Anticipation
Tournament info:
Commentary from the media:- Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament will likely come down to four teams by Logan Newman (The State Press)
- Cardinal begin Pac-12 tournament with talent to win despite No. 3 seed by Ashley Westhem (The Stanford Daily)
- Arizona State gets overlooked but continues to win by Jayda Evans (Seattle Times)
#7 Washington State 66, #10 Oregon 64
The Cougars and Ducks provided an exciting opening to the tournament for the 500 or so fans in attendance.
The Cougars held on for a hair's breadth two-point win over the Ducks when a final Oregon three-point shot swished in but was ruled "no basket", having left the player's hands milliseconds after the buzzer.
Oregon led much of the first half but WSU kept the game close by forcing 11 turnovers. WSU got the lead for good only in the fourth quarter thanks largely to a blistering 34-point performance by Lia Galdeira. Oregon's Jillian Alleyne was dominant under the basket but, unlike her recent performance against Stanford, she missed five free throws down the stretch, letting the Cougs escape with a win.
Here are game reports:
- Lia Galdeira leads Washington State to thrilling win over Oregon in Pac-12 tourney first round, the Pac-12 game recap
- Galdeira’s 34 Leads WSU Past Oregon at Pac-12 Tournament , the WSUAthletics game recap
- UO's season ends with loss to WSU, the Oregon Athletics game recap
The Bruins easily controlled the first half of this game. UA could do little against the UCLA zone while the Bruins seemed to have no problem getting past the Wildcat defense. Both sides made plentiful errors but at the break UCLA led 37-24.
The second half was a festival of turnovers with both teams playing wild, uncontrolled offense and defense and crazy shot selection. Rebounds were nearly even, and there were many rebounds to be had as players hurled themselves unproductively at the basket.
"When the lead gets to 20 we can leave," one of us said — but it never did, with Arizona holding their deficit around 15, minute after minute, up to the final buzzer .
Here are game reports:
- UCLA tops Arizona, earns date with Stanford at Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament, the Pac-12 game recap
- UCLA Advances to Quarterfinals with 80-62 Win Over Arizona, the UCLA Athletics game recap
- Arizona Falls to UCLA in Pac-12 Tournament, the Arizona Athletics game recap
#6 USC 63, #11 Colorado 75
Another game played with great vigor, not to say complete insane abandon, and the refs were quick to notice. Colorado had seven fouls in just over five minutes, including two on star Lexi Kresl. At the end of the first half, USC star Alexys Vaioletama had three fouls (and only 4 points). Rebounds for the teams were about even, but the Buffs made all their free throws and at the break were ahead 39-27.
In the second half the Buffs continued to make almost all of their free throws (20 of 23 for the game) and at one point dropped in three three-point shots in succession and took a 16-point lead. USC put on a pressure defense but it wasn't enough, and Colorado held a comfortable lead to the end, gaining the first upset win of the tournament.
Here are game reports:
- Colorado dethrones defending champion USC in first round of Pac-12 Tournament, the Pac-12 game recap
- USC Women Are Undone By Colorado 75-63, the USC Athletics game recap
- Buffs Dispatch USC, Eye No.1-Seed Oregon State, the Colorado Athletics game recap
#5 Washington 75, #12 Utah 64
This game was played at a more methodical pace than the hectic style of the prior games. And both teams used a player defense rather than the various zones seen earlier.
The Huskies started out cold, their stars Kelsey Plum and Jazmine Davis missing many shots that normally would be easy makes, and causing silly fouls. The Utes hit several timely threes and ended the half leading the favored home team by six, 34-28.
Starting the second half, Davis and Plum seemed to have found their strokes, Davis in particular scoring six quick points to tie the score. UW finally began to open some separation with about seven minutes left in the game, although Utah kept the gap under 10 until the last few minutes, finally losing 75-64. Davis and Plum combined for 52 of the Huskies' 75 points.
Here are game reports:
- Washington wins Pac-12 Tournament opener vs. Utah, bolsters NCAA resume, the Pac-12 game recap
- Davis Leads UW Past Utah At Pac-12 Tourney, the Washington Athletics game recap
- Utah Women's Basketball Downed by Washington, 75-64, the Utah Athletics game recap
Finis
The Quarterfinal games tomorrow are:
#2 Arizona State vs #7 Washington State at 11:30 am
#3 Stanford vs #6 UCLA at 2:00 pm
#1 Oregon State vs #9 Colorado at 6:00 pm
#4 Cal vs #5 Washington at 8:30 pm
Before the Stanford game, there will be a chalk talk at 11:30 and a sendoff with the band at 11:45 at the team hotel (the Westin Seattle) and a no-host gathering at 12:00 at the Tap House Grill. Click here for a map of both locations and the Key Arena.
No comments:
Post a Comment