11:50 am
Here I am at the Galen Center ready to tell you all about the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
Ten minutes before game time, the Galen Center is sparsely occupied by two bands, two gaggles of cheer leaders and about 100 fans. So far I haven't seen anyone from Stanford except Kate and Tanya, who are scouting this game.
The Washington Huskies band just performed a rousing rendition of the national anthem.
The referees, headed by Melissa Barlow, have taken the floor.
Tipoff won by Washington. Here we go!
Washington 72, Oregon 56
1:45 pm
This game was no contest.
The Ducks were hindered by the Huskies' strong defense and their own poor shooting (26% from the field, 0% from the charity stripe) in the first half. The Huskies were shooting the lights out at the other end of the court — especially FOY Jazmine Davis, who sank seven three-pointers. The Huskies were ahead by 19 at the break.
In the second half, the Ducks employed a very effective pressure defense, kept better track of Jaz (she scored just 2 points on free throws) and shot better, but it wasn't enough. The Huskies changed to "Get it to Regina" mode and maintained their lead.
Here's a game report.
Attendance has increased to about 300.
Arizona 61, UCLA 57
4:10
This was a sloppy game (about 20 turnovers apiece by the end). Neither team played well at first, but the Bruins were a little better and built up a 14-point lead.
Although it looked pretty hopeless for the Wildcats, they hung in, whittled down the lead and tied it up four minutes into the second half.
This heretofore boring game had a very exciting finish. With less than three minutes to play, UCLA was ahead by two (57-55) and both teams had fouls to give. Then:
2:27 UA missed a jumper, UCLA grabbed the rebound.
2:07 UA forced a jump ball and got possession
1:56 UCLA blocked UA's shot and were called for their 6th foul
1:44 UA hit a jumper to tie the game, 57-57
1:19 Markel Walker (UCLA) drove to the basket and was called for a charge
0:48 Davellyn White (UA) shot an air ball
0:38 Markel Walker shot and missed
0:20 Candice Warthen (UA) drove to the basket and scored: 59-57
0:11 UA spent their 6th foul
0:02 Markel Walker missed a layup
0:006 UCLA fouled; UA made both free throws; Markel Walker hurled the ball the length of the court, but Rebecca Gardner wasn't able to get a shot off
The Bruins were supported in this endeavor by a 15-member band, a 3-member cheer squad and about 100 fans.
Here's a game report.
By the way, FBC traveller Wally Mersereau wasn't able to make this trip, but he reports that the Pac-12's You Tube webcasts of the games with Ros and Kevin calling the action are excellent.
Colorado 55, Utah 41
6:50 pm
This one was Colorado all the way. Brittany Wilson and Chucky Jeffery led the way for the Buffs with 21 and 20 points respectively.
The Utes were again playing without their senior point guard Janita Badon, who sprained her knee a few weeks ago, and they were never able to get their game going. The Utes' 3-point specialist Iwalani Rodrigues was held to two points, and the team made just 25% of their field goal attempts.
It was a wild, aggressive game although neither team played as rough tonight as they did against Stanford a couple of weeks ago.
Here's a game report.
There was a lot of support for both teams. They each had a large cheer squad and a huge 4-tuba band. Plus the Buffs had about a bus-load of enthusiastic student supporters. Nice!
Washington State 65, Oregon State 56
9:40 pm
The Cougars struck first and got off to a 17-2 lead. The Beavers finally got their game going and nibbled away at the lead. They cut it down to one point with about 6 minutes left in the game, but that was as close as they got.
Here's a game report
Finis
The underdogs prevailed today. Numbers 8, 10, 11 and 12 go on to the second round tomorrow:
#1 Stanford vs #8 Washington at 12:00
#4 Arizona State vs #12 Arizona at 2:15
#2 California vs#10 Colorado at 5:00
#3 USC vs #11 Washington State at 7:15
Remember that you can watch the games on Pac-12 You Tube
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