8:02 pm | February 18, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:
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Mechelle VoepelespnW.com
CORVALLIS, Oregon — For the third time in five days, a projected No. 1 seed in NCAA women’s basketball was upset. This time, it came in what’s called the “Civil War,” the decades-old battle between Oregon and Oregon State.
No. 12 Oregon State avenged Friday’s loss at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene by knocking off the No. 2 Ducks 67-62 at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis on Monday.
“We’re both really good teams, and I think we treated our fans to two outstanding games,” said Oregon coach Kelly Graves, who is winless in Corvallis since 2010 and just 2-8 against Oregon State with the Ducks. “Maybe one of these days I’ll get these guys here.”
For as much as the loss stung, Graves was more worried about the loss of junior forward Ruthy Hebard, the Ducks’ leading rebounder and third-leading scorer.
Hebard went down hard after getting an offensive rebound with 6:44 left in the second quarter. She appeared to injure her right knee and did not return to the game.
“Don’t know; doesn’t look good,” Graves said when asked about her status. “I don’t know the severity.”
Oregon (24-2, 13-1 Pac-12) had won 17 straight games since losing to Michigan State on Dec. 9, but even without Hebard, the Ducks took the game down to the wire.
They trailed by as many as eight in the third quarter, but sophomore Satou Sabally stepped up, scoring nine points in the third quarter to close the gap. Oregon State (21-5, 11-3) held on to the lead, 50-48, heading into the fourth quarter.
With 6:19 left, Sabrina Ionescu’s jumper put the Ducks up 52-50. But with 5:09 left, Ionescu missed a breakaway layup, which ended up being big.
Oregon State took a 54-52 lead on Destiny Slocum’s jump shot in the lane, followed by her 3-pointer with 1:50 left that put the Beavers up 57-52.
Taylor Chavez’s 3-pointer with 55 seconds left cut the deficit to two, but Slocum found 6-foot-8 Joanna Grymek for a layup, making it 59-55. Maite Cazorla drove in for a layup to make it 59-57, but then the Ducks were forced to foul and sent Katie McWilliams to the line. The senior made both, putting Oregon State up 61-57 with 14.4 seconds left.
Still far from over for the Ducks. Ionescu scored quickly on a step-through move, and Aleah Goodman, who led Oregon State with 22 points, swished both of her free throws after a timeout.
Ionescu was fouled by Goodman on a 3-point attempt, and made all three free throws. Another quick foul by Oregon sent Slocum to the line with 6.3 seconds left, and she also made both, but Oregon had a chance to tie with a 3-pointer down 65-62.
Then in one of the biggest calls of the game, Ionescu was whistled for traveling before she’d even controlled the ball out of the backcourt. Oregon had to foul again, and Taya Corosdale made both free throws to seal the victory.
Slocum finished with 20 points for the Beavers. Ionescu had 21 on 9-of-25 shooting for Oregon.
Oregon became the third projected top seed to lose within the past week. Mississippi State lost to Missouri last Thursday, and Louisville fell to Miami on Sunday.
The picture for the national championship continues to look scrambled. But that also makes it pretty fun to watch.
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