SEATTLE — Sabrina Ionescu was just a few seconds late to Oregon’s midcourt celebration.
While her teammates and coaches mobbed together at center court, Ionescu came flying in from the baseline. Head coach Kelly Graves joked, “You’re late to the party.”
“I think I’ve done that about five times, to be honest,” said Ionescu, who scored 18 points, had six assists and six rebounds. “I had to sit down. I couldn’t keep standing. I think I was just embracing the moment. I think we all were in different ways.”

Never seen Graves this happy. Ever. pic.twitter.com/OHsWlVM7Q1
— Jonathan Hawthorne (@Jon_Hawthorne) March 4, 2017

It was Ionescu’s two clutch free throws with 6.4 seconds left that lifted the Ducks over No. 11 Washington 70-69 to advance to the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament.
Lexi Bando exploded for the Ducks during the fourth quarter to help Oregon get back in the game. When Oregon trailed by nine points with 9:00 left, Bando scored 11 consecutive points to cut the Washington lead to 64-61. During that stretch, she became the 28th player in Oregon history to notch 1,000 career points.

“I knew that I needed to step up,” Bando said. “Sabrina was getting me the ball. I just had the mindset — I need to shoot. The ball ended up going in tonight.”

Washington’s Chantel Osahor scored five straight points to give the Huskies a 69-66 lead with 3:05 left. After a few tight defensive battles, a jumper by Bando cut it to a one-point deficit. Ionescu later went to the line with 6.4 seconds left needing to make one free throw to tie — two to take the lead.

“I told myself I wasn’t going to miss those free throws,” Ionescu said. “I didn’t want to let my team down, and since I was put in that position, I was put in that position for a reason.”

Kelsey Plum, who scored 34 points for Washington, had the last look of the game, but two Oregon defenders held her at bay. Her shot didn’t make it to the rim.

“I thought we defended that last one pretty well,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “You know it’s going to be in her hand.”

For much of the game, Maite Cazorla was tasked with guarding Plum, including the final play.

“We were scared because she might draw the foul,” Cazorla said.

Plum didn’t get the call, sending the Ducks into a frenzy before a crowd of 9,686.

Ruthy Hebard nearly tallied a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds while Cazorla had 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting.

Washington coach Mike Neighbors said the Ducks played like they needed a win to cement their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2005. ESPN said after the game the Ducks put those doubts to rest with the win.

“I think what they did tonight is play themselves into a higher seed,” Neighbors said.

Washington put itself in a position to win when the Huskies took a 57-51 lead into the fourth quarter. The Huskies were 12-of-19 from the field during the third. Oregon had a 32-31 lead at halftime and limited to Plum to 15 points at the break.

The Ducks advance to face No. 2-seeded Stanford on Saturday night (8:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
“They play really hard, and, like you said, they’re playing with confidence,” Graves said of Stanford. “But, you know, we’re going to be ready. We’re going to fight.
“And I think we can go out and play loose, you know. And I think that will help us tomorrow.”
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne