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Ducks Face Georgia With Sweet Sixteen On The Line

by GoDucks.com
Mar 23, 2021

SAN ANTONIO - Following a dominant win over South Dakota on Monday fueled by a stellar defensive effort, the No. 6 seeded Oregon women's basketball team will take on No. 3 seed Georgia on Wednesday afternoon with a berth to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen at stake. 

The Ducks (14-8) are looking to make their fourth straight Sweet Sixteen appearance.

Game Details
Date: Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Venue: Alamodome
Opening Tip: 12:00 p.m. PT

Broadcast Information
TV: ESPN2
PxP: Kevin Fitzgerald | Analyst: Christy Thomaskutty

Radio: Oregon Sports Network
Eugene: KUGN 590 AM | Portland: KDZR 1640 AM
PXP: Terry Jonz | Analyst: Bev Smith

Defense Lifts Ducks to Round Two
A stunning display of defense fueled Oregon to a 67-47 victory over South Dakota in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks held the Coyotes without a field goal for a stretch of 14:44 that began midway through the first quarter and extended until the opening moments of the second half, during which South Dakota missed 25 straight field-goal attempts. Oregon outscored South Dakota 9-1 in the second quarter - the fewest points UO has ever allowed in a quarter in a postseason game - and the Ducks led 34-9 at halftime before holding their fifth opponent of the season to less than 50 points. "I think we put together as good a half of defense as I've ever been a part of as a coach.," Kelly Graves said of the first-half performance. 

Ducks In The NCAA Tournament
» 16th NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth straight.     
» 16-15 all-time, including 11-3 in three trips under Graves.
» 3-5 all-time in the second round; 3 Sweet 16 berths.
» Sixth time as a No. 6 seed (3-5 all-time), and first since 2000.
» 1-3 all-time vs. No. 3 seeds and 3-10 vs. top-4 seeds. 

Numbers to Know
1 - UO allowed just one point in the second quarter vs. South Dakota, the fewest Oregon has allowed in a quarter this season.
16 - In their 16th appearance, the Ducks are 16-15 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including 11-3 in four berths under Kelly Graves..
17 - All-Pac-12 selection Nyara Sabally leads Oregon with 17 double-figure scoring games, including 15 in her last 16 games.
33 - Erin Boley became the 33rd 1,000-point scorer in Oregon history with her 22-point performance Monday vs. South Dakota.
47 - Oregon held South Dakota to just 47 points, the third-fewest allowed in UO NCAA Tournament history.
60.0% - The Ducks shot a season-best 60.0 percent from the floor on Monday while holding South Dakota to just 26.2 percent.

Series History - Oregon vs. Georgia
All-Time Series: Georgia leads, 2-0
Current Streak: Georgia W2
Last Meeting: Georgia won, 72-55 (12/21/96)

Scouting The Bulldogs
Wednesday's matchup with Georgia will be just the third-ever meeting between the Ducks and Lady Bulldogs, and first since 1996. Georgia won 89-64 in the first-ever meeting on Dec. 18, 1983, and then 72-55 in the second meeting on Dec. 21, 1996.Georgia is a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and ranked No. 10 in the AP poll, and the Lady Bulldogs are seeking their first NCAA Sweet Sixteeen appearance since 2013 and 21st overall. Georgia opened the NCAA Tournament with a 67-53 win over Drexel on Monday, led by 19 second-half points by senior center Jenna Staiti. Georgia's win was mostly fueled by its depth, as the Lady Bulldogs held a 38-10 advantage on bench points. Staiti leads Georgia on the season with 14.7 PPG and 8.1 RPG, and Que Morrison (11.7 PPG) and Gabby Connally (11.5 PPG) give the Lady Bulldogs two more consistent double-digit scorers. Georgia was the top defensive team in the SEC this season, ranking in the top-five in evrey defensive category.
 
Boley Balls Out, Joins 1K Club
Senior Erin Boley got her final NCAA Tournament started in  impressive fashion, going 9-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-6 from three-point range for 22 points vs. South Dakota. Boley  posted the 21st game of 20 points or better by a Duck in the NCAA Tournament, and in the process became the 33rd player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points in an Oregon uniform. The Kentucky native also took over sole possession of fourth place in program history with 215 made three-pointers in her Ducks career. 

Sabally Well Worth The Wait
It's been a long two-plus years for Nyara Sabally - who lost the opportunity to play with her sister Satou Sabally after suffering knee injuries in each of her first two seasons as a Duck - but the 6-foot-5 forward was well worth the wait. Sabally was named an all-Pac-12 selection by the league's coaches, solidifying her standing as one of the top 15 players in the conference in her first healthy season since arriving in Eugene. The redshirt sophomore went 8-of-12 from the floor for 17 points with five rebounds and two blocked shots in her NCAA Tournament debut vs. South Dakota on Monday, posting her team-leading 17th double-figure scoring game of the season and 15th in her last 16 games. During that stretch, Sabally is averaging 13.4 points per game while going 86-of-164 (.524) from the floor. 

This season, Nyara Sabally...
» Is one of only two players in the Pac-12 (Mya Hollingshed, CU) to lead their team in PPG (12.8), RPG (7.2), FGs (109) and blocks (24).
» Ranks No. 1 in the Pac-12 with a 54.2 field-goal percentage (109-of-201), according to the official NCAA stat rankings. 
» Leads Oregon with 17 double-figure scoring games - 14 in Pac-12 play - and four double-doubles.
» Tied for the seventh-best individual shooting performance in UO single-game history on Dec. 4 vs. Colorado (9-of-9 FG).
» Has showed off her shooting range at 6-foot-5, going 7-of-13 (.538) so far from three-point range (3-of-3 at USC on Feb. 21).

Prince Could Be Key to Postseason Run
After missing the last two seasons - first due to a knee injury and then NCAA transfer rules - and then dealing with an ankle injury that forced her to miss five games this season, redshirt sophomore Sedona Prince appears to finally be back at full strength for the Ducks and could be a key to Oregon making a deep run in San Antonio. The 6-foot-7 center returned to the starting lineup on Jan. 22-24 for the first time since Dec. 4, leading the Ducks to a weekend and season sweep of the Washington schools. Prince scored in double figures in four straight games from Jan. 22 to Feb. 8, including 16 points and seven rebounds on Jan. 24 vs. UW. Prince also blocked five shots vs. the Huskies, the most by a Duck since March 2018 and second-most ever by an Oregon player inside Matthew Knight Arena. Prince - who finished the regular season with a career-high 22 points vs. Oregon State on Feb. 28 - put up 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting with seven rebounds (tied career-high), three steals and two blocked shots in her NCAA Tournament debut vs. South Dakota on Monday, recording her ninth double-figure scoring performance of the season and seventh in her last 10 games.  

Solid Defense Yields Success
The new-look Ducks have been searching for their offensive identity for much of 2020-21, but Oregon's solid play on the defensive end has kept Kelly Graves' squad in the top 25 in the AP national rankings all season. Oregon is giving up just 60.0 points per game after Monday's stellar defensive effort vs. South Dakota, not far off from last season's program-record of 57.9 points per game allowed. The Ducks have held seven of their last 12 opponents and 13 total teams to fewer than 60 points this season, and South Dakota became the fifth team to be limited to fewer than 50 points against Oregon. UO held the Coyotes to just 26.2 percent shooting - including a stretch of 26 straight missed field goals - as well as 21.7 percent from three-point range, and the Ducks racked up 11 total steals, tied for the second-most this season. Oregon forced a season-high 23 turnovers and allowed a season-low 41 points to California on Jan. 10, tied for the fewest points the Ducks have given up in a conference game since Jan. 17, 2009. 

Oregon, Pac-12 Dominating March Madness So far
Oregon's first-round win on Monday continued a trend so far in "March Madness". The UO women reached the second round the same day the Oregon men dominated No. 2 seed Iowa to reach the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth time in five NCAA Tournament appearnances. The Ducks have been at the forefront of a tremendous postseason so far for the Pac-12 Conference, which as of Tuesday morning had gone a combined 15-2 between the men's and women's NCAA Tournaments with four men's teams already advancing to the Sweet Sixteen.  

Simple Plays
Oregon has done a tremendous job of sharing and being smart with the basketball since Kelly Graves arrived, leading the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio each of the last two seasons. The new-look Ducks have kept this trend going, dishing out 22 assists with just three turnovers in the season opener vs. Seattle and a season-high 26 assists on 42 field goals against just five turnovers in the Jan. 10 win at California. UO enters Wednesday's game ranked No. 13 in the nation with a 1.29 assist-to-turnover ratio and No. 18 with 12.3 turnovers per game. Freshman point guard Te-Hina Paopao - who likely won't play in San Antonio due to injury - leads the Pac-12 and all NCAA freshmen with a solid 2.40 assist-to-turnover ratio.

 

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