Parties in Philadelphia and Eugene Monday night during the women's NCAA Tournament selection show celebrated the end of postseason droughts for both Temple and Oregon.
With NCAA Tournament experience missing on both sides, the teams will fight to advance to the round of 32 on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Temple has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2011, but the Owls earned a No. 7 seed this season with a 24-7 regular season and a second-place finish in the American Athletic Conference, behind only No. 1 Connecticut.
Meanwhile, the Ducks' dance drought was even longer. Oregon heard its name among the field of 64 for the first time since 2005. The Ducks -- a 10 seed in the Bridgeport region -- went 20-13 (8-10 Pac-12) during the season, and got a great resume boost when they upset No. 12 Washington in their conference tournament.
Naturally, there was joy and relief felt by both teams Monday night.
"This is great. I'm ready to go. I'm ready to go compete on the big stage and do what we need to do to try and get to the next round," Temple senior guard Feyonda Fitzgerald told OwlSports.com. "It was a great feeling seeing our name up there. I've been here for four years, and I haven't made it to an NCAA Tournament. Not once. So to make it is a great feeling."
"I was watching (former coach Bev Smith)'s teams when I was little, and just to be in that position, where we're going to the tournament, is just incredible," Oregon junior and Eugene, Ore., native Lexi Bando told GoDucks.com "I'm just super excited."
Bando averages 10.4 points per game, and she hit 50 percent (67 of 134) of her 3-pointers this season.
She is joined in the Oregon backcourt by Sabrina Ionescu, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Ionescu averaged 14.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game while shooting 41.6 percent on triples and 81.9 percent from the foul line.
The Ducks are led in scoring by a fellow freshman, forward Ruthy Hebard, who carries averages of 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game into the NCAA Tournament.
Temple has a much more veteran presence. The Owls get their scoring primarily from four upperclassmen. Fitzgerald leads the team with a 17.3 points-per-game average, and she is aided by juniors Alliya Butts (15.1 points per game), Donnaizha Fountain (14.1 points, 7.5 rebounds) and Tanaya Atkinson (13.1 points, 8.5 rebounds).
While neither roster has a wealth of NCAA Tournament experience, both coaches do. Temple's Tonya Cardoza -- the AAC Coach of the Year -- is taking the Owls to their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in her ninth season. This is the first NCAA Tournament for coach Kelly Graves at Oregon, but he has a combined eight NCAA Tournament appearances during his time at St. Mary's and Gonzaga.
The winner of Saturday's game meets the winner of the contest between No. 2 Duke and No. 15 Hampton on Monday.
