No. 6 Oregon women’s basketball needed a spark as it entered the fourth quarter against Arizona State on Sunday.
The Ducks trailed the No. 21 Sun Devils by four. Then, Oregon went on an 11-0 run to take a 58-52 lead, one that the Ducks never relinquished again.
Oregon (27-3, 16-2 Pac-12) outscored Arizona State 20-9 in the fourth quarter to win 66-59 and give the Ducks the outright Pac-12 regular season title for the second year in a row. Sunday’s game was a battle that came down to late free throws for Oregon, just as the previous game did at Matthew Knight Arena in January.
The Ducks had no points off the bench on Sunday. With Taylor Chavez still out with injury, head coach Kelly Graves has just three healthy players left on Oregon’s bench. Oti Gildon, Lydia Giomi and Morgan Yaeger combined for only two shots and 28 total minutes between the three of them.
Oregon’s shooting was sporadic with just three players hitting double-digit points. Satou Sabally scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 3-of-5 shooting from deep, ending a three-game drought from behind the arc. Senior Maite Cazorla was even more efficient, going 7-of-10 and 3-of-4 from 3-point range for a 17-point performance in the Spaniard’s final regular season collegiate game.
Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard had poor shooting performances, as Ionescu went 7-of-22 while Hebard shot 2-of-7 for just five points. Ionescu’s 19 points were still a team-high on Sunday but the junior guard went 0-for-5 from 3-point range while she collected six rebounds and four assists in the win.
The Ducks will have a bye in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament and play their quarterfinal game on Friday in Las Vegas as they look for their second consecutive tournament championship to accompany the regular season title.
Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow
