Oregon Ducks move past Portland State 78-40, will face Indiana in Second Round

EUGENE, ORE. –

No, the game wasn’t close.  But it was nevertheless an entertaining affair Friday night as the 2-seed Oregon Ducks dispatched 15-seed Portland State 78-40 to advance to the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

Oregon will face 10-seed Indiana in the second round Sunday at 6pm from Matthew Knight Arena.  The Hoosiers upset 7-seed Texas in Friday’s early game, 69-65.

We were at MKA Friday to see Sabrina Ionescu, Ruthy Hebard and company embark on their Tourney Journey.  And embark, they did, with Hebard cashing in a double-double (22pts, 11 reb) and forward Satou Sabally going 4-for-8 from downtown for 21 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.

Ionescu dazzled with this mind-boggling 3-pointer to beat the shot clock buzzer, but her final stats were a tick below her customary dominance (12 pts, 8 assists, 5 rebounds).

Sabrina Ionescu from way, way back. Wow.

(via @ncaawbb)pic.twitter.com/T9as4Um6k3

— Bleacher Report CBB (@br_CBB) March 23, 2019

Coach Kelly Graves took an early first-quarter time out to re-set his team’s defensive focus, as Portland State has the game tied at 13-13 late in the opening quarter.  Graves told the media post game that he couldn’t repeat the things he said to the team during that break, but he tried to not get too fired up.

Kelly Graves on firing up the team during time outs: “I had a wristband on tonight that said ‘Calmness’. So I was very calm in those time outs.”

Should we check the tape, @GoDucksKG ? 😉

— 102.9/750 The Game (@1029TheGame) March 23, 2019

According to coach Kelly Graves, this is the new face of calmness. 😉 #goducks pic.twitter.com/yTA1034naD

— 102.9/750 The Game (@1029TheGame) March 23, 2019

Jokes aside, Graves said he was impressed with his squad, led by Hebard and Sabally.

Plenty for @GoDucksKG to be happy about, but especially the efforts of @RuthyHebard24 (22pts, 11 reb) and Satou Sabally (21pts, career hi 16 rebs) in @OregonWBB 78-40 win over PSU #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/ZYCH1RONIT

— 102.9/750 The Game (@1029TheGame) March 23, 2019

The Ducks are one win away from coming to the Moda Center on Friday, March 29th for the semifinal of the Portland Regional.  Stay locked to 1029TheGame.com for the latest on their road to the Final Four in Tampa!