Ruthy Hebard had 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Sabrina Ionescu added 17 points and 11 assists to send second-seeded Oregon to its third straight Elite Eight with a 63-53 victory over No. 6 South Dakota State on Friday night.
In front of a pro-Ducks crowd in Portland, Oregon advanced to a third consecutive Elite Eight by beating South Dakota State 63-53 in Friday's semifinal of the Portland regional. Ducks star Sabrina Ionescu had 17 points and 11 assists but just seven rebounds, falling short of another triple-double, while teammate Ruthy Hebard led all players with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Oregon will face Mississippi State in Sunday's regional final for a spot in the Final Four.
The Sabrina Ionescu triple-double watch is on with Ionescu two assists and three rebounds away from her third career NCAA tournament triple-double heading to the fourth quarter with Oregon leading South Dakota State 49-34. Don't overlook the contributions of Ducks teammate Ruthy Hebard, who leads all players with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Up just one midway through the second quarter of Friday's regional semifinal in Portland, Oregon closed the first half on an 11-3 surge to take a 31-22 lead over South Dakota State to the break. With eight points, five assists and five boards, Ducks guard Sabrina Ionescu is halfway to yet another triple-double.
Scoreless for the first six minutes of the game, Sabrina Ionescu went on a personal 8-0 run to end the first quarter as Oregon took an 18-12 lead over South Dakota State in their semifinal of the Portland NCAA tournament regional.
What are the biggest X factors in the Sweet 16? Our expert panel makes game-by-game predictions for each matchup in the regional semifinals.
We look at the best of Monday's games in the women's NCAA tournament, including 6-seeds UCLA and South Dakota State and No. 11 Missouri State reaching the Sweet 16.
Madison Guebert scored 18 of her 20 points on 3-pointers, including two critical 3s in the fourth quarter, to lead No. 6 seed South Dakota State to a 75-64 win over third-seeded Syracuse on Monday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Macy Miller scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead No. 6 seed South Dakota State to a 76-65 win over 11th-seeded Quinnipiac in a first-round game of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
Macy Miller finished with 30 points, giving her 2,295 to set the Summit League's career mark, to help South Dakota State beat South Dakota 83-71 on Tuesday to earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Macy Miller scored 28 points and Tagyn Larson had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead South Dakota State over No. 23 South Dakota 82-78 in overtime on Sunday and take command of the Summit League race.
The Coyotes and Jackrabbits, two teams none of this season's favorites wants to play in March, meet Sunday in the best mid-major game of the season.
Summit League rivals South Dakota and South Dakota State are Nos. 1 and 2. Rice, Gonzaga and Florida Gulf Coast round out the top five.
The South Dakota Coyotes are ranked for the first time in program history, entering this week's Associated Press women's basketball poll at No. 25.
South Dakota, Gonzaga and South Dakota State remain 1-2-3 in espnW's mid-major rankings. Rice made the biggest jump, moving up six spots to No. 4.
Gonzaga's stumble against BYU opened the No. 1 spot for South Dakota, which is joined by fellow Summit power South Dakota State in the top three.
South Dakota replaced Drake as the No. 1 team in espnW's mid-major top 10, with South Dakota State and Gonzaga rounding out the top three.
Drake, South Dakota and Gonzaga helped mid-majors to their best Bracketology showing, while South Carolina is in unfamiliar territory as an 8-seed.
With all five starters back, the Bulldogs are balanced and experienced. South Dakota State, Belmont, South Dakota and Bucknell round out the top five.
The NCAA tournament field is taking shape, as two more automatic bids were won Monday. But all eyes are on the bubble, and in Charlie Creme's latest projection, Southern California is out and South Dakota State is in. Minnesota, Rutgers and Creighton join the Jackrabbits in the "last four in."
February has arrived, which typically means one thing in espnW's mid-major rankings: Green Bay is back at No. 1.
Applying the philosophy the NCAA Division I women's basketball committee appeared to use in its first reveal shed some light further down the S-curve. That was good news for Creighton, Purdue and Nebraska but not for TCU.
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Dakota State | 15-1 | - | 28-7 |
| South Dakota | 14-2 | 1 | 28-6 |
| Oral Roberts | 10-6 | 5 | 18-13 |
| Denver | 10-6 | 5 | 18-14 |
| Western Illinois | 8-8 | 7 | 12-18 |
| North Dakota | 6-10 | 9 | 12-19 |
| North Dakota State | 4-12 | 11 | 7-22 |
| Purdue Fort Wayne | 3-13 | 12 | 7-22 |
| Omaha | 2-14 | 13 | 8-21 |
