Ducks rally in 4th to beat Wildcats
Published 11:32 pm Thursday, March 9, 2017
SEATTLE — Oregon freshmen combined to score 31 of the Ducks’ 33 points in a 70-63 comeback win over Arizona at the Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday night.
Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu, the conference freshman of the year, tied the game at 46 with a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats (14-16) took a 50-48 lead when the Ducks (19-12) used an 8-0 run to take the lead for good, with freshman Mallory McGwire scoring on back-to-back trips.
“I didn’t want to lose this game,” said Ionescu, who led the Ducks with 22 points and five assists. “I was like I’ve got to do something to pump up the team, and I think that’s where that tie-up came in. From that moment, we just continued to build, and that’s what it usually takes — just one play to hype everyone up and help everyone believe.”
McGwire finished with 14 points, and fellow freshman Ruthy Hebard had 21 points and 12 rebounds as the Ducks snapped an eight-game losing streak in the Pac-12 Tournament.
Oregon, which is trying to shore up its NCAA Tournament résumé, gets a big chance Friday night against Washington and NCAA all-time leading scorer Kelsey Plum.
Also Thursday:
Pac-12 women
In other games: SEATTLE — Kristine Anigwe scored 34 points with 13 rebounds and four blocks to lead California (19-12) to a 71-58 win over Southern California (14-16). The Bears will face top-seeded Oregon State on Friday. … Arizona State (19-11) made 23 of 26 free throws to beat Utah (16-14) 72-54 and advance to play UCLA. … Alexys Swedlund had a career-best 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting, and Washington State (12-18) rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat Colorado (15-15) and advance to face Stanford.
Pac-12 men
Colorado 91, Stanford 72: BOULDER, Colo. — Lucas Siewert, George King and Xavier Johnson each scored 15 points, and Colorado (17-13 overall, 7-10 Pac-12) pulled away in the second half to beat Stanford (14-15, 6-11) for the eighth straight time.
Utah 74, California 44: SALT LAKE CITY — Utah (19-10, 10-7) earned its largest win over California (19-10, 10-7) in the series dating back to 1940.
Top 25 men
No. 14 SMU 93, Tulsa 70: DALLAS — Semi Ojeleye scored 26 points with a 9-for-9 night from the field, and SMU (25-4) clinched at least a share of the American Athletic Conference title.
No. 18 Cincinnati 65, Houston 47: CINCINNATI — Cincinnati (26-4) wrapped up its fourth undefeated season at Fifth Third Arena, which opened in 1989.
Iowa 59, No. 22 Wisconsin 57: MADISON, Wis. — Jordan Bohannon hit the game-winning 3-pointer with nine seconds left, and Iowa (17-13) beat Wisconsin (22-8) using a 7-0 game-ending run.