No. 18 Utah sweeps season series from No. 7 USC
From staff and wire services
There is nobody on the USC women’s basketball roster, assistant coach Beth Burns says, who can quite replicate what Kaitlyn Davis does.
That might seem strange, on paper. A quick glance at Davis’ numbers reveal nothing particularly special: five points a game, five rebounds. But Davis’ defensive impact and grit pops on film, her toughness clicking in a variety of lineups, the glue that Burns calls “Bam-bam” absolutely vital in a sevengame win stretch for USC.
“She has a uniqueness,” Burns said Wednesday.
And that uniqueness was on display in the third quarter, plain for all to see, Davis dropping in 10 loud points to keep USC in the game at Utah. It was felt too, as soon as she trudged to the bench with her fifth foul, Bam-bam going just a bit too aggressively after one steal in a fourth-quarter press.
Suddenly, down four with just a few minutes to play, USC had lost its most valuable defender for Utah interior force Alyssa Pili. Davis had largely held her in check. And trying to close against a physical Utah team without Davis proved too tough a task, the No. 18-ranked Utes (20-8, 10-6 Pac-12) defeating the No. 7 Trojans 74-68 after beating them earlier in January.
Down four with USC junior Rayah Marshall checking her, Pili drove to the cup for a tough lefty and-one finish, putting Utah up seven with just a minute to play. And two late Pili free throws closed USC (21-5, 11-5 Pac-12) out, the former Trojan authoring an emphatic 23-point performance after transferring to Utah before the 202223 season and revitalizing her career.
“She’s been terrific there,” said USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb, who coached Pili her last year at USC. “I’m genuinely happy for her. I think she got herself in great shape. I think she has a renewed love and passion for what she’s doing.”
USC’S Juju Watkins scored 30 points, going 10 of 30 from the floor and 1 of 6 from 3-point range for the Trojans. The freshman sensation needed IV fluids at halftime, which made her late returning. The teams were on the court when she came flying out of the tunnel and was quickly subbed in before play began.
— Luca Evans
Men
NO. 3 STANFORD 81, ARIZONA STATE 67 >> Kiki Iriafen had 22 points and 20 rebounds, Cameron Brink added 14 points and Stanford rebounded after an upset loss to Arizona without Brink to wrap up at least a share of the Pac12 regular-season title.
The Cardinal took at least a share of the regular-season title for the fourth consecutive season, and 27th time in program history.
Brink returned from an illness and had nine rebounds, seven assists and five blocks.
Stanford (24-4, 13-3) hosted its final regular-season Pac-12 home game, with the Cardinal moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference next season and Arizona State (11-17, 3-1) going to the Big 12.
NO. 4 IOWA 101, ILLINOIS 85 >> Caitlin Clark had 24 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for her 16th career tripledouble as Iowa bounced back from a loss to No. 14 Indiana.
Clark leads Division I with five triple-doubles. Hannah Stuelke scored 20 points for Iowa (24-4, 13-3 Big Ten).
Hunter Sallis scored 29 points to help host Wake Forest upset No. 8 Duke 83-79 to boost its NCAA Tournament chances on Saturday, a day that ended with Blue Devils star Kyle Filipowski being shaken up in a collision as Demon Deacons fans stormed the court to celebrate.
The 7-footer was hobbled when he was hit by a fan running by him toward midcourt as Filipowski walked toward the locker-room tunnel. He had to be helped off the court amid the chaos. He spoke to reporters after the game with his right knee wrapped in a bag of ice.
“Just like any other upset game where the fans rush the court, all hell goes crazy,” Filipowski said. “Just trying to get my way off the court, and you know, you’ve got these crazy college students just doing whatever they want. It’s got to be a little more protective when things like that happen.”
Sallis capped the game by hitting two free throws with 1.8 seconds left to start the celebration for Wake Forest (18-9, 10-6 ACC).
Filipowski had 17 points to lead the Blue Devils (21-6, 12-4).
NO. 1 UCONN 78, VILLANOVA 54 >> Cam Spencer tied his season high with 25 points, Tristen Newton recorded his fourth career triple-double and the host Huskies bounced back from their first loss since December. Newton, who assisted on a 3-pointer from Alex Karaban with 25 seconds to go, finished with 10 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for Uconn (25-3, 15-2 Big East).
NO. 2 HOUSTON 82, NO. 11 BAYLOR 76 (OT) >> L.J. Cryer scored 15 points against his former team, including six free throws in overtime, as the Big 12-leading Cougars (24-3, 11-3 Big 12) beat the host Bears.
Ja’kobe Walter scored a game-high 23 points for Baylor (19-8, 8-6), while Rayj Dennis had 21.
NO. 4 ARIZONA 91, WASHINGTON 75 >> Caleb Love scored 28 points to eclipse 2,000 for his career and the Wildcats bounced back from their first home loss of the season with a win over the host Huskies. The Wildcats (216, 12-4 Pac-12) lost at Mckale Center for the first time this year Thursday night, falling 77-74 to No. 21 Washington State.
ARIZONA STATE 73, NO. 21 WASHINGTON STATE 61 >> Jose Perez scored 16 points, Frankie Collins added 14 and the host Sun Devils (14-14, 8-9, Pac12) surprised the Cougars, ending their eight-game winning streak.
Issac Jones led Washington State (21-7, 12-5) with 16 points and 11 rebounds. The Cougars shot just 3 of 18 (17%) on 3-pointers.