowed.
"That's one of the best defensive teams in the country, and we put up 88," UO coach Kelly Graves said to his team in the postgame locker room. "That was a fun game."
Thanks in part to a conference tournament-record 15 three-pointers, the Ducks advanced to Sunday's final (5 p.m., ESPN2) against the winner of Saturday's second semifinal between Stanford and UCLA.
How It Happened: Prior to tipoff, Graves exhorted his team about the need for a quality start, after the Ducks didn't look sharp in the opening minutes a day before. Junior wing Erin Boley took that to heart, scoring 10 points in the first four minutes to help Oregon jump out to a 16-6 lead. Arizona then got hot from three-point range, with its next four field goals coming from long range to cut into the UO lead. But Boley closed the quarter with another basket, and Oregon led 23-20.
Back-to-back baskets got Arizona back within four at 30-26 early in the second quarter. The Ducks' dominance on the boards kept the Wildcats from closing the gap further — Oregon missed four shots on one possession but got the rebound after each, and the fifth shot on the trip was good, as Ionescu drained a three-pointer. That sparked Oregon's biggest run, a 12-0 burst that put the Ducks up 42-26.
Arizona's electric junior guard Aari McDonald scored twice late in the first half to cut Oregon's lead at halftime to 43-33. McDonald got to the basket two more times early in the third quarter as the Wildcats got within six, 50-44, the smallest UO lead of the second half. McDonald would finish the game with 34 points, plus five rebounds and five assists.
"Aari's just a gamer," UO sophomore Taylor Chavez said. "They're just a tough team."
Oregon had enough offense to counter both McDonald's fireworks and the 6-of-12 three-point shooting by her teammates. Boley hit a three-pointer for a 55-46 lead, and Ruthy Hebard hit a reverse layin to get the UO lead back into double digits at 57-46. Ionescu hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions for a 65-50 lead, and Jaz Shelley broke down a defender to create an open path to the basket for a layup that made it 67-53.
Oregon led 67-56 entering the fourth quarter, and the lead remained at 11 at 71-60 early in the period. After a free throw by Satou Sabally, Chavez hit back-to-back threes for some welcome cushion at 78-61. Ionescu made a three-point play to get the lead to 18 for the first time, 82-64, and her three-pointer gave the Ducks their biggest lead of the night at 85-66.
"You took their best shot — they gave you everything they had — and you beat them by 18," UO associate head coach Mark Campbell said to the team in the postgame locker room. "That was a championship effort out there. Great job."
Who Stood Out: Ionescu finished with 31 points and now has scored 230 points in the Pac-12 Tournament over the course of her career, surpassing the previous record of 221 by Stanford's Nnemkadi Ogwumike from 2009-12. Oregon's senior guard was 11-of-16 from the field and 6-of-9 from three-point range, and added nine rebounds with seven assists. Boley was 7-of-14 from the field for 18 points, and Hebard had 14 points with 11 rebounds for her 55th career double-double. Chavez and Sabally scored nine points each.
What It Means: Saturday's game was played one day after Oregon's tournament quarterfinal win over Utah. That game resulted in a 20-point win for the Ducks, and yet the team didn't feel it executed well, due in part to 14 turnovers.
On Saturday, the Ducks cut their turnover total to 11, including just four in the first half.
"It was nice to see our team take a step up," Hebard said.
Up Next: The Ducks will play in their third straight tournament final against either UCLA or Stanford on Sunday (5 p.m., ESPN2).
The Ducks still take a back seat to nobody on offense, though. Arizona was reminded of that Saturday night, as the Ducks shot 53.2 percent and beat the Wildcats, 88-70, in the semifinal round of the Pac-12 Tournament at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
The UO women put up the most points in the tournament through nine games this week, and Sabrina Ionescu became the tournament's all-time leading scorer with her 31-point night. Oregon won its 18th straight game by scoring the most points allowed this season by Arizona, which leads the Pac-12 in scoring defense at 56.6 points per game allowed.
"That's one of the best defensive teams in the country, and we put up 88," UO coach Kelly Graves said to his team in the postgame locker room. "That was a fun game."
Thanks in part to a conference tournament-record 15 three-pointers, the Ducks advanced to Sunday's final (5 p.m., ESPN2) against the winner of Saturday's second semifinal between Stanford and UCLA.
How It Happened: Prior to tipoff, Graves exhorted his team about the need for a quality start, after the Ducks didn't look sharp in the opening minutes a day before. Junior wing Erin Boley took that to heart, scoring 10 points in the first four minutes to help Oregon jump out to a 16-6 lead. Arizona then got hot from three-point range, with its next four field goals coming from long range to cut into the UO lead. But Boley closed the quarter with another basket, and Oregon led 23-20.
Back-to-back baskets got Arizona back within four at 30-26 early in the second quarter. The Ducks' dominance on the boards kept the Wildcats from closing the gap further — Oregon missed four shots on one possession but got the rebound after each, and the fifth shot on the trip was good, as Ionescu drained a three-pointer. That sparked Oregon's biggest run, a 12-0 burst that put the Ducks up 42-26.
Arizona's electric junior guard Aari McDonald scored twice late in the first half to cut Oregon's lead at halftime to 43-33. McDonald got to the basket two more times early in the third quarter as the Wildcats got within six, 50-44, the smallest UO lead of the second half. McDonald would finish the game with 34 points, plus five rebounds and five assists.
"Aari's just a gamer," UO sophomore Taylor Chavez said. "They're just a tough team."
Oregon had enough offense to counter both McDonald's fireworks and the 6-of-12 three-point shooting by her teammates. Boley hit a three-pointer for a 55-46 lead, and Ruthy Hebard hit a reverse layin to get the UO lead back into double digits at 57-46. Ionescu hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions for a 65-50 lead, and Jaz Shelley broke down a defender to create an open path to the basket for a layup that made it 67-53.
Oregon led 67-56 entering the fourth quarter, and the lead remained at 11 at 71-60 early in the period. After a free throw by Satou Sabally, Chavez hit back-to-back threes for some welcome cushion at 78-61. Ionescu made a three-point play to get the lead to 18 for the first time, 82-64, and her three-pointer gave the Ducks their biggest lead of the night at 85-66.
"You took their best shot — they gave you everything they had — and you beat them by 18," UO associate head coach Mark Campbell said to the team in the postgame locker room. "That was a championship effort out there. Great job."
Who Stood Out: Ionescu finished with 31 points and now has scored 230 points in the Pac-12 Tournament over the course of her career, surpassing the previous record of 221 by Stanford's Nnemkadi Ogwumike from 2009-12. Oregon's senior guard was 11-of-16 from the field and 6-of-9 from three-point range, and added nine rebounds with seven assists. Boley was 7-of-14 from the field for 18 points, and Hebard had 14 points with 11 rebounds for her 55th career double-double. Chavez and Sabally scored nine points each.
What It Means: Saturday's game was played one day after Oregon's tournament quarterfinal win over Utah. That game resulted in a 20-point win for the Ducks, and yet the team didn't feel it executed well, due in part to 14 turnovers.
On Saturday, the Ducks cut their turnover total to 11, including just four in the first half.
"It was nice to see our team take a step up," Hebard said.
Up Next: The Ducks will play in their third straight tournament final against either UCLA or Stanford on Sunday (5 p.m., ESPN2).
Team Stats
UA
Oregon
FG%
.459
.532
3FG%
.476
.484
FT%
.500
.700
RB
22
39
TO
7
11
STL
5
4
Game Leaders
Pts
31
FGM
11
3FGM
6
FTM
3
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ 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
