The No. 6 seed Utah Utes upset Oregon women’s basketball 80-73 Friday night, advancing to the Pac-12 championship game.

Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Gianna Kneepkens started the game on a 5-0 run before Sedona Prince got a step-in mid-range jumper to go, sparking a 12-0 Oregon run that settled the Ducks in for the remainder of the first half.

Prince led the Ducks in scoring in the first half with 8 as Oregon leading scorer Nyara Sabally oscillated between the court and locker room following an ankle injury sustained in the first quarter on a hard foul. 

Oregon led by 5 at halftime before a disastrous third quarter that saw the Ducks shoot 1-of-12 from the field. The drought was accompanied by a 23 point downpour from the Utes that gave Utah a 10 point lead going into the fourth. 

“It’s been our worst quarter all year,” Graves said. “I gotta give my team a ton of credit, we battled back… and had a chance; that’s when I made a stupid play.”

With 3:40 to play, Nyara Sabally fouled out on a tic-tac foul, one of 12 called against the Ducks in the quarter. In reaction, Graves made a frustrated gesture, earning a technical foul. 

“I didn’t say anything,” Graves said. 

Sabally and Graves’ combined fouls resulted in five made Utah free throws. The Utes reclaimed a 70-66 lead as Sabally headed to the bench for the final time.

On the ensuing possession, Kneepkens grabbed one of Utah’s six offensive rebounds of the quarter and scored a second chance layup, pushing the Utah lead to 6. Kneepkens, playing on her 19th birthday, finished with a game-high 24 points.

“Down the stretch we kept calling a high flat screen for her,” Utah coach Lynn Roberts said. “[fearless], and I also know that Gianna wants those moments, which is unique… I have full confidence in her.”

Te-Hina Paopao scored Oregon’s only field goal of the last 3 minutes with the exception of  an Ahlise Hurst 3-pointer as time expired. The Utes had already sealed the game, making 17 of their 22 fourth quarter free throws.

After playing 11 games in the month of February alone, including a 73-65 win at Utah on Feb. 26, and two on back-to-back nights here in Las Vegas, the Ducks will rest and regroup before preparing for a title run in the March Madness tournament. 

“We have to really consider that mental health is a real thing,” Paopao said. “These next couple of days are going to help a lot. We are probably going to stay away from basketball for a little… and then when we come back together we gotta get right and play some more.”

Utah will meet Stanford in its first Pac-12 women’s basketball championship game Sunday at 3 p.m.