Ionescu leads No. 3 Oregon past No. 13 Arizona

LAS VEGAS (AP) Sabrina Ionescu had 31 points and nine rebounds to lead No. 3 Oregon to an 88-70 victory over No. 13 Arizona on Saturday in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals on Saturday night.

The Ducks return to the title game for the third straight season and are looking for their second championship in that span.

Oregon shot a blistering 53.2% (33 of 62) from the floor, including 15 of 31 (48.4%) from 3-point range.

Both teams combined for 25 from beyond the arc, setting a new Pac-12 Tournament record for 3-pointers made, breaking last year's mark of 21, set by Washington and Oregon State.

Erin Boley had 18 points for Oregon, while Ruthy Hebard added 14.

Aari McDonald led Arizona with 34 points, while Cate Reese chipped in with 13.

The game appeared to be headed for a shootout from the opening tip, as the teams traded runs while burying seven 3-pointers in the first quarter alone. Boley hit her first four shots from the field and had 10 points during Oregon's game-opening 16-6 run.

Arizona answered quickly with four consecutive 3-pointers - including two from reserve Helena Pueyo - as the Wildcats used a 14-5 run to pull within a point of Oregon, at 21-20.

Ionescu found her touch in the second quarter and hit four of Oregon's first six field goals, part of a 12-0 run that led to the Ducks taking a 42-26 lead late in the first half. Arizona outscored Oregon 7-1 down the stretch, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from McDonald to get the deficit down to 10, sending the Ducks into the locker room leading 43-33.

Oregon outscored Arizona 20-13 in the second quarter and proved to be the biggest difference in the game.

The teams combined to shoot 12 of 25 (48.0%) from 3-point range in the first half, part of a 30-for-64 (46.8%) shooting barrage by both.

BIG PICTURE

Arizona: Wildcats coach Adia Barnes said Sam Thomas ''the most underrated defender,'' and the Las Vegas-product showed why in front of her hometown fans by playing stiff defense on Satou Sabally, who came in averaging 16.9 points and 7.1 rebounds. Thomas limited Sabally to 9 points on 2 of 9 shooting and just 3 rebounds.

Oregon: The Ducks outrebounded the Wildcats on the offensive glass (14-7), outscoring them with second-chance opportunities (16-5) and bench points (14-6).

UP NEXT

Arizona: Awaits its NCAA Tournament bid.

Oregon: Will face the winner of UCLA-Stanford in Sunday's Pac 12 championship.

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