USC holds off Arizona, advances to semis
JuJu Watkins scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds and No. 5 USC defeated Arizona 65-62 in a Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal game on Thursday night.
USC (24-5) held off the pesky Wildcats, who led by four with 3:28 left in the third quarter and made it a one-possession game with 10 seconds left.
But after Helena Pueyo's 3-pointer made it 63-60, USC's Kaitlyn Davis scored on a layup to push the Trojans' lead to five and put the game out of reach.
Rayah Marshall had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Trojans.
Pueyo finished with 19 points to lead Arizona (1715), while Skylar Jones and Breya Cunningham each had 14.
USC's Aaliyah Gayles was honored with the Tammy Blackburn Inspiration Award before the game. The award, created to honor Blackburn who has battled breast cancer since 2017, honors a Pac12 Conference women's basketball student-athlete, coach or staff member who exhibits courage, resilience and unbreakable spirit in overcoming adversity in their life.
As a senior in high school in 2022, Gayles was shot several times at a house party. The Las Vegas native suffered fractures in both arms and both legs and underwent multiple surgeries. Gayles checked into her first game as a member of the Trojans on Nov. 10. NO. 2 STANFORD 71, CAL 57 >> Kiki Iriafen scored 28 points and grabbed 18 rebounds and No. 2 Stanford beat California in an earlier quarterfinal game.
The Cardinal (27-4), who fell behind by nine in the first half, erased a 36-28 halftime deficit by scoring the first eight points of the third quarter.
Leading by just two after three quarters, Stanford scored the first nine points in the fourth quarter and used a 19-4 run to widen its lead to 17 and seize control.
“I think just tournaments are very exciting, the idea of you only have one game, you have to prove yourself in one game,” said Iriafen, who scored eight
Oregon St. 85, Colorado 79, 2OT Stanford 71, Cal 57
USC 65, Arizona 62
UCLA vs. Utah, late
Stanford vs. Oregon St., 5 p.m. USC vs. UCLA-Utah winner, 7:30 p.m.
Semifinal winners, 2 p.m.
points in the fourth quarter. “But I think my teammates got me the ball really well. They're always pouring into me, giving me a lot of energy, a lot of confidence.”
Iriafen, who had her 15th double-double this season, became the first Stanford player with at least 25 points and 15 rebounds in a Pac-12 Tournamen game since Chiney Ogwumike did it against USC in the 2014 semifinals.
Elena Bosgana tied a career-high with 16, and Cameron Brink registered her 17th double-double of the season with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Talana Lepolo chipped in 12 for
For coverage of Thursday night's late UCLA-Utah women's basketball game, go to
PAC-12 TOURNAMENT At MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas Thursday's quarterfinals
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the Cardinal.
California (17-14) was led by Marta Suarez with 14 points before fouling out.
Cal also lost starting forward Michelle Onyiah midway through the third quarter after getting tangled up with Brink and taking a hard shot to her face. OREGON STATE 85, COLORADO 79, 2OT >> Raegan Beers had 27 points and 13 rebounds, Timea Gardiner added 13 points and 11 boards and No. 13 Oregon State beat No. 18 Colorado in double overtime.
Oregon State (24-6) will play Stanford in the semifinals today.
Oregon State did not attempt a free throw until Beers completed a threepoint play with 4:59 left in the fourth quarter to get within 50-49. The Beavers made 14 at the stripe in the second overtime — 11 coming in the final minute — to seal the victory.
Talia von Oelhoffen, Donovyn Hunter and Dominika Paurova also scored 13 points for Oregon State. Hunter, a freshman, also had nine assists. Beers, in her second game back after an injury, was 12 of 17 from the field in 42 minutes.
Jaylyn Sherrod had 23 points, six rebounds, seven assists and four steals for Colorado (22-9). Aaronette Vonleh added 20 points and Frida Formann scored 19.
The close contest changed for Colorado in the second overtime when 6-foot-3 center Vonleh picked up two fouls in less than 30 seconds to foul out with 3:36 left. Oregon State took advantage by going inside. Paurova made a contested shot in the lane for a 70-69 lead with 2:22 left and she added a wide-open layup at 1:12 for a threepoint lead.
Paurova also gave Oregon State an 81-73 lead with 24 seconds left. Hunter and Von Oelhoffen combined to go 4 of 4 from the stripe in the final 20 seconds after Colorado scored three points on back-to-back possessions to make it close.
It was the first doubleovertime game in the history of the women's tournament.