No. 5 USC holds off Arizona with 65-62 victory in Pac-12 quarterfinals
LAS VEGAS (AP) — JuJu Watkins scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds and No. 5 Southern California defeated Arizona 65-62 in a Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal game on Thursday night.
USC (24-5) held off the pesky Wildcats, who led by four with 3:28 left in the third quarter and made it a one-possession game with 10 seconds left.
But after Helena Pueyo’s 3-pointer made it 63-60, USC’s Kaitlyn Davis scored on a layup to push the Trojans’ lead to five and put the game out of reach.
Rayah Marshall had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Trojans.
Pueyo finished with 19 points to lead Arizona (17-15), while Skylar Jones and Breya Cunningham each had 14.
USC’s Aaliyah Gayles was honored with the Tammy Blackburn Inspiration Award before the game. The award, created to honor Blackburn who has battled breast cancer since 2017, honors a Pac-12 Conference women’s basketball student-athlete, coach or staff member who exhibits courage, resilience and unbreakable spirit in overcoming adversity in their life.
As a senior in high school in 2022, Gayles was shot several times at a house party. The Las Vegas native suffered fractures in both arms and both legs and underwent multiple surgeries. Gayles checked into her first game as a member of the Trojans on Nov. 10.
BIG PICTURE
Arizona: The Wildcats came into the game ranked eighth nationally with a Pac-12-leading 11.5 steals per game. After recording 11 in the first half, they finished with 15 for the game.
USC: Senior guard Kayla Williams, known as a defensive stopper for the Trojans, came in averaging 2.6 points per game. A key slash to the basket near the end of the third quarter extended USC’s lead to six, and another layup during an 8-0 run to start the fourth helped give the Trojans distance from Arizona.
UP NEXT
Arizona: Will await word from the selection committee with hopes of getting an invite to the NCAA Tournament.
USC: Will face either UCLA or Utah in a semifinal on Friday.
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No. 2 Stanford comes from behind to defeat Cal 71-57 in Pac-12 quarterfinal
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Kiki Iriafen scored 28 points and grabbed 18 rebounds and No. 2 Stanford beat California 71-57 in a Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal game on Thursday.
The Cardinal (27-4), who fell behind by nine in the first half, erased a 36-28 halftime deficit by scoring the first eight points of the third quarter.
Leading by just two after three quarters, Stanford scored the first nine points in the fourth quarter and used a 19-4 run to widen its lead to 17 and seize control.
“I think just tournaments are very exciting, the idea of you only have one game, you have to prove yourself in one game,” said Iriafen, who scored eight points in the fourth quarter. “But I think my teammates got me the ball really well. They’re always pouring into me, giving me a lot of energy, a lot of confidence.”
Iriafen, who had her 15th double-double this season, became the first Stanford player with at least 25 points and 15 rebounds in a Pac-12 Tournament game since Chiney Ogwumike did it against USC in the 2014 semifinals.
Elena Bosgana tied a career-high with 16, and Cameron Brink registered her 17th double-double of the season with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Talana Lepolo chipped in 12 for the Cardinal.
California (17-14) was led by Marta Suarez with 14 points before fouling out.
Cal also lost starting forward Michelle Onyiah midway through the third quarter after getting tangled up with Brink and taking a hard shot to her face.
The loss of Onyiah gave Iriafen more freedom in the paint.
“That really hurt us,” Cal coach Charmin Smith said. “We didn’t have the same type of pressure on (Iriafen) with Michelle being out, and she started getting some of those jumpers, which are deadly. She is a force to be reckoned with.”
Stanford’s poor shooting in the first half allowed Cal to keep the Cardinal at bay. It didn’t help that Brink picked up her third foul midway through the second quarter.
Stanford shot just 32.3% from the floor in the first two quarters, but the Golden Bears hit 15 of 33 (45.5%) from the field, including 5 of 12 (41.7%) from 3-point range. The Cardinal struggled from long range, missing 12 of 15 from beyond the arc in the half.
“I didn’t think I would be very happy at halftime sitting here,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “But second half our team really stepped up. And I thought Kiki really led the way with just rebounding, staying in the game, not fouling, knocking down shots.”
BIG PICTURE
California: The Golden Bears, who were on pace to hold Stanford to 56 after limiting it to 28 first-half points, were 14-0 this season when holding opponents to 60 or fewer points.
Stanford: The Cardinal improved to 9-0 all-time when playing Cal in the Pac-12 Tournament.
UP NEXT
California: Will await word from the selection committee with hopes of getting an invite to the NCAA Tournament.
Stanford: Will play No. 13 Oregon State in a semifinal on Friday.
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No. 13 Oregon State women knock No. 18 Colorado out of Pac-12 Tournament with double-overtime win
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Raegan Beers had 27 points and 13 rebounds, Timea Gardiner added 13 points and 11 boards and No. 13 Oregon State beat No. 18 Colorado 85-79 in double overtime on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament.
Oregon State (24-6) will play the Stanford-Cal winner in the semifinals on Friday.
Oregon State did not attempt a free throw until Beers completed a three-point play with 4:59 left in the fourth quarter to get within 50-49. The Beavers made 14 at the stripe in the second overtime — 11 coming in the final minute — to seal the victory.
Talia von Oelhoffen, Donovyn Hunter and Dominika Paurova also scored 13 points for Oregon State. Hunter, a freshman, also had nine assists. Beers, in her second game back after an injury, was 12 of 17 from the field in 42 minutes.
Jaylyn Sherrod had 23 points, six rebounds, seven assists and four steals for Colorado (22-9). Aaronette Vonleh added 20 points and Frida Formann scored 19.
The close contest changed for Colorado in the second overtime when 6-foot-3 center Vonleh picked up two fouls in less than 30 seconds to foul out with 3:36 left. Oregon State took advantage by going inside. Paurova made a contested shot in the lane for a 70-69 lead with 2:22 left and she added a wide-open layup at 1:12 for a three-point lead.
Paurova also gave Oregon State an 81-73 lead with 24 seconds left. Hunter and Von Oelhoffen combined to go 4 of 4 from the stripe in the final 20 seconds after Colorado scored three points on back-to-back possessions to make it close.
It was the first double-overtime game in the history of the women’s tournament.