EUGENE -- Thursday morning, on the eve of Oregon's NCAA Tournament opener, Ruthy Hebard ran into gridlock while attempting to leave class.
"I got stopped like four times," said UO's all-Pac-12 forward. "People saying congrats, and students saying they're coming."
Her classmates weren't lying. Hundreds claimed free tickets to watch second-seeded Oregon's 88-45 win in front of a crowd of 7,040 Friday afternoon at Matthew Knight Arena, and afterward, Ducks guard Sabrina Ionescu remarked, "I don't think we ever had that many students show up to our games."
Sparked by the unprecedented Elite Eight run in last year's NCAA Tournament that became the precursor to this season's Pac-12 title, support for Oregon women's basketball has increased with UO's win total - now at a school-record 31 following Friday's 88-45 victory over Seattle in the NCAA Tournament first round at Matthew Knight Arena.