The first big upset of the opening round in the women’s NCAA Tournament took place in the Birmingham 2 regional on Friday night.
With a 77-73 overtime win over No. 7-seed Vanderbilt, the 10th-seeded Oregon Ducks pulled off the upset to advance to the Round of 32 on Sunday.
It was the first game in both the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments to go to overtime so far. This bucket from Vanderbilt senior guard Leilani Kapinus with four seconds remaining sent the game to the extra frame:
Oregon seemed to have the game in hand at the break after this triple from senior guard Peyton Scott gave the Ducks a 13-point lead at 36-23:
The Ducks opened the second half with a bang, including this fast break layup from senior guard Deja Kelly to put Oregon up 40-25:
Oregon led by as many as 19 points and even held a 58-43 lead with 7:50 left. Nineteen turnovers and a 15-of-27 night from the charity stripe, though, made things interesting late.
Kelly’s 20 points (6-of-16 FG) led the way for the Ducks as the team combined to shoot 50% (8-of-16) from deep.
While Vanderbilt freshman sensation Mikayla Blakes had 26 points, only two teammates, sophomore forward Khamil Pierre (17 points) and senior guard Jordyn Oliver (10), scored in double figures to help her out.
It was a surprise early exit from the NCAA Tournament for Blakes and Vanderbilt. Earlier this season, Blakes set multiple records against Florida in one of two games with 50 or more points this season.
Oregon moves on to the second round to face the winner of Duke-Lehigh. If chalk holds, a meeting with the No. 2-seed Blue Devils, who won the ACC Tournament title, would present a tough challenge for the Ducks, given Duke’s defense only allows 58.2 points per game.
If Oregon can convert more from the free-throw line and limit its turnovers, a first trip to the Sweet 16 since the 2020-21 season may not be out of the question.
