Written by Brandon Clearwaters
Spokane, WA- Monday night, the top-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish took on the two-seeded Oregon Ducks at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. After a hard-fought battle, the Notre Dame defeated Oregon 84-74. With this win, the Fighting Irish advance to the Final Four in Columbus, Ohio. All fans that that attended this gamer were treated to the most exciting matchup of the NCAA Woman's basketball season.
The first half saw both teams ready for the championship game, coming out aggressive on both sides of the ball. Both sides shot the ball very well from the field with the Fighting Irish shooting 62.5% while the Ducks shot 55.6%. Notre Dame also shot well from three-point range, shooting 50.0%. The most extensive lead in the half was from Oregon's nine-point lead with 45 seconds left in half. The Ducks took a 46-40 lead into halftime.
The Fighting Irish had four players score in double figures, while the Ducks had three players. Oregon was led by guard Sabrina Ionescu who finished with 26 points. Oregon forward Ruthy Hebard finished with double-double with 17 points and 10rebounds.
After the heartbreaking loss, Oregon head coach Kelly Graves spoke after about the game.
"Well, I first to congratulate Notre Dame on moving on to the Final Four,” said Graves. “They're a great program. Coach McGraw does such a great job. This particular group is a great team. I'm disappointed for us. I know this is something that we obviously wanted. It was attainable, I felt. I think the second half was the separation. You saw a team that was still trying to get to where we've been before. And you saw a team that knew how to get there, and they wanted it. It shows up in that rebound stats."
Notre Dame out-rebounded Oregon, 51-29. Graves also added, "it doesn't take anything away from what a great season these girls have had. There are so many firsts. I can't even enumerate them. Pac-12 champions twice over this season. They acted and behaved like champions all year. Today we didn't have enough in the second half to get it done."
After their fantastic win, Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw spoke about the victory.
"So proud of this team, where we came from, what we've overcome to get here, over a significant Oregon team,” said McGraw. “Sabria Ionescu, just a fantastic player. Did a great job on her in the third quarter, I thought was as well as we played defensively. That was the difference in the game. We got them to miss a couple of shots, rebounded well. Kathryn, you expect a senior to be ready to lead your team, she certainly did that tonight. Balance in the scoring like we've had.”
With this victory, the Fighting Irish will appear in their eighth Final Four and sixth since 2011.
The first half saw both teams ready for the championship game, coming out aggressive on both sides of the ball. Both sides shot the ball very well from the field with the Fighting Irish shooting 62.5% while the Ducks shot 55.6%. Notre Dame also shot well from three-point range, shooting 50.0%. The most extensive lead in the half was from Oregon's nine-point lead with 45 seconds left in half. The Ducks took a 46-40 lead into halftime.
The Fighting Irish had four players score in double figures, while the Ducks had three players. Oregon was led by guard Sabrina Ionescu who finished with 26 points. Oregon forward Ruthy Hebard finished with double-double with 17 points and 10rebounds.
After the heartbreaking loss, Oregon head coach Kelly Graves spoke after about the game.
"Well, I first to congratulate Notre Dame on moving on to the Final Four,” said Graves. “They're a great program. Coach McGraw does such a great job. This particular group is a great team. I'm disappointed for us. I know this is something that we obviously wanted. It was attainable, I felt. I think the second half was the separation. You saw a team that was still trying to get to where we've been before. And you saw a team that knew how to get there, and they wanted it. It shows up in that rebound stats."
Notre Dame out-rebounded Oregon, 51-29. Graves also added, "it doesn't take anything away from what a great season these girls have had. There are so many firsts. I can't even enumerate them. Pac-12 champions twice over this season. They acted and behaved like champions all year. Today we didn't have enough in the second half to get it done."
After their fantastic win, Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw spoke about the victory.
"So proud of this team, where we came from, what we've overcome to get here, over a significant Oregon team,” said McGraw. “Sabria Ionescu, just a fantastic player. Did a great job on her in the third quarter, I thought was as well as we played defensively. That was the difference in the game. We got them to miss a couple of shots, rebounded well. Kathryn, you expect a senior to be ready to lead your team, she certainly did that tonight. Balance in the scoring like we've had.”
With this victory, the Fighting Irish will appear in their eighth Final Four and sixth since 2011.