Indiana was down 15 points to the No. 2 seeded Oregon Ducks with just under a minute to play in the third quarter. 
In an attempt to lighten the damage, even just a little, Hoosier point guard Ali Patberg went up for a jump shot.
But the shot was no match for Oregon’s 6-foot-4 forward, Satou Sabally, who instantly jumped up to block the ball straight into Patberg’s face. And who else to grab the defensive rebound, but two-time Pac-12 Player of Year: Sabrina Ionescu.
It was just one instant of many in which the Ducks overpowered and outplayed the No. 10 Hoosiers (21-13) in the second half Sunday’s 91-68 Oregon victory in the NCAA Tournament second-round matchup.
“Two games down, and now we’re guaranteed a third,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said. “I couldn’t be more proud of how well they played and how well they played together. I thought offensively we got our mojo back.”
The Ducks (31-4) ended the year with just one loss on the Matthew Knight Arena floor, finishing with a home court record of 16-1. 
Ionescu earned her 18^th career triple-double in the final minutes of the game, with a stat line of 29 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. Behind the point guard, sophomore Satou Sabally followed with 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists, four blocks and one steal.
After upsetting No. 7-seed Texas Friday night, Indiana came onto the court, playing agile and playing quick. Twice in the first quarter, the Hoosiers attacked on slow plays from Oregon. Each time, using smartly-timed steals to earn fast-break shots which either tied the game or sparked Hoosier runs. 
Hoosier guard Jaelynn Penn’s closing 3-pointer from the first quarter sparked a 12-0 run. And about three minutes later, another 3-pointer from Penn gave Indiana its biggest lead of the game at 28-24 over Oregon.
“We just needed to pick up our defensive intensity,” Ionescu said. “We allowed them to take shots that they could make, so we just needed to adjust a little bit.”
Ionescu took it upon herself to come up with the appropriate response. Drawing a foul on a 3-point shot of her own, Ionescu completed a four-point play, tying the game as Ducks were reawakened. About a minute later, another Ionescu-3 led forth to a 13-0 Oregon run, allowing the Ducks to end the half back on top with a 43-31 lead.
A quarter later, Ionescu had the crowd roaring once again — this time, for her 10^th rebound of the game, which completed her triple-double. 
“I knew I had three rebounds in the third quarter, and I wasn’t really happy with that,” she said. “But that’s not what I was hunting. I just knew that we were in the lead and that we were playing well.” 
After a lower-leg injury took Indiana guard Bendu Yeaney out of the game early in the third quarter, the Hoosiers were unable to keep up with the fast-paced and dominate game of the Ducks. Oregon gained its highest lead of the game, 84-61, six minutes into the final quarter with a completed pair of free-throws by Ionescu. 
“They were plenty good tonight,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said. “They really spread you out. They really challenge you … If you can’t get out to their shooters and you don’t’ have high hands, they’re just terrific behind the arc.” 
With Sunday’s win, the Ducks will move on in the Tournament and make their third consecutive trip to the Sweet 16. Oregon will make the brief, two-hour drive up Interstate-5 to play at the Moda Center in Portland next weekend. On Friday, March 29, the Ducks will play the winner of Monday’s matchup between No. 6-seed South Dakota State and No. 3-seed Syracuse.
Follow Maggie Vanoni on Twitter @maggie_vanoni