UCLA coughs up big lead verus Arizona
By The Associated Press
Oumar Ballo had 17 points and 13 rebounds, Pelle Larsson scored 22 points and No. 12 Arizona rallied from a 19-point deficit to beat visiting UCLA 77-71 on Saturday in the rivals’ final Pac12 game at Mckale Center.
In an offensive funk the previous two games, the Wildcats (144, 5-2 Pac-12) continued to labor against one of the nation’s best defenses and fell into a 32-13 hole midway through the first half.
Arizona trailed by 13 midway through the second half before rallying behind full-court pressure. The Wildcats used an 12-2 run to pull within 55-52 and kept up the pressure.
Larsson scored on a putback with 52 seconds left and Ballo hit two free throws after Arizona survived three straight UCLA offensive rebounds to secure the hard-fought win.
The Bruins (8-11, 3-5) got off to stellar start in their final desert trip before leaving for the Big Ten next season. The Pac-12’s worst 3-point shooting team, UCLA used the arc to trigger a dominating first half, scoring 13 straight points as part of a larger run while building a 19-point lead.
Sebastian Mack scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half to lead UCLA and Lazar Stefanovic added 17.
Jose Perez scored 20 and Frankie Collins and Jamiya Neal each had 17 points as the Sun Devils ended a seven-game regular-season losing streak against the Trojans.
Vincent Iwuchukwu had 14 points and 12 rebounds for USC.
After Kijani Wright’s jump shot gave USC a 31-24 lead with 6:41 left before halftime, the Sun Devils (11-7, 5-2) forced USC into repeated turnovers and closed the half outscoring the Trojans 20-5 and led 43-36 at intermission. In the first half alone USC committed 15 turnovers that led to 13 ASU points.
USC (8-11, 2-6) committed a season-high 22 turnovers. The Trojans were again without
ARIZONA ST. 82, USC 67 >> starting guards Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis due to injuries.
Women
Alissa Pili scored 37 points and had six rebounds against her former team as No. 20 Utah routed No.6 USC 78-58 on Friday night in Salt Lake City.
Pili is the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year in her second season at Utah after beginning her collegiate career at USC, where she earned Freshman of the Year and all-conference honors in 2020.
Friday against the Trojans, Pili made 13 of 16 from the field including 5 of 6 on 3 pointers for Utah (13-5, 3-3 Pac-12), which claimed its first win over a Top 25 opponent this season after going winless in four previous contests against ranked foes.
Juju Watkins had 26 points for USC (13-2, 3-2), which struggled on offense, shooting 36% from the field and going 7 of 14 from the free-throw line.
Pili scored three baskets to help the Utes end the third quarter on a 14-2 run. She punctuated the run with a 3-pointer that gave Utah a 61-44 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
NO. 5 UCLA 76, NO. 3 COLORADO 68>>
Lauren Betts wasn’t bothered by her hyped-up homecoming, the Buffaloes’ swarming defense, her tough shooting night or the largest crowd (11,338) that had ever witnessed a Colorado women’s basketball game.
UCLA’S sophomore center overcame all of that to score 20 points and grab 13 rebounds, leading the Bruins in Boulder, Colo. on Friday night in the first top-five matchup in the country this season.
Betts made five of six shots in the second half after going 3 for 10 from the field before halftime as UCLA overcame an early ninepoint deficit.
Charisma Osborne added 22 points for the Bruins (15-1, 4-1 Pac-12), who rebounded from a loss to USC last weekend that knocked them from the unbeaten ranks and dropped them from No. 2 in the country. UCLA handed the Buffaloes (15-2, 5-1) their first loss at home.
S Stanford’s Tara Vanderveer tied Mike Krzyzewski as the winningest coach in college basketball history with her 1,202nd victory Friday night, guiding the No. 8 Cardinal past visiting Soregon 88-63.
Vanderveer can set the record today, when she goes for 1,203 as Stanford (16-2, 5-1 Pac-12) hosts Oregon State. A couple dozen former Stanford players are expected to be on hand for the potential milestone.
VANDERVEER TIES COACH K >>