PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon women’s basketball has been here before.
Two years ago in the Elite Eight, the 10th-seeded Ducks were the underdogs against the biggest of dogs — in fact, they were Huskies — UConn. Last year, the No. 2 Ducks fell to eventual champions Notre Dame.
This time, it’s a little different.
The No. 2 Ducks take on No. 1 Mississippi State, a team that they have already played — and beaten — this year. That was a nonconference game in December. This the Elite Eight, a game with everything on the line.
“They’re one of the top teams in the country,” Oregon junior guard Sabrina Ionescu said. “I think it’s going to show how much we’ve grown from the last time we played them and what we need to work on. There is pros and cons to playing a team for the second time. But I think we’re so used to that with the Pac-12, we’ll be able to grow on our weaknesses.”
Both teams say they’re different now than when they played one another in December. Mississippi State sophomore forward Chloe Bibby, who was the only Bulldog to play the full 40 minutes in Eugene, scoring 12 points, is out with a season-ending injury sustained in January.
The Ducks have been without freshman guard Taylor Chavez, who hasn’t played in over a month. But the Arizona native could make a return in the Elite Eight after she was suited up for the Sweet 16 game.
Chavez scored seven points in Oregon’s 82-74 last time against the Bulldogs, but it was a true shootout with Ionescu scoring 29 points, Maite Cazorla scoring 20 and Ruthy Hebard scoring 14, while MSU’s Arniel Howard posting 30 points.
“Offensively we’ve been two of the top three scoring teams in the country all year, two of the most efficient,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said. “The game will probably be decided at the defensive end.”
All five of Mississippi State’s starters scored double-digit points in its Sweet 16 win over five-seed Arizona State, while Oregon saw scoring productivity only from Ionescu, Hebard and Satou Sabally. Erin Boley went 0-for-7 for Oregon.
“We hope that Erin is just saving them for Sunday,” Graves said.
The biggest matchup of the game will be between Mississippi State’s 6-foot-7 center Teaira McCowan and Oregon’s 6-foot-4 forward Ruthy Hebard. McCowan was held to a mere five points and 11 rebounds in December’s game.
On the flip side, Sabally’s four-point and three-rebound performance in December has left her hungry for more.
“I’m personally excited because I had a really bad game the last time we played them,” Sabally said. “I’m really fired up. I wanted Mississippi State. I know that they’re a really great matchup. They were in the Final Four last year. They’re just going to make us better.”
The Ducks and Bulldogs tip off at 11 a.m. at the Moda Center with a place in Tampa Bay’s Final Four awaiting the winner.
Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow
