The 2-seed Duke Blue Devils survived a scare from 10-seed Oregon in the Round of 32, but found a way to find the victory and now the Blue Devils will advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the second straight season.
The Fighting Ducks were coming off of upsetting the 7-seed Vanderbilt Commodores in the Round of 64 and came in ready to upset Duke.
Oregon came out of the gates hot led by former North Carolina Tar Heels Deja Kelly, who finished the contest with 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the floor. The Ducks came out of the gates firing and went into the half with a 28-23 lead. The Ducks also held the Blue Devils to just nine points after the first quarter.
Reigan Richardson and Jordan Wood kept the Blue Devils in it through the first half, combining for 14 of Duke's 23 first half points.
The second half was a different story, however, and the Blue Devils turned the tables and took charge of the game.
Duke opened up the third quarter on a 16-1 run and outscored Oregon 22-12 in the third quarter.
From there on out, it was all Blue Devils. Oregon kept it tight in the fourth quarter, but Duke was able to get the job done and advance to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
"Just super proud of the group," Duke head coach Kara Lawson said. I mean, it was a gritty game. It's what we expected. It's hard to do. It's hard to go to back-to-back Sweet Sixteen's. It's not something that a lot of programs are able to do. So we're pleased to be back in the same position we were last year and just happy to keep advancing."
Duke women's basketball now has a potential arch rivalry matchup in the Sweet Sixteen, as the Blue Devils will play the winner of 3-seed North Carolina and 6-seed West Virginia this Friday in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Blue Devils are 1-1 against the Tar Heels this season, losing 53-46 in Chapel Hill and winning 68-53 at Cameron Indoor later in the season.
Duke is now riding an eight-game win streak.