Number 3 Oregon Shakes Off Slow Start to Battle Past Utah
LAS VEGAS, NEV— For the fourth consecutive year, the Oregon Ducks are headed to the Semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament after rallying to defeat the Utah Utes 79-59 Friday. After a slow start that had the Ducks down by six in the first 90 seconds and trailing until the start of the second quarter, the Ducks turned up their aggression.
“We were getting stops on the defensive end,” said Senior Guard Sabrina Ionescu, “getting in the passing lanes, getting steals that helped us get transition shots. Our defense really fueled our offense.”
With 7:44 remaining in the second the top-seeded Ducks finally took the lead and never looked back, building a lead as large as 23 points in the fourth quarter. But the young Utes did not go away easily.
“You know, the score may not be indicative of the kind of fight that was out there,” said Utah Head Coach Lynne Roberts. “Other than the second quarter, where Oregon hit eight threes and we had eight or nine turnovers, we played them completely even.”
Fueled by strong performances by Freshmen Brynna Maxwell (12 points) and Lola Pendande (15 points and 10 rebounds), the Utes outscored the Ducks in the paint and in second-chance points. Utes’ fans may be disappointed today, but with a roster that has three freshmen and five sophomores, the future is bright in Salt Lake City.
“We will regroup,” said Coach Roberts. “We have such a talented, exciting young core that I’m really looking forward to working with.”
Oregon, on the other hand, is comprised of seasoned veterans who are looking forward to things much closer on the horizon and their expectations are high.
“We have set a really high bar for ourselves,” said Oregon Head Coach Kelly Graves. “We’re healthy, we’re hungry and I think we’re playing with a lot of confidence.”
Next up for Oregon are the fourth-seeded Arizona Wildcats, who come off an 86-73 victory over the Pac-12’s Cinderella, the California Golden Bears. Oregon is 2-0 against the Wildcats this season. While for some the thought of winning for the third time against a top-ranked Pac-12 team under the Vegas pressure is too much to handle Ionescu doesn’t agree.
“Absolutely not,” said Ionescu. “This is probably the least pressure I’ve ever felt in my life.”
