Freshmen Lead 10th-Seeded Oregon To 77-63 Upset Of Maryland
PAT EATON-ROBB, AP Sports Writer
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu led five Oregon players in double figures with 21 points and the tenth-seeded Ducks continued their improbable run through the NCAA Tournament with a 77-63 upset win over third-seeded Maryland.
Fellow freshman Ruthy Hebard added 16 points for the Ducks (23-13), who beat second-seeded Duke in the second round and advance to the first regional final in program history.
Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough each had 16 points for Maryland, which finishes the season at 32-3.
The Maryland offense, which averages more than 90 points a game to lead the nation, was held to its lowest point total this season
Oregon coach Kelly Graves said before the game that his young team that starts three freshmen may not know it is not supposed to be winning. The Ducks became the second No. 10 seed to advance to a regional final, joining the 1991 Lamar team.
Oregon led by nine points at halftime and made seven straight shots late in the third quarter to extend that to 59-45.
A steal and basket by Walker-Kimbrough cut the lead to 69-63 with just over minutes left, capping an 8-0 Maryland run. But Ionescu answered with a basket and the Terps were called for an offense foul on the other end, ending the threat.
The Terps, who average more than six 3-pointers a game, were 0-for-6 from behind the arc.
Maryland missed its first five shots and the game's first basket didn't come for more than three minutes, a short jumper by Oregon's Hebard.
Ionescu had 11 points, three rebounds and three assists in the first 20 minutes. She finished with seven assists and six rebounds. The Terps were able to stay close in the first half thanks to Brionna Jones, who had 10 points and seven rebounds before the break.
BIG PICTURE
Maryland: The Terps are now 44-24 in the NCAA Tournament and fall to 32-12 under coach Brenda Frese. This was the Terps 13th trip to the regional semifinals, where they are now 10-3. This was the second straight year the Terps have been knocked out of the tournament by a team from the Pac-12. Washington beat them in the second round a year ago.
Oregon: This is the Duck's longest-ever run through the NCAA Tournament. Their freshman accounted for more than 63 percent of their scoring coming into the game and accounted for 41 points in this one. The Ducks have flown 11,652 miles during the NCAA Tournament.
UP NEXT
Oregon will play the winner of Saturday's semifinal between top-seeded UConn and UCLA.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.