(Big Tony Solorzano reporting for Mid Valley Sports)
Huskies Women Open PAC-12 Tourney with Win over Ducks
By Tony Solorzano
Los Angeles – Seven first half three-point shots from freshman Jasmine Davis lifted the Huskies as they knocked off the Oregon Ducks, 72-56, to open the first day of the Pacific Life Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament Wednesday afternoon at USC’s Galen Center.
“Our team effort today was terrific, especially the transition,” said Huskies head coach Kevin McGuff after the game. “We had a lot of energy on the boards and I think those two areas were the difference in the game.”
The Ducks took an early 6-5 lead on two three-pointers from Amanda Johnson and Jasmin Holliday with 16:26 left in the half, but the Huskies answered with a 15-4 run over the next four minutes. They closed out the last three minutes with an 8-2 run, making the halftime score 41-22 in favor of the Huskies.
Davis, a freshman from Valley Christian in San Jose, led all scorers with 23 points in the game, primarily on her three-point shooting. She came off the bench four minutes into the first half and began draining her shots, missing only two of her first six shots before being subbed out with seven minutes left.
She re-entered the game two minutes later and finished of the half with three straight threes before missing her final attempt with one minute left. The seven three pointers were not only a career high for Davis but also equaled Loree Payne’s mark set in 2002 against Michigan.
Holliday led the Ducks in scoring with 17, Amanda Love had 11 and Johnson contributed 10 in the loss, they were the only Ducks in double figures.
The Huskies move on to face top-seeded Stanford Thursday afternoon at noon. This will be the first time both teams have met in tournament play in the 10 previous tournaments held by the then PAC-10. Stanford won their regular season meeting 65-47 at Maples Pavilion.
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Lady Wildcats Roar Back to Victory in PAC-12 Tourney
By Tony Solorzano
Los Angeles – The Arizona Wildcats erased a 14-point UCLA lead to advance to the second round of the Pacific Life PAC-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament with a 61-57 win over the Bruins Thursday afternoon at USC’s Galen Center.
“I’m proud of our team, we dug a hole for ourselves early in the first half but unfortunately we’ve done that type of thing all year,” said Arizona head coach Niya Butts after the game. “Our girls played hard, we got stops and I think that has been the difference throughout conference play.”
The Bruins collapse came in the second half, as the Wildcats, emboldened by their erasing a 14-point deficit in the first half, never let the Bruins get out of reach. The Bruins twice stretched their lead to seven points, but Whyte and Rhode kept the Wildcats in the mix. Rhode tied the game at 57-57 with 1:20 left in the game, and then Warthen took the lead for good on her jumper with 20.7 seconds left in the game.
In the first half, the Bruins took an early 5-0 lead to start the game but the Wildcats responded and tied it with 15:31 on two free throws by Aley Rhode and a three-pointer from Daveilyn Whyte. But the Bruins answered with a 16-2 run over the next 5:45, pulling out to a 21-7 lead.
The Wildcats responded with their own run, outscoring the Bruins 16-6 over the next five and a half minutes. By the end of the first half, the Wildcats cut the lead to three, closing the first half out down 33-30.
“”Obviously a disappointing end to the season, I give a lot of credit to the resilience of Arizona,” said Bruin head coach Cori Close. “We’ll always be looking back at the plays we could have, should have made, but the reality is, as this team’s coach, they have overcome adversity, they have been resilient and for that, I will be forever grateful.”
Markel Walker led all scorers with 22 in a losing effort for the Bruins, hitting nine of 18 shots and three free throws. Rebekah Gardner ended her career in Westwood with 21 points. No other Bruins scored in double digits. Whyte led the Wildcats with 18 points while Warthen hit for 17 and Shanita Arnold contributed 14 in the win.
The Wildcats will face off against their inter-state Rivals from Arizona State Thursday afternoon at 2:15 for a shot at the Semi0finals on Friday at STAPLES Center. The Sun Devils swept the season series this year.
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Buffaloes Earn Win in Pac-12 Tourney Debut
By Tony Solorzano
Los Angeles – The two newest members of the PAC-12 Conference faced off Wednesday Afternoon with Colorado prevailing in a 55-41 upset win over Utah at the Pacific Life Pac-12 Women’s tournament at USC’s Galen Center.
“I thought our team did a lot of nice things tonight,” said Buffaloes head coach Linda Lappe. “We knew that Utah wasn’t going to lie down and die, they were a solid team, well coached and have good players and they came at us in the second half, we fought back and hit some free throws down the stretch.”
The Buffaloes took control of the game with 12:36 left in the half, after tying the Utes 10-10 on a layup by Brittany Wilson. After taking a 12-10 lead on Chucky Jeffery’s layup, both teams struggled to make point for the next four minutes, until Ashley Wilson sank two free throws for the Buffs. The Buffs would engineer an 18-5 run to close out the half, taking a 32-15 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, the Buffs and Utes traded baskets as the Utes slowly whittled away at the lead, cutting their deficit to seven points with 5:37 left. However, the Buffs outscored the Utes in the final five minutes, 12-5 to close out the game and advance to the next round.
“I was a little disappointed with our first 20 minutes of effort and very pleased with our effort in the second half,” said Utah head coach Anthony Levrets. “Ultimately, Colorado was the better team tonight.”
Brittany Wilson led the Buffaloes with 21 points, while Jeffery added 20 points. Wicijowski led the Utes with 18 points, including her 11 second-half points. She and Cheyenne Wilson accounted for all 15 points the Utes scored in the first half.
The Buffaloes advance and will take on the Cal Golden Bears Thursday at 5 p.m., the Bears swept the regular season meeting with the Buffaloes.
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Cougars Cruise to Victory in PAC-12 Tourney
By Tony Solorzano
Los Angeles – A 17-2 opening run put the Washington State Cougars into the second round of the Pacific Life PAC-12 Women’s Basketball tournament with a 65-56 victory over the Oregon State Beavers to close out the first day of action Wednesday night at USC’s Galen Center.
“I think our seniors were phenomenal leaders through the whole thing,” said Cougars head Coach June Daugherty. “It is so exciting to see them be rewarded with a victory like that.”
The Cougars wasted no time in the first quarter as they dominated the Beavers in the first seven minutes of the half. Sophomore forward Brandi Thomas scored nine of the first 10 points in the run. The Beavers kept gnawing at the lead but got no closer than five points on two occasions, including the last shot by Earlysia Marchbanks that closed out the half putting the Beavers down 32-27 at the half.
In the second half resembled the later rounds of a championship prize fight, with both teams swinging away with shots as the lead rose and fell like a rollercoaster. The Beavers made it a one-point game with 8:52 left as Mollee Schweiger’s free throw put the score at 45-44. However, the Beavers couldn’t take the lead, despite the efforts of Marchbanks and the Beavers.
“I’m proud of our team for not only the way they played tonight, battling back tonight, but for how they played all season,” said Beavers head coach Scott Rueck. “We came out just a little shaky, credit them for making the plays down the stretch and not letting us come back.”
Brandi Thomas led the cougars in scoring with 17 points, while Carly Noyles added 10 points in the victory. Rosetta Adzasu and April Cook each scored nine points as well. Ali Gibson led all scorers with 19 points for the Beavers in the loss. Marchbanks added 16 and Patricia Bright scored 10 points in the losing effort.
The win was the Cougars’ first win in tournament play, having previously lost the last 10 appearances in the then-PAC-10 Tournaments. The Cougars will face off against the Women of Troy Thursday night to close out the second round of the tournament. The Women of Troy swept the regular season series with the Cougars.
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