Last-second win for St. Mary’s

LAS VEGAS — Jordan Ford hit a pull-up jumper with 1.4 seconds to go, giving St. Mary’s a 51-50 win over No. 14 Brigham Young in the West Coast Conference tournament semifinals Monday night.

St. Mary’s, which won the event last season, will face No. 2 Gonzaga on Tuesday in a rematch for the title.

Ford scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half for the Gaels (25-7), looking to win their fifth WCC title.

Yoeli Childs had 23 points and 10 rebounds for BYU (24-8), which had won nine in a row. St. Mary’s clamped down on defense in the second half. BYU went 9:13 without a basket.

No. 2 Gonzaga 81, San Francisco 77: Joel Ayayi scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, and No. 2 Gonzaga survived a scare in the West Coast Conference tournament semifinals.

“I don’t think I f lipped the switch,” Ayayi said. “Just trying to make the plays when the team needs me.”

Killian Tillie had 19 points and Ryan Woolridge had 16 points to pace Gonzaga (30-2), which will be playing in its 26th WCC final and seeking its 17th title.

Ayayi broke a 69-69 tie with 4:14 left with a jumper, and hit a midrange shot on the following possession to give Gonzaga a 73-69 lead. The redshirt sophomore scored eight of Gonzaga’s nine points during a 9-3 run.

Women

Portland 70, No. 11 Gonzaga 69: Haylee Andrews scored on a floater in the lane with 3.6 seconds left and fourth-seeded Portland, which trailed by 20 in the first quarter, upset topseeded and 11th-ranked Gonzaga in the semifinals.

Gonzaga, which trailed by six when WCC player of the year Jill Townsend fouled out with 5:13 to play, took the lead on a layup by Jenn Wirth with 8.6 seconds to go.

San Diego 59, Pepperdine 44: Myah Pace and Leticia Soares both scored 19 points to lift the Toreros into the final.