Cardinal survive in double overtime

TOP 25 WOMEN NO. 3 STANFORD 73, NO. 21 COLORADO 62, 2OT

BOULDER, Colo. — This was Haley Jones’ take on playing a career-high 50 minutes at elevation: “It was fun,” the Stanford senior guard said.

Easy to see why.

Jones scored 13 of her 23 points over the two overtime periods and the third-ranked Cardinal held off No. 21 Colorado 73- 62 on Thursday night.

Jones also had 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Cardinal (27-3, 15-2), who remain on top of the conference standings with one game left on their regular season schedule. Stanford was picked to win the Pac-12 in the preseason poll.

Lauren Betts, who grew up in Colorado, sent the game into double overtime by hitting one of two free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining. She finished with 14 points.

Jones took control in overtime No. 2, helping the Cardinal outscore Colorado by a 13-2 margin. It was the first double OT game for Stanford since 2017.

“Feels great. A ‘W’ is a ‘W’ in my opinion, even though we have lots of things to work on,” Jones said. “We learned a lot, but it also proves that we’re very gritty and a tough team.”

Jaylyn Sherrod led Colorado (21-7, 12-5) with 19 points, including the game- tying basket with just under 30 seconds remaining in regulation. She briefly left the game in the fourth after appearing to turn her ankle. The Buffaloes, who trailed by as many as eight in the fourth, were missing their third-leading scorer, Frida Formann, due to an illness.

“What anyone who watched this game saw on full display wasn’t a bunch of superstars. It was a team that’s tough, and gritty, and fights and scraps for every single possession. That’s who we are,” said Colorado Coach JR Payne, whose team shot 28.8% from the floor. “It really hurts to lose a game like this to Stanford, but incredibly proud of how we played.”

In other games involving top 25 teams Zia Cooke scored 19 points and Kierra Fletcher had 15 as No. 1 South Carolina spoiled Tennessee’s pack-the-paint strategy 73-60. The Gamecocks (28-0, 15-0) clinched at least a tie for the regular-season conference title. The Lady Volunteers (20-10, 12-3) jammed the middle, trying to limit opportunities for star Aliyah Boston and daring the Gamecocks to beat them from the perimeter. Boston finished with 11 points. … Angel Reese scored 23 points and collected 18 rebounds as fifth-ranked LSU beat Vanderbilt 82-63 for the Tigers’ third consecutive win. LSU (25-1, 13-1) won its seventh in a row against Vanderbilt sweeping the season series with this victory tying up the all-time series at 26 apiece. The Tigers improved to just 5-15 all-time at Memorial Gym. … Alissa Pili scored 26 points and Jenna Johnson added 21 to help No. 8 Utah beat California 101-76. The Utes (24-3, 14-3) went 5 for 7 from behind the three-point line and ran at every opportunity in the second half to break open a tight game and cruise to a wire-to-wire victory and keep them undefeated at home. … Elizabeth Kitley capped a night when she set Virginia Tech’s career scoring record by hitting a jumper at the buzzer to lift the ninth-ranked Hokies past No. 22 North Carolina 61-59. … Olivia Miles scored 13 points and Klee Watson added 12 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 10 Notre Dame rout Georgia Tech 76-53. … Celeste Taylor scored 21 points, Elizabeth Balogun had a double-double and No. 11 Duke pulled away from North Carolina State for a 77-62 win to remain tied for first in the Atlantic Coast Conference with one game to go. … Emily Kiser scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead short-handed No. 12 Michigan to a 7153 win over Rutgers. … Bella Murekatete had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Tara Wallack made a key three-pointer with 24.7 seconds left and Washington State beat No. 17 UCLA 62-55 for its first-ever win at Pauley Pavilion. … Brynna Maxwell and Kaylynne Truong led a balanced attack with 14 points each and No. 18 Gonzaga pulled away from San Diego in the fourth quarter for a 73-61 win to clinch a share of the West Coast Conference title. … Valencia Myers scored 18 points, Ta’Niya Latson added 15 and No. 23 Florida State beat Wake Forest 61-60.