Oregon Ducks Year in Review: Women’s hoops soars to new heights

Five years ago, if you had said that the Oregon women’s basketball team would face the UConn Huskies in the Elite Eight within the decade, I’m not sure many people would have believed you.

But thanks to a fresh look supplied by new head coach Kelly Graves, paired with a historic recruiting class, the Ducks won 23 games and advanced all the way to the Elite Eight against one of the greatest college sports programs in history. Oregon would run into a brick wall against the Huskies, falling 90-52, but the journey there is what we’ll all remember.

Led by national freshman of the year Sabrina Ionescu, the Ducks went dancing into the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005, and their cinderella run included wins over elite programs like Duke and Maryland, something that would’ve been unfathomable in recent years.

The future is bright for Graves and the Ducks as he was able to bring back 100 percent of his scoring and rebounding from last year’s team.