Pac-12 Tournament, Round 1

Anticipation

Commentary from the media:

• Pac-12 tournament trivia from the Seattle Times
• Pac-12 coaches take aim at Stanford women by Tom FitzGerald (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Kelsey Plum’s passion is paying off for Huskies by Jayda Evans (Seattle Times)
• Buffs focused, ready to fight as Pac-12 Tournament opens Thursday by Kyle Ringo (Daily Camera) — The Buffs play the Bruins at noon today. The winner plays the Cardinal tomorrow.

Tournament info:

• 2014 Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament TV info and how to watch online
• Tournament Bracket

The Pac-12 awards voted on by a panel of Pac-12 women’s basketball media members who cover the league were announced yesterday. Chiney was voted the Player of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year. Chiney and Amber were named to the All-Pac-12 Team, Chiney was named to the All-Defensive Team and Lili was named to the All-Freshman Team. Here is the complete announcement: Ogwumike, Plum, Rueck receive top Pac-12 women's basketball honors from media

The Class 4A girls basketball state tournament, in which Stanford recruit Brittany McPhee is playing, takes place at the Tacoma Dome this weekend. A scouting report says, "After tough semifinal losses the past two years, the Mount Rainier Rams have what it takes to take the big prize. Brittany McPhee (Stanford) is phenomenal, but supporting cast is key." Check the FBC Recruit News blog this weekend for reports on the tournament.

#8 UCLA vs #9 Colorado

It's pretty quiet in the KeyArena at noon. There's the UCLA band, the Colorado band, one section filled with school kids cheering for both the Buffs and the Bruins, and a thin scattering of about 200 other fans. Kate and Tempie are scouting this game.

Both teams are handicapped — Buff junior forward Jen Reese is out of uniform with her left arm in a sling; Bruin senior guard Thea Lemburger is out of uniform, directing play from the bench.

The Buffs and Bruins are well-matched — both playing very hard with tough defense, desperate shooting and lots of turnovers.

They exchanged a slim lead through most of the game, but the Buffs finally pulled ahead in the last few minutes — to the first double-digit lead with 3½ minutes left to play. The Bruins resorted to fouling in the last minute, but the Buffs made all their free throws and won 76-65.

So, the first game is a small upset, and the Cardinal plays the Buffs tomorrow.

Here are game reports:

• Wilson sisters lead Colorado past UCLA, the Pac-12 game recap
• Colorado Defeats UCLA in Pac-12 Tournament, 76-65 , the UCLA Athletics game recap
• Buffs Oust Bruins, Top-Seed Cardinal Up Next , the Colorado Athletics game recap

And the box score and play-by-play

#5 USC vs #12 Arizona

The cheering kids have left, and the conference's ugliest (Trojan) and cutest (Wilma) mascots have arrived. 15 Ladies of Troy and seven Wildcats are warming up.

The Wildcats had the better shot selection, forced 12 turnovers with their good defense and led by five points at the half.

The Wildcats held on to the lead for nine minutes into the second half, but by then two of their seven players were on the bench with four fouls, and the game began to slip away from them.

The Trojans never got further ahead than six points and were up by just two with 30 seconds to play, but pulled out a 59-54 victory.

A win that I'm sure the Trojans are glad to have, but can't be very proud of. A great effort by the Wildcats!

Here are game reports:

• USC outlasts pesky Arizona, the Pac-12 game recap
• USC Women Find Finishing Touch To Move Past Arizona 59-55 In Pac-12 Tournament, the USC Athletics game recap
• Wildcats Battle, Fall to USC, 59-54 in Pac-12 Tournament , the Arizona Athletics game recap

And the box score and play-by-play

#7 Washington State vs #10 Oregon

Go! Go! Go!

Fast! Fast! Fast!

Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!

WSU 69, Oregon 56 at the half

WSU 107, Oregon 100 at the end

Jillian Alleyne finished her season with 476 rebounds, a new Pac-12 record.

Here are game reports:

• WSU wins shoot-out over Oregon, the Pac-12 game recap
• Cougars Advance With 107-100 Victory Over Oregon, the WSU Athletics game recap
• Alleyne Breaks Pac-12 Rebounds Record in Loss , the Oregon Athletics game recap

And the box score and play-by-play

#6 Washington vs #11 Utah

The crowd has increased to 1000 or so for the home team game. Unfortunately, the game was neither competitive nor interesting.

The Dawgs seemed listless and tired. They were definitely not the team that beat the Cardinal a month ago.

The Utes were methodical and disciplined. They kept a small-to-middling lead all through the game — the Dawgs never summoned enough energy to turn the tide.

The Utes won 65-53 for the second upset of the day. The low scoring seemed due more to poor shooting than to good defense. The Utes made 38.1% of their shots, the Dawgs 25.5%.

Here are game reports:

• Plouffe powers Utah to upset UW, the Pac-12 game recap
• , the Washington Athletics game recap
• Utah Women's Basketball Advances with 65-53 Utah Eliminates UW From Pac-12 TournamentWin Over Washington, the Utah Athletics game recap

And the box score and play-by-play

Finis

So, three interesting games, two upsets: A good Tournament day. This is Wally Mersereau's report: Endurance. Here are some photos by Dave Cortesi.

The Round 2 games tomorrow are:

#1 Stanford vs #9 Colorado at 12:00 pm
#4 Arizona State vs #5 USC at 2:30 pm
#2 California vs #7 Washington State at 6:00 pm
#3 Oregon State vs #11 Utah at 8:30 pm