Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Weekend, March 17-18, 2018
NCAA Women’s Tournament
Ionescu secures 10th career triple-double as Ducks cruise
By ANNE M. PETERSON
AP Sports Writer
First Round
EUGENE — Oregon’s Sabrina
Ionescu joked that she was going
to take her time getting that last
rebound for another triple-double.
Ionescu had 19 points, 11 assists
and 10 rebounds for her 10th career
triple-double, and second-seeded
Oregon defeated No. 15 seed Seattle
88-45 in the NCAA Tournament on
Friday.
Ionescu, who holds the NCAA
record for triple-doubles, becomes
the 15th woman to get one in the
NCAA Tournament. The last was
Iowa’s Samantha Logic in 2015.
She was asked afterward if she
heard the groan from the student
section when another Duck got her
rebound early in the fourth quarter.
“It was more like this: ‘Would
you just get one so we can get this
over with?’” Coach Kelly Graves
interjected.
Ionescu laughed: “And then I
said, ‘Eh, maybe I’ll just wait it out
so I can play some more.’”
After securing the triple-double,
Ionescu went to the bench with 8:02
left in the game to a standing ovation
from the crowd at Matthew Knight
Arena.
Graves said he left Ionescu in
the game even after he’d pulled the
other starters because she was so
close — no disrespect to Seattle.
AP Photo/Chris Pietsch
Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu, right, brings the ball down court ahead
of Seattle’s Kamira Sanders during their first-round game in the
NCAA women’s college basketball tournament in Eugene on Friday
“She kind of earned that,” Graves
said. “And she still only played 29
minutes, so I’ll take that anytime.
She wouldn’t want me to leave her
in just to do that, but since it was so
close, why not?”
The Ducks, winners of 10
straight, advance to play No. 10 seed
Minnesota in the Spokane Region.
The Golden Gophers defeated No. 7
Green Bay 89-77 in the early game.
Alexis Montgomery had 14
points for Seattle, which was making
its first-ever tournament appearance.
#15 Seattle
#2 Oregon
45
88
Oregon finished the regular
season 30-4 overall and 16-2 in the
Pac-12. In addition to the league’s
regular-season title, the Ducks also
won the conference tournament.
Oregon’s seeding is the highest
in team history, as are the 30 wins.
The conference championship was
also a first.
Oregon made history last season,
too, going to the Elite Eight for the
first time in school history. The
Ducks finished that season 23-14
overall and lost to Stanford in a
Pac-12 tournament semifinal game.
But after earning an at-large spot
in the tournament, Oregon swept
through seventh-seeded Temple, No.
2 Duke and No. 3 Maryland before
getting bumped by top-seeded
UConn.
The Redhawks finished 18-14
overall this season but took the
Western Athletic Conference Tour-
nament with a 57-54 victory over
Cal State Bakersfield in the title
game.
Ionescu, the Pac-12 Freshman of
the Year last season, earned league
Player of the Year honors. She had
five triple-doubles in the regular
season after four as a freshman.
Oregon jumped out to a 10-0
lead. Montgomery broke through
for the Redhawks on a long jumper
with 4:50 left in the first quarter,
but the Ducks were simply over-
whelming and led 25-6 by the end
of the opening quarter. Ionescu led
all scorers with nine points and four
rebounds.
Lexi Bando’s 3-pointer gave
Oregon a 30-10 lead. Aina Ayuso
finished the half with a crossover
and layup — and added a free throw
before a pair of Seattle free throws to
make it 48-16 at the break.
Ionescu hit a 3-pointer to open
the second half.
Oti Gildon finished with 16 points
for Oregon, while Ruthy Hebard
added 12 along with nine rebounds
before sitting out the fourth.
Seattle coach Suzi Barcomb said
she thinks Oregon is a Final Four
team.
“I think Oregon played to their
potential. I think we were a little bit
nervous about being at the dance
for the first time in school history,”
Barcomb said. “That was pretty
evident in the first quarter when I
think the rim was about the size of
a penny for us, and it looked to be a
huge peach basket for Oregon.”
UP NEXT
Oregon will play Minnesota on
Sunday night.
MADNESS: Upsets roll on as No. 13 Marshall, No. 10 Butler among Friday winners
Continued from 1B
basketball history. But that was the
regular season.
This came when it mattered the
most — in the NCAA Tournament.
The Cavaliers couldn’t get
anything generated on offense and
the nation’s top-ranked defense
couldn’t contain the American East
Conference champions who won
their conference tournament at the
buzzer.
“Unbelievable — it’s really all
you can say,” UMBC coach Ryan
Odom said.
The 74 points were the most
Virginia had allowed this year.
Virginia had allowed just 54.3 points
per game this season, the fewest in
the nation.
Lyles was the catalyst.
He diced up Virginia’s defense in
the second half, getting to the hole
easily on six different occasions
and making easy layups. He also
knocked down a pair of 3-pointers
as UMBC built a 16-point lead.
Lyles finished with 23 of his
points in the second half and Joe
Sherburne finished with 14 points.
The game was tied at halftime,
but the Retrievers came out confi-
dent and motivated in the second
half and built a double-digit lead that
Virginia could never erase.
Sherburne was huge early in the
second half and made believers out
of everyone.
He scored on an and-1 drive and
then knocked down a 3-pointer from
the top of the key after a behind-
the-back pass from KJ Maura. After
Virginia made a foul shot, the shifty
5-foot-8, 140-pound Maura drove
the lane for uncontested layup.
A Tony Bennett timeout couldn’t
stop the bleeding, as Lyles hit two
more 3’s and Sherburne hit one
more to extend UMBC’s lead to 14
with 14:57 left in the game. Lyles
was fouled on a 3-point shot and
suddenly the Retrievers led by 16.
A corner 3-pointer and a layups
off a fastbreak by Arkel Lamer gave
UMBC its biggest lead at 67-48.
From there, the party was on as
chants of “UMBC” rang through the
arena.
It was yet another early exit for
the Cavaliers in a season that seemed
to hold so much promise.
UP NEXT
UMBC: Will face No. 9 seed
Kansas State on Sunday in the
second round.
Here’s a look at the rest of
Friday’s first round action:
PURDUE 74, CAL STATE
FULLERTON 48
DETROIT (AP) — Purdue
center Isaac Haas broke his right
elbow during a win over Cal State
Fullerton and will miss the rest of
the NCAA Tournament.
The 7-foot-2, 290-pound senior
went down while taking a hard foul
midway through the second half.
Haas, who averaged 14.7 points and
5.7 rebounds per game, had nine
points and 10 rebounds in the first-
round victory.
Kyle Allman scored 21 for the
Titans (20-12).
MARSHALL 81, WICHITA
STATE 75
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jon Elmore
scored 27 points and 13th-seeded
Marshall toppled fourth-seeded
Wichita State for its first NCAA
Tournament victory.
The Thundering Herd (25-10)
had been 0-5 in the tourney, with its
last appearance in 1987.
Marshall became the second No.
13 seed to win this week. Buffalo did
it Thursday night, beating Arizona.
Conner Frankamp scored 27
points for Wichita State (25-8).
WEST
VIRGINIA
85,
MURRAY STATE 68
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jevon
Carter scored 21 points, had eight
assists and six steals as No. 5
seed West Virginia overwhelmed
12th-seeded Murray State.
The Mountaineers (25-10)
advanced to the round of 32 for the
third time in the past four seasons.
Terrell Miller scored 27 points
for Murray State (26-6).
BUTLER 79, ARKANSAS 62
DETROIT (AP) — Kelan Martin
scored 27 points and Kamar Baldwin
added 24 to lift 10th-seeded Butler
over seventh-seeded Arkansas.
The Bulldogs (21-13) raced to a
21-2 lead in the opening minutes.
Although Arkansas wiped out that
entire deficit before halftime, Butler
took control again early in the
second.
Jaylen Barford scored 15 points
for Arkansas (23-12).
CINCINNATI 68, GEORGIA
STATE 53
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) —
Jarron Cumberland set career highs
of 27 points and 11 rebounds as
Cincinnati recovered after blowing a
10-point lead in the second half.
The second-seeded Bearcats
(31-4) advanced to play seventh-
seeded Nevada.
AP Photo/Denis Poroy
Marshall guard Jarrod West (13) reacts as time runs out in their
first-round NCAA college basketball tournament game against
Wichita State on Friday in San Diego. Marshall won 81-75.
After trailing 42-32 early in the
second half, 15th-seeded Georgia
State (24-11) rallied to take a pair
of one-point leads, its last one
coming on a driving bank shot from
D’Marcus Simonds with 9:30 left.
NEVADA 87, TEXAS 83, OT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) —
Caleb Martin scored 18 points
and made two huge 3-pointers in
overtime as seventh-seeded Nevada
rallied for its first NCAA Tourna-
ment victory since 2007.
Nevada (28-7) erased a 14-point,
second-half deficit and tied it at 68
when Jordan Caroline hit one of two
free throws with 3.8 seconds left in
regulation. The Wolf Pack trailed by
four early in an overtime period that
featured 34 total points.
Kerwin Roach II had a career-
high 26 points for Texas (19-15).
KANSAS
STATE
69,
CREIGHTON 59
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) —
Barry Brown scored 18 points and
ninth-seeded Kansas State never
trailed despite playing without top
scorer Dean Wade.
Mike McGuirl added 17 points
for the Wildcats (23-11). Wade had
been expected to play after suffering
a stress fracture in the quarterfinals
of the Big 12 Tournament, but never
got on the floor.
Marcus Foster, thrown off the
Kansas State team after the 2015
season for multiple violations of
team rules, finished with five points
on 2-of-11 shooting for Creighton
(21-12).
MICHIGAN
STATE
82,
BUCKNELL 78
DETROIT (AP) — Miles Bridges
outlasted Zach Thomas, scoring 29
points and grabbing nine rebounds
to help third-seeded Michigan State
beat Bucknell.
Thomas fouled out on a technical
with 6:06 left and finished with 27
points. He put on a show in the first
half, scoring 20 points and making
all three of his shots beyond the
3-point arc.
The Spartans (30-4) made the
most of playing about 75 miles from
campus. Leading by 15 points with 2
minutes left, Michigan State won by
a slim margin after Bucknell (25-10)
made a late flurry of deep shots.
AUBURN 62, COLLEGE OF
CHARLESTON 58
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jared
Harper made a clutch 3-pointer with
1:17 to go — his only basket of the
game — and Auburn held off No. 13
College of Charleston.
Auburn (26-7), playing under
the cloud of a federal investigation,
survived a poor shooting perfor-
mance to win in its first NCAA
Tournament appearance since 2003.
Jarrell Brantley scored 24 for the
Cougars (26-8), the CAA champs
who made their first NCAA Tourna-
ment since 1999.
NORTH CAROLINA 84,
LIPSCOMB 66
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) —
Kenny Williams scored 18 points
and defending national champion
North Carolina took its time before
opening up to beat Lipscomb.
Theo Pinson had 15 points and
flirted with a triple-double for the
second-seeded Tar Heels (26-10).
Playing for the first time in the
NCAA tourney, the 15th-seeded
Bisons (23-10) held an early
six-point edge. They led 33-31 with
under four minutes left in the first
half before North Carolina went on a
12-1 run to take control by the break.
TEXAS A&M 73, PROVI-
DENCE 69
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) —
Admon Gilder scored 18 points to
help Texas A&M hold off Provi-
dence.
Robert Williams and Tyler Davis
both had double-doubles for the
seventh-seeded Aggies (21-12). The
teams were tied at 50 with about
9 minutes left but Texas A&M
responded with a 12-2.
Rodney Bullock scored 22 points
for the 10th-seeded Friars (21-14).
SYRACUSE 57, TCU 52
DETROIT (AP) — Marek
Dolezaj scored 17 points before
fouling out and 11th-seeded Syra-
cuse shut down sixth-seeded TCU
for a 57-52 victory in the Midwest
Region of the NCAA Tournament
on Friday night.
The Orange (22-13) won for the
second time in the tournament and
advanced to face third-seeded Mich-
igan State on Sunday by holding
off the Horned Frogs with another
impressive defensive effort. Both
teams shot under 40 percent from
the field.
TCU (21-12) is still without an
NCAA Tournament victory since
1987, when coach Jamie Dixon was
a player. This was the school’s first
appearance since 1998, and it was
short-lived.
FLORIDA
STATE
67,
MISSOURI 54
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) —
Mfiondu Kabengele scored 14
points, and Florida State beat No.
8 seed Missouri for the Seminoles’
fourth straight NCAA Tournament
opening round win.
PJ Savoy had 12 points and
Phil Cofer scored 11. A total of 10
Seminoles scored at least two points
apiece — by halftime — as they
wore out Missouri, which had only
eight healthy players available.
This was the first trip to the tour-
nament for every player on the roster
for Missouri (20-13). Even with new
players and a new coach in Cuonzo
Martin, the Tigers head home from
their first NCAA trip since 2013
with the program’s fourth straight
loss in a first round.
BEAVERS: Now prepare for underdog role against No. 3 Tennessee in second round
Continued from 1B
deep 3-pointers and contested
jumpers to help pull away.
Tudor’s fourth 3-pointer of
the first half gave the Beavers
a 46-27 advantage right
before the break.
Gulich took over for OSU
in the second half, running
the break and getting layups
to keep the Beavers comfort-
ably ahead. She scored 17
points in the third quarter
alone to give OSU a 68-43
lead.
“This game was going
to be about adapting, and
that was our mindset going
in. Nothing would have
surprised us today,” Oregon
State coach Scott Rueck
said. “I kind of assumed
they would try to take Marie
away early, and I thought we
really moved the ball well. I
thought that was the key to
the game.”
Despite a decided crowd
advantage encouraging the
Lady Toppers to make a
run, WKU was never able
to threaten the Beavers and
suffered its sixth straight
first-round NCAA Tourna-
ment loss.
Tashia
Brown,
the
Conference USA Player of
the Year, finished with 17
points on 7 of 21 shooting to
lead WKU while Ivy Brown
scored 14.
Gulich was one of four
Beavers in double-figures
scoring. Tudor had 19 points,
Mikayla Pivec had 15 points,
eight assists and no turn-
overs, and Katie McWilliams
AP Photo/Wade Payne
Oregon State guard Mikayla Pivec (0) battles for the
ball with Western Kentucky forward Dee Givens (4) in
the first half of a first-round game in the NCAA college
basketball tournament on Friday in Knoxville, Tenn.
finished with 10 points.
OSU outrebounded WKU
48-27, and limited the Lady
Toppers to 32.8 shooting
from the field.
“That’s a heckuva team,”
WKU coach Michelle Clark-
Heard said. “They were
clicking on all cylinders.
They got a big-time post and
they are leading the country
in 3-point shooting, and they
just had a fantastic game.”
BIG PICTURE
Oregon State: OSU did
what it does best - shoot
well from behind the 3-point
line, feed Gulich inside and
play sound defense - to win
a first-round game in the
NCAA Tournament for the
fifth straight season. Prior to
the run of postseason success
under coach Scott Rueck, the
Beavers hadn’t even made
the tournament since 1996.
E M O T I O N A L
GOODBYE
Tashia and Ivy Brown
both fought back tears as
they described what it meant
to have played at WKU. The
Browns helped the Lady
Toppers win 108 games,
which ranks second all-time
in program history for a
senior class.
“There is no other place
I would rather be and no
other coach I would rather
be playing for these past four
years and no other best friend
I would rather to be playing
with,” Ivy Brown said. “It’s
been really fun and really
meaningful.”
NEXT UP
Oregon
State:
The
Beavers prepare to face
Tennessee for the fifth time
in program history. OSU is
0-4 against the Lady Vols.