(Big Tony Solorzano reporting for Mid Valley Sports)
Cougars Crush Trojans on Home Court to Advance to PAC-12 Semis
Los Angeles – A monumental upset closed out the second day of play in the Pacific Life PAC-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament as 11th seeded Washington State upset the third-seeded Women of Troy on their own court, 69-55, at USC’s Galen Center.
The win made the Cougars the lowest seeded team in tournament history to advance to the semifinals since Oregon, seeded seventh at the time, advanced in the inaugural PAC-12 Tournament in 2002. Cougars Head Coach June Daugherty understood the significance of the win, but gave the Women of Troy their due.
“I want to congratulate USC on a great season, they did a great job and obviously they have done amazing things in the Pac-12,” Daugherty said after the game. “I believe they are in the tournament, I hope they are in the tournament.”
The Cougars took an early lead on the Trojans thanks to two quick baskets by Sage Romberg and Ashley Noyes, but the senior tandem of Ashley Corral and Briana Galbreath put the Trojans back up as the game reached the midway point of the half. The Cougars then started to slowly pull away, building a five point lead as the half ended.
In the second half, Cassie Harberts closed the lead to three points on two free throws early in the half, but a three-pointer from Romberg and two quick shots from Jazmine Perkins and Brandi Thomas put the Cougars up by 10 four minutes into the half. They would get the lead to as much as 14 points and the Trojans never got closer than eight points for the remainder of the contest.
Despite the loss having possible implications on their chances for a berth in the NCAA Women’s Tournament, Trojan Head Coach Michael Cooper was proud of his team’s
accomplishments.
“I am not disappointed; I am not anything other than very honored and proud of our players that played all year long,” Cooper said after the game. “We’re going to
leave it up to the committee and hope that we’ve done some things good enough to let ourselves in but it’s a long shot.”
Cardinal Hold off Sun Devil Surge for PAC-12 Finals Berth
Los Angeles – A late surge by Arizona State put a scare into the Stanford Cardinal but it was not enough as the Cardinal advanced to the Finals of the Pacific Life PAC-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament Friday afternoon at STAPLES Center.
The win put the Cardinal into the tournament’s finals for the 11th consecutive time, dating back to the inaugural tournament in 2002. They also extended their conference winning streak to 77 and counting. Cardinal Head coach Tara VanDerveer was appreciative of the hard work the team endured.
“I’m glad we’re playing tomorrow, we really had to work hard. We had to battle,” said VanDerveer after the game. “Arizona State is an experienced, physical and big team. They gave us all we can handle and I was really proud of how our team stepped up.”
The Cardinal jumped out to the lead six minutes into the game after trading leads with the Sun Devils, Toni Kokenis’ jumper sparked a 14-4 run over the next seven minutes. The Cardinal would close out the half with a 14-point lead 29-15, thanks to seven points scored by the Ogwumike sisters, Chiney and Nnemkadi.
In the second half, the Cardinal began to pull away, however, Deja Mann and Micaela Pickens combined for 13 points in the half to keep the Sun Devils close, including two times late in the game where a basket by Mann cut the lead to six points. However Nnemkadi’s 13 points in the half helped lead the Cardinal to the victory and another berth in the Finals.
“I could not be more proud of a group of young ladies for the way they have interim capacity and allowed us to go for our dreams and to step up to this particular stage to represent themselves, their families, our university and our brand in the way that they did,” said Sun Devil head coach Joseph Anders.
The Ogwumike sisters led the Cardinal scorers, earning double doubles each, with Nnemkadi’s 24 points leading all scorers. The elder Ogwumike was also the only player to score in double digits in both halves for the Cardinal. Kali Bennett and Pickens were the only Sun Devils to hit double digits in scoring, each contributing 10 in the loss. The Cardinal will face off against their cross-bay rivals, the Cal Golden Bears, Saturday morning at 11:30 at STAPLES Center to decide the PAC-12 Title.
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