Pac-12 Tournament, Round 2

Anticipation

• Cal, UCLA take the court on day two by Nate Parham (Swish Appeal)
• Cal women say goals still unfulfilled by John Crumpacker (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Ogwumike, Stanford look to defend Pac-12 title, earn No. 1 seed by Ashley Westhem (The Stanford Daily)
• UCLA has motivation to thrive in women's Pac-12 tournament by Gary Klein (Los Angeles Times)
• Women’s basketball to face Utah in Pac-12 quarterfinals by Kevin Bowman (Daily Bruin)
• Historic rally as UW women beat Oregon in Pac-12 tournament by Jayda Evans (Seattle Times)

California vs USC

Cal drained any drama out of this game early, opening with an 11-0 run and rolling on to an easy 78-59 victory.

It was a fast-paced sloppy game with lots of turnovers and fouls, the majority by the Trojans, who turned the ball over 16 times to the Bears' 14. The Trojans committed their 10th foul 12 minutes into the game, at which point they had scored eight points.

Both teams shot poorly, but the Bears grabbed rebounds and put them back. They scored 25 second-chance points on 22 O-boards and achieved a 36.8 shooting percentage.

Here are game reports:

• No. 5 Cal Runs Past USC, 78-59 by the Associated Press
• Cal women race past USC by John Crumpacker (San Francisco Chronicle)

And the box score and play-by-play

UCLA vs Utah

The Bruins and Utes fought a very tough defensive battle that seriously restricted access to the basket. The Bruin offense was a bit more successful. They hald a modest lead all through the first half to a score of 29-20.

Alyssia Brewer went to the locker room about halfway through the first half after suffering an apparently serious injury. She did not begin the second half, but re-entered the game three minutes later and played most of the rest of the game.

The game got more interesting in the second half as the offensive tide turned. The Ute shots began rolling into instead of out of the basket. Although the Bruins stepped up their defense, the Utes pulled up to a 35-35 tie at the ten-minute mark and kept it close for a few more minutes. Then they ran out of gas, and the Bruins won 54-43.

Here is a game report:

• No. 14 UCLA Rolls Past Utah, 54-43 by the Associated Press

And the box score and play-by-play

Stanford vs Washington State

The Cougars were, I'm sure, relieved to have June Daugherty back even though Mike Daugherty took her place as head coach while she mostly observed the game from behind the bench.

The Cougars played tough, but the Cardinal won 79-60 without too much trouble, thanks in large part to these notable contributions:

The first 20-20 double-double in Pac-12 tournament history from Chiney, who scored 23 points and grabbed 21 rebounds.

A career-best performance from beyond the arc by Sara, who sank five of eight three-pointers.

Three more three-pointers (of eight attempts) from Bonnie and two of two from Amber.

A career-best seven assists from Mikaela, to which she added eight points, six rebounds and just one turnover.

Here are game reports:

• Stanford Tops Washington State, 79-60 by the Associated Press
• Ogwumike keys Stanford in tourney opener by Tom FitzGerald (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Ogwumike has 20-20 vision in Stanford's win over Cougars from Palo Alto Online
• Daugherty returns but WSU women bow out by Chris Derrick (The Spokesman-Review)

And the box score and play-by-play

Colorado vs Washington

This game was well-described by a non-basketball-fan friend of mine who observed, "This is not fun to watch, because they're not very good at getting the ball in the basket."

The Huskies were tantalizingly close to an upset for most of the game, but they couldn't quite pull it off, and the Buffs finally won 70-59.

Here are game reports:

• No. 18 CU Buffs women defeat Washington 70-59 by Mark Moschetti (Associated Press)
• Jeffery Leads Buffs Into Pac-12 Semifinals by B.G. Brooks (CU Athletics)
• Cold-shooting Trumps Grit As UW Loses To CU by Greg Bell (UW Athletics)
• Huskies held down by Colorado in 70-59 loss by Jayda Evans (Seattle Times)

And the box score and play-by-play

Finis

The seeding held again today. The semi-finals tomorrow are:

UCLA vs California at 6:00 pm
Colorado vs Stanford at 8:30 pm