The moment the ball hit the back edge of the rim, UCLA’s Jaelynn Penn doubled over with emotion.
After Oregon used a pair of free throws with three seconds left to position itself for a win, the unfortunate reality for a tenacious UCLA women’s basketball team was that a 3-pointer was its only hope to advance to the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals.
The shot didn’t go in and UCLA lost, 63-60, on Thursday night at Michelob ULTRA Arena, but the Bruins had already exceeded expectations. Seeded seventh after battling injuries all season long, UCLA gave second-seeded Oregon all it could handle in a game that was tight throughout.
“Our team showed tremendous fight,” Bruins coach Cori Close said. “And it’s hard because we really haven’t had our team most of the year and when you look at that game, you can’t tell me this isn’t an NCAA Tournament-level team.”
In a game that was tied seven times, Endyia Rogers and Nyara Sabally hit two free throws apiece in the last 1:25 to give Oregon (20-10) the win and send the Ducks into a Friday night semifinal against either third-seeded Washington State or sixth-seeded Utah.
Rogers finished with 16 points and six assists, and Sabally (15 points, 15 rebounds) and Sedona Prince (12 points, 12 rebounds) added double-doubles for the Ducks.
Rogers made just 4 of 13 shots from the floor for the second-seeded Ducks, but two of them were 3-pointers and she made all six of her free throws.
Penn was 3 for 4 from 3-point range and scored 13 of her 18 points in the first half to help UCLA (14-12) take a 32-31 lead at halftime.
Te-Hina Paopao’s first basket of the night came with 5:01 left in the third quarter and pulled Oregon within 43-41. Ilmar’l Thomas (18 points, five rebounds) sank a 3-pointer and scored nine in the quarter to help UCLA take a 53-50 lead heading to the final period.
Oregon opened the fourth with a rebound basket by Prince and a layup from Sabally to grab a 54-53 lead with 8:03 remaining. Paopao buried a 3-pointer to push the Ducks’ lead to four with 7:11 left.
Angela Dugalić and Thomas had back-to-back baskets to knot the score at 57 and Thomas buried a 3-pointer, following a basket by Prince, to give the Bruins a 60-59 lead with 4:19 left. It was the last basket of the game.
Rogers sank two free throws with 1:27 left to put the Ducks ahead 61-60 and Sabally added a pair with three seconds left. UCLA, which had just one team foul at the time, had to foul four times in four seconds to send Sabally to the line, setting the stage for Penn’s attempt to tie the score at the buzzer.
“Every shot I took before this game felt good,” said Penn, who missed seven games this season due to a hand injury and made her return on Feb. 13. “I just kept believing that it would go in. I never lost confidence in myself and it helps because my coaches, teammates are like, keep shooting.”
Oregon outrebounded UCLA 20-12 in the second half.
“It seems like we always play (UCLA) here,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said with a smile. “I don’t want to play them anymore because every game comes down to that kind of a finish.”
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It’s unclear whether the Bruins will receive an at-large berth when the bracket for the 68-team NCAA women’s tournament is revealed on March 13. The Bruins have not missed the tournament since 2015.
Although Close said her team will play in the WNIT if it does not make the NCAA field, she is hopeful that the selection committee will take intangibles into account.
“Sometimes you have to close the computers and the spreadsheets and go, ‘What did the eye test tell me,’” she said.
“And if it comes down to that and we’re in that conversation and you look at how many times we’ve played without our starters throughout the whole entire year and how we have people back now, I think you have to take a good, hard look at that.”