Controlling the pace and making the game a grind-it-out affair is one of the keys for Oregon, Graves said. That will be harder without top defender and playmaker Elisa Mevius, sidelined due to a broken hand, but the Ducks have shown a collective stinginess in prior games that transcends personnel.

The Vanderbilt Commodores play the Oregon Ducks in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The teams square off Friday for the first time this season.