This time of year, Oregon head coach Kelly Graves doesn’t have to say much to inspire his team.
That may be a good thing for the Ducks’ second-year coach: His voice is still hoarse from coaching before 9,055 fans on Monday night.
Oregon plays South Dakota in the semifinals of the WNIT on Wednesday with a chance to advance to the championship game. The Ducks and the Coyotes tip off at 5 p.m. in Vermillion, South Dakota.
Graves said he’s having lots of fun with his team, which has won four straight games in the WNIT.
“I think it’s been a little surprising,” Graves said. “We’re certainly a capable team but the last couple weeks of the regular season, we didn’t show any indication that we could do something like this. To their credit, they stuck with it.”
Oregon’s latest example of its late season progress came on Monday in the border town of El Paso. The Ducks erased a 18-point deficit in front of a deafening crowd and had all five starters score in double digits. Oregon continues to be the No. 1-ranked 3-point shooting team in the NCAA, going 8-for-14 from distance on Monday. In the four WNIT games, the Ducks have made 44 3-pointers, and are shooting an overall 52.2 percent from downtown.
“They believe in each other and now they’re playing for each other,” Graves said. “It’s really been quite remarkable.”
On Tuesday, the Ducks flew to Omaha, Nebraska, then took a two-hour bus ride to the the South Dakota campus. The Coyotes played on Sunday evening, so they’ll have an extra day of rest heading into Wednesday’s game.
The Ducks have benefitted from strong inside play as of late from Jacinta Vandenberg. She’s averaged 9.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and had 11 assists in the WNIT.
“It’s really going to help her next year when she has all those young, big kids coming in,” Graves said of Vandenberg’s play. They need to have somebody to really look up to. She’s proven that she’s a real capable player in this tournament.”
The Coyotes (30-6) were the regular-season champions of the Summit League, but did not win their conference tournament. Senior guard Nicole Seekamp, who Graves said will play in the WNBA, leads the team in scoring. She had 18 points and nine assists in the team’s win over Western Kentucky on Sunday.
“Offensively, they’re very efficient,” Graves said. “They’re getting over 78 points a game and they’re shooting 45 percent from the field with really good 3-point shooting. Their assist-to-turnover ratio is off-the-charts.”
South Dakota has won 20 of its last 21 games. Oregon and the Coyotes have never played before.
“They’re a lot like us,” Graves said. “Good ball movement and they share the basketball. Seekamp is one of their main creators and they’re very senior-laden.”
A win on Wednesday will match Oregon’s program record for most wins in a season with 25. It was set in 1980-81 and again in 1998-99. The WNIT championship game is scheduled for Saturday with a location to be determined.
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne