No. 8 Oregon women beat Arizona 74-61, clinch Pac-12 title
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP)–Kelly Graves unfolded the white championship T-shirt handed to him and sat down to collect his thoughts.
One player broke away from the celebration inside Arizona’s McKale Center to hug the Ducks’ head coach. Then another. Within seconds, the entire team surrounded him in one group hug.
At the bottom of this Duck pile, tears formed in Graves’ eyes.
Oregon (27-4, 16-2 Pac-12) had risen to conference champions in four short years and it was almost too much for Graves to take.
No. 8 Oregon completed its rise from Pac-12 bottom dweller to conference champion Sunday, knocking off Arizona 74-61 to win its first conference championship in 18 years.
“It’s pretty overwhelming,” said Graves, his voice still shaky. “As coaches, one of our jobs is to help them realize their potential and their dreams. We had kids who wanted to be champions and worked their butts off.
“Today, they were rewarded with that. I’m happy for them and love each and every one of them — and told each and every one of them. It’s a good day, as you can tell.”
Oregon won four games in 2012-13 and has made a steady climb since Kelly was hired, reaching the WNIT Final Four in 2016 and the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight a year ago.
