PORTLAND, Ore. — South Dakota State was frustrating Oregon early in the first quarter, but then Sabrina Ionescu came alive, knocking down four straight jump shots to end the quarter and give the Ducks the lead.
After that, they never trailed again as Ionescu and her team took control of their Sweet 16 game in front of a crowd of 11,324 at the Moda Center. The No. 2 seed Ducks defeated sixth-seeded South Dakota State 63-53 to advance to their third consecutive Elite Eight after lockdown defense and double-double performances by Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard.
“We felt like we were at home,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said. “I mean, the crowd was loud. They were really engaged. I think we put them to sleep in the fourth quarter.”
Oregon held a comfortable lead for much of the second half but South Dakota State didn’t give in, scoring five of its last six field goals.
“I thought we hung in there,” South Dakota State head coach Aaron Johnston said. “They did make a big push in that third. We found a way to kind of finish, get it back, so it was still a game.”
The Ducks led the Jackrabbits 31-22 at the intermission with Ionescu posting eight points, five rebounds and five assists. She immediately tallied two more at the start of the second half, including a saucy around-the-leg pass to Ruthy Hebard for a layup.
Ionescu was aggressive and unafraid, tumbling into the scorers’ table and the South Dakota State bench one time each.
“I love it,” Graves said. “That’s the only way we know her. That’s how she plays. You know what, if it was a drill in the first third of practice, she’d be doing the same thing. I mean, that’s just kind of who she is. That’s how she’s wired. That’s why she’s as great as she is. We don’t want her to change.”
It took time to heat up for some Ducks. Hebard had nine points on 3-of-7 shooting at halftime and finished the game with 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting to accompany her double-double-earning 14 rebounds. It wasn’t a smooth night for Hebard, who missed three of her final five shots.
“We knew going in they just didn’t have much of an answer there,” Graves said. “[Hebard] even left a few out there on the court tonight that’s almost automatic for her. I think that’s always our first priority, when we game plan, how can we get her the basketball.”
Satou Sabally nearly recorded a double-double too, scoring 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds, eight of which came on defense.
On the boards as a team, Oregon was out-rebounded 47-44, but halted South Dakota State to 26.6 percent shooting and 20.1 percent from 3-point range. The Jackrabbits had shot 48.1 percent and 37.4 percent from beyond the arc this season.
“They’re long, they’re athletic,” South Dakota State’s Myah Selland said. “I think that maybe disrupted some of our shots.”
Now the Ducks have their biggest test yet in the NCAA Tournament against top-seed Mississippi State on Sunday at 11 a.m. as Oregon looks to enter unprecedented territory: the Final Four.
“We’ve been thinking about this opportunity since our last loss last year to Notre Dame,” Ionescu said. “This is what we work for, this is what we dream of. Now it’s time to make our dreams a reality.”
Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow
