Fiso and Oregon use big 3rd quarter to open March Madness with 70-60 win over Virginia Tech

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Katie Fiso scored 22 points and Oregon used a dominant third quarter to pull away from Virginia Tech for a 70-60 win Friday to open the women's NCAA Tournament. Ehis Etute added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the No. 8-seed Ducks (23-12) who took control of the game with an 18-0 run in the third and advance to the second round of the tournament for the second consecutive season. They earned a matchup with No. 1 Texas (32-3) on Sunday. "Maybe it's some maturity. We can hold on to a lead and build on it. Defensively we were on point," Oregon coach Kelly Graves said. "We didn't turn them over a ton, but we had some at the right time. Any time you have a run on anybody, it's the defense." Mia Jacobs added 13 points for Oregon. Carys Baker scored 21 to lead the No. 9-seed Hokies (23-10), who shot under 30 percent over the first three quarters. Fiso and Oregon started the game by making nine of their first 11 shots and led 22-11 by the end of the first quarter. The Hokies went more than six minutes without a field goal, and leading scorer Carleigh Wenzel went to the bench with two early fouls. Wenzel stayed out the entire second quarter, but Virginia Tech rallied to within 32-29 before Oregon closed the half with a 3-pointer by Jacobs. Etute scored seven points in the Ducks' big run in the third and Fiso hit a step-back 3-pointer when she was left open at the top of the arc. Oregon stretched the lead as high as 22 in the quarter. "We missed easy shots, easy put-back layups that we always make. We got a little (rattled) in the beginning," Virginia Tech's Mackenzie Nelson said. "We calmed down a little bit, but they made another run and we weren't able to fight back." Wenzel, who averaged 15.3 points, finished with nine on 2-of-12 shooting for the Hokies. Virginia Tech, a Final Four program as recently as 2023, had missed the tournament last year in coach Megan Duffy's first season. "This game was a microcosm of our season where we had those dips, those highs, those low moments," Duffy said. Jacobs takes one on the chinJacobs made consecutive layups in the third quarter that put the Ducks ahead by 20. Seconds later, she was lying on the floor face down after a dive for a loose ball. The senior wears a large brace on her left leg and appeared motionless as team trainers talked to her. It wasn't her knee. It was her face. She was eventually able to walk off and went to the bench for a brief time. "I went to dive on the ball and I kind of got squished, almost landed on my chin, pretty much. So that kind of caught the floor on my head," Jacobs said. "Not knowing if it was going to be my last game, I kind of wanted to push through a little harder, but I'm a tough cookie, so it was good." Too little, too lateVirginia Tech made nine 3-pointers and Baker was 5-of-8 from long range. But all of hers came in the final six minutes when the Hokies were already down by 21. Up nextThe Ducks plays Texas, which beat No. 16 Missouri State 87-45 on Friday. The Longhorns have won 43 in a row on their home court.