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
Oregon Ducks players unite after their close loss. Oregon Ducks women’s basketball takes on UCLA at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore. on February 22, 2019. (Maddie Knight/Emerald)
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