No. 6 Oregon women’s basketball entered the last regular-season weekend of conference play needing just one win to earn a share Pac-12 regular-season title. The Ducks found their win behind a 22-point performance from junior Sabrina Ionescu and a fourth-quarter shutout against Arizona to take down the Wildcats 83-54.
Junior Ruthy Hebard returned to the starting line up in Oregon’s near-thirty-point victory to clinch a No. 1 seed in next weekend’s Pac-12 Tournament and a share of the regular-season title. Hebard shot 73 percent from the field for 16 points.
Despite trailing half of the first quarter, the Ducks went on a 9-3 run, earning their first lead of the game to finish with a four-point, 20-16 lead at the end of the first. Ionescu scored a game-high eight points in the quarter off 2-of-2 shooting from beyond the arc.
In the second-quarter, the Wildcats fought back in a 10-2 run to get within one point of Oregon, but the Ducks responded with their own 9-0 run to finish the half leading eight points at 40-32. Ionescu scored another eight points in the quarter for a 16-point first half, while Cazorla finished the quarter with nine points and three assists.
In a third-quarter 9-0 run the Ducks extended their lead to 17 against the Wildcats. Behind a 7-0 run, Arizona got within ten points before heading into the fourth, but in a fourth-quarter shutout, the Ducks went 19-0 against the Wildcats to secure the win.
The Ducks will stay in Arizona for a noon game against Arizona State to finish out the regular season. Next weekend, Oregon will travel to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament, looking to earn the tournament championship for the second-year.
Follow Sierra Webster on Twitter @WebsterSierraE.
Fourth-quarter shutout earns No. 6 Oregon women’s basketball share of Pac-12 title in 83-54 victory
March 1, 2019
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