The No. 5 seeded Oregon women’s basketball (18-10) will face off against 12 seed Belmont (22-7) in the first round of the inaugural 68 team women’s March Madness Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday.
Although this is the Ducks’ fifth straight postseason appearance, for many this will be their first authentic collegiate tournament experience. In the wake of COVID-19 and forward Sedona Prince’s activism during last year’s tournament, this year’s women’s college basketball playoff contains 68 teams and welcomes fans back into arenas as the tournament adopts the March Madness name.
“It’s crazy to think about, this is my fourth year in college, and this is the first time I actually get to play in a real postseason with fans in the stands,” Nyara Sabally said. “The fact that we don’t have to be restricted… It’s definitely better this year.”
The Ducks enter postseason play following a grueling end to Pac-12 play. Injuries to Sabally, Oregon’s leading scorer who has battled knee issues all season, and Maddie Scherr, who played limited minutes in the conference tournament with an ankle injury, have plagued the Ducks and are in many regards responsible for the Ducks’ conference tournament semi-final loss to Utah. In the two weeks since the game Oregon has rested and enters postseason play with a completely active roster.
“As far as I know everybody is available to go,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “Not everybody is healthy. I’ll say that… we did have some players who were limited this week in practice, but hopefully the adrenaline and the fact that we are actually playing will help in that regard.”
The Belmont team that Oregon faces is no stranger to upsetting teams in March. The Bruins have made the tournament in all four years under head coach Bart Brooks. As a 12 seed they upset Gonzaga a year ago.
It all starts on the offensive end for the Bruins with sophomore guard Destinee Wells. The leading scorer and facilitator for the Bruins, Wells’ 16.5 points and 4.4 assists per game power the highest scoring offense in the Ohio Valley Conference, averaging 72 points per game. Paired with fellow first team all OVC two way guard Tuti Jones (11.1 PPG, 2.8 STL) and inside presence Madison Bartley, averaging 11.7 points per game and fiveboards, the Bruins have a dynamic core that knows how to win games in March.
“I think their defense is what really has set them apart this year,” Graves said. ““She [Wells] is as good as any guard we’ve played in the Pac-12.”
The star studded Belmont backcourt should not intimidate the Ducks who have two All-Pac-12 guards of their own in Endyia Rogers and Te-Hina Paopao, both averaging over 13 points per game. For the newly healthy Ducks, if they can use their depth at all positions and play their inside out brand of basketball, the Ducks have a good chance to advance to Monday to face the winner of Tennessee and Buffalo.
