BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Inside the Oregon locker room on Monday night, Sabrina Ionescu grabbed food. Lexi Bando talked next season, her senior year. And Jacinta Vandenberg reflected on her Duck legacy.
Most of all, players dished on what’s to come for the Ducks, who return 100 percent of their NCAA Tournament points and rebounds next year.
Top-ranked UConn routed Oregon 90-52 on Monday night before a national television audience and 8,978 at Webster Bank Arena.
The winners of four consecutive national titles took a 23-4 lead. Then they scored again and again, running the score up to 49-24 at halftime.
But for the Ducks, Monday was a benchmark of where they want to go. Players weren’t broken down. After all, the NCAA Tournament netted a trip to the Elite Eight, the first in UO history.
“We want to build what UConn has,” said Lexi Bando. “We put Oregon on the map by our run in the tournament. Now a lot of people know — ‘Okay. Oregon basketball. They’re the real deal.’”
Head coach Kelly Graves called Monday’s loss “part of the process.”
“I think a run like this will make it easier to motivate our team in the off season,” Graves said. “Hey — we got a taste of it. We see what it’s like. We want to get back.”
UConn forced 22 Oregon turnovers, including 17 in the first half, to put the Oregon offense out of sorts.
The loss ends the program’s first March Madness run since 2005. The Ducks knocked off No. 7-seeded Temple, No. 2 Duke and No. 3 Maryland before falling short of the Final Four. Only one Pac-12 team outlasted the Ducks in the NCAA Tournament. Stanford plays on Friday in the Final Four.
Ionescu, who scored a team-high 15 points and eight rebounds, kept the mood light at halftime amid a 25-point deficit.
“I said, ‘Guys. We should try and live in the moment. It doesn’t come around often, and just enjoy it. Enjoy playing the No. 1 team in the country,’ ” said Ionescu, who was named to the All-Regional team.
From the beginning, UConn’s offensive hammer and disruptive defense was too much for the youthful Ducks.
Napheesa Collier had 28 points while Gabby Williams added 25 points for the Huskies, which have now won 111 straight games.
The Huskies finished the half on a 15-3 run and had more steals (12) than the Ducks had field goals (nine). The Ducks shot 41.7 percent in the first half but only attempted 12 shots while UConn got off 22 total shots.
Oregon trimmed the UConn lead to 13 points, 34-21, with 6:15 left before halftime on a pair of Ionescu free throws.
The Ducks had four turnovers after intermission.
Graves said the team took a deep breath to settle in.
“In that first half, I thought our quickness gave Oregon a lot of problems,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “They’re very disciplined but yet they’re not very methodical.”
Bando, a senior next season, said the Ducks reached new heights during March Madness.
“We just peaked at the right time,” Bando said. “We got players who were playing really well at the right time. We were playing for each other and were loose. I think that’s what got us super far.”
Jacinta Vandenberg and Mar’Shay Moore got a chance to see the floor during their final game as seniors. And Megan Trinder, who participated in senior day, made the trip with the Ducks.
“It was awesome to be able to say that we went to the Elite Eight and especially in my senior year,” Vandenberg said. “That’s a special memory that I’ll have for the rest of my life.”
The Ducks will catch a red-eye flight on Monday night back to Eugene.
“I truly believe from the bottom of my heart that we can be the kind of program that can be in this position and perhaps beyond year-in and year-out,” Graves said. “That’s our goal.”
Notable:
UConn had a 32-12 points-off-turnovers advantage and a 21-2 second-chance points edge. … The Huskies made seven 3-pointers while Oregon made five. … Lydia Giomi, who didn’t play this season after breaking her hand in December, made the trip to Bridgeport. … Athletic director Rob Mullens and UO President Michael Schill were among those in attendance. … UConn had 12 offensive rebounds while Oregon had six.
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