SEATTLE — The Ducks touched down in Seattle for the Pac-12 Tournament looking for a win or two to cement an NCAA Tournament bid. Though projections didn’t have them on the bubble, they could put all doubts to rest with a solid showing.

On Sunday morning, the Ducks will board a bus back to Seattle with two wins under their belt: Arizona and an upset of No. 11 Washington.

That means the program ought to get used to a bus ride or two later this month — as NCAA Tournament participants. The Ducks weren’t deflated during their postgame press conference following their 71-56 loss to No. 10 Stanford in the semifinal round.

“I think we should celebrate what this team has done. … We’re enjoying the ride. I think we earned a spot,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “It’s not up to me now, that’s up to someone else.”

Sabrina Ionescu, who scored 14 points in the loss, put things more simply.

“I think we’re excited for the rest of March,” Ionescu said.

Ionescu and Maite Cazorla led the team in scoring with 14 points apiece. Mallory McGwire had 10 points in the loss for Oregon (20-13), which shot 33 percent from the field, but 26 percent after the first quarter.

Oti Gildon came off the bench to provide the Ducks with efficient minutes. She scored eight points and had six boards.

Stanford advances to play No. 1-seeded Oregon State in the championship game on Sunday evening.

The Cardinal’s stingy defense was the difference down the stretch, not allowing the Ducks to get many open looks. Stanford didn’t allow an Oregon field goal during the fourth quarter until Cazorla scored with 2:25 left.

Stanford opened the fourth on a 9-2 run to take a 62-49 lead with 3:53 left. Oregon had tied the game at 42-42 early in the third quarter before Stanford mounted an attack. The Ducks cut the deficit to 51-47 on a bucket from McGwire, but that would be as close as it got.

“They played just better and harder in that second half,” Graves said. “Once we got behind a little bit, we tried like crazy to keep up. It just wasn’t happening tonight. We didn’t bring our A-game. You have to — to beat a team like that.”

The gane’s momentum began to swing when Stanford ended the first half on a 10-2 run to take a 36-34 lead to halftime. The Ducks had their largest lead of the game, 25-16, after Ionescu hit a pair of free throws to end the first quarter.
Stanford keyed in on Oregon’s 3-point shooting. The Ducks were 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. Washington allowed the Ducks to go 11-of-23 from 3-point range in the Ducks’ dramatic Friday night win.

“That’s the key to beating them — you can’t let them get 3-point shots, for sure,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said.

Stanford narrowly won the rebounding battle, 40-37. Both teams committed 10 turnovers and both teams had five made free throws.

Though Graves always stressed the importance of feeling disappointed after a loss, the Ducks said that their efforts in Seattle could be a stepping stone to bigger things in the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2005.

“We gave all the teams we played a game,” Ionescu said. “I think it just shows what we’re capable of.”

Overall, Graves departs Seattle proud of the effort from his young team.

“I couldn’t have asked for more,” Graves said.
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne