Pack your bags, ladies. You’re going to Salt Lake City.
Despite recent controversy surrounding the women’s basketball program and head coach Jody Runge, the Ducks — seemingly going nowhere a month ago — learned Sunday they will make an eighth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Oregon kept its NCAA hopes alive by beating Oregon State 72-60 Saturday.
On Sunday’s ESPN selection show, Oregon was announced as the 13th seed in the Midwest Region and will face Big Ten champion Iowa (20-9), a No. 4 seed. The game will take place this Saturday at the University of Utah. Game time has yet to be determined.
“Utah is really great for our fans because they can get there,” Runge said. “Whenever we’ve had to travel, we’ve traveled so far and it’s always been a difficult trip. I think it’s a great draw for us and I’m excited for our fans because they get to see this group play some more.”
The Ducks (17-11 overall, 10-8 Pacific-10 Conference) solidified a berth to the Big Dance with Saturday’s victory at McArthur Court against Oregon State.
“I was definitely excited,” senior forward Lindsey Dion said Sunday. “I thought we had blown the opportunity to go to the NCAA Tournament, and the decision was out of our hands. But low and behold, we got in.”
Dion said there was no formal team gathering, but that the Ducks did play “phone tag” after the announcement.
If the Ducks advance from the first round, they will face the winner of the Utah-Fairfield contest. Oregon lost to Utah, 63-48, in the preseason.
The two-time defending Pac-10 champion Ducks were plagued by injuries and illness throughout the season, which at one point included a five-game losing streak. But Saturday’s victory capped off a four-game winning streak ending the season on a higher note.
The Ducks finished the season fourth in the conference standings.
“I feel like we’re playing really good basketball right now,” junior guard Jamie Craighead said after Saturday’s game. “There is no pressure on us.”
A week ago, the Civil War preparation was overshadowed by a team meeting with Oregon Athletic Director Bill Moos.
Eight Oregon players met with Moos March 4 to discuss the team’s relationship with Runge and to ask that the eight-year coach be fired after the season. Moos and Runge have yet to discuss the issue and will not meet until the conclusion of the season.
“It’s been a surreal experience this week,” Runge said after Saturday’s game. “It’s not easy. My major concern is to make sure that they had a chance to go to the tournament.”
Leading up to the Civil War contest, Runge forbade the team from speaking with the media.
“This week was very emotional, and coach finally said that we needed to focus on the game,” Craighead said. “And I think we’ve done a good job of not focusing on [the meeting].”
Three other Pac-10 teams — co-conference champions Stanford, Washington and Arizona State — earned automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. Stanford is the 10th seed and Washington is sixth in the West Regional, while the slumping Sun Devils are the 11th seed in the Mideast.