Aari McDonald slices up Oregon, but Ducks eliminate Arizona from Pac-12 Tournament

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

LAS VEGAS — The easy national story about the Arizona Wildcats is that Aari McDonald is great. On Saturday, she made it easy for them to write that story again.

McDonald put up 34 points, but the well-oiled offensive machine that is the Oregon Ducks and the Pac-12 Tournament’s all-time scoring leader Sabrina Ionescu prevailed, advancing to the Pac-12 Tournament championship game with an 88-70 win.

McDonald was once again great, slicing through the Ducks’ defense to get to the rim time and again. But in the early going, it was as likely to be Dominique McBryde or Helena Pueyo or Sam Thomas hitting a big shot when Oregon was threatening to pull away.

The Wildcats reeled them back in several times, cutting the lead as close as a single point. In the end, it just wasn’t enough, as the top-seeded Ducks finally pulled away in the final quarter.

McDonald led all scorers, outscoring Ionescu by three points. She also had five rebounds and five assists (and got engaged after the game).

Put a RING on it. @AariMcdonald had a surprise for her waiting postgame… a wedding proposal! pic.twitter.com/uvYa80VFf1

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 8, 2020

It was the second straight day a Wildcat has had at least 30 points in the Pac-12 Tournament. Cate Reese, who had 30 in Friday’s win over Cal, had 13 points and five rebounds against Oregon. McBryde had ended with nine points, and Thomas had eight.

The Ducks shot 53 percent from the field and 48 percent from 3.

The Wildcats are off next week before they find out their NCAA Tournament fate on Monday, March 16. They are expected to be a top-16 overall seed and host the first two rounds of the tournament.

This story will be updated.

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