ASU eliminated in Pac-12 women’s tournament
Alissa Pili finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, Ines Vieira scored 18 and No. 22 Utah beat Arizona State 7160 to conclude Wednesday’s first round of the Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament in Las Vegas. Utah (22-9), the sixth seed, advanced to play third-seeded UCLA in the quarterfinals on Thursday night.
Also on Wednesday, Helena Pueyo and Esmery Martinez each scored 14 points and seventh-seeded Arizona defeated No. 10 Washington 58-50. Pueyo also had five assists, five steals and four blocks for the Wildcats (1714), who played second-seeded USC on Thursday night.
Pili had 16 points and eight rebounds in the second half on the way to her fifth double-double of the season for the Utes. Vieira made 7 of 12 shots with a 3-pointer. Kennady McQueen had 11 points and Maty Wilke scored 10.
Trayanna Crisp scored 19 to lead the 11th-seeded Sun Devils (11-20). Jalyn Brown had 15 points and five rebounds. Crisp had two baskets and a 3-pointer and Arizona State forced six early turnovers in taking a 14-7 lead. Pili, who averages 21 points per game, took her first shot and made it with 44 seconds left and Vieira followed with a layup to get the Utes within 17-15 at quarter’s end.
Wilke buried a 3-pointer to give Utah its first lead at 20-19. Brown answered with a basket for the Sun Devils, but Jenna Johnson connected from beyond the arc and Vieira added a rebound basket to put the Utes up 25-21. Brown had nine points to keep Arizona State within 34-30 at the half.
Journey Thompson’s layup cut the Sun Devils’ deficit to 40-38 with 4:07 left in the third quarter. Pili had a three-point play, two free throws and a layup and Lani White banked in a 55footer at the buzzer to cap a 14-7 run and give the Utes a 54-45 advantage heading to the fourth quarter.
Pili’s layup gave Utah a 58-47 lead 58 seconds into the final period and the Utes maintained a three-possession lead from there.
In the UA-Washington game, Arizona took a 43-36 lead into the fourth quarter and led by 11 with 5 1/2 minutes left. Lauren Schwartz scored five points to lead a 9-0 Washington run that made it 50-48 with 3 1/2 minutes remaining.
Jada Williams hit a jumper to put Arizona back up by four and later Pueyo made it a four-point lead again when she hit two free throws with 22 seconds left. Arizona forced a turnover and Martinez made one of two free throws for a 55-50 lead. Pueyo blocked a 3-pointer by Hannah Hines on the next possession, then Courtney Blakely made two free throws and Martinez made one of two again to wrap it up for the Wildcats.
Skylar Jones had 11 points, five rebounds and four steals, and Breya Cunningham added 10 points and seven rebounds for Arizona.
Coyotes deal Stecher again
Ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline the Coyotes on Thursday traded defenseman Troy Stecher to Edmonton. This is the second consecutive season the Coyotes have dealt Stecher at the deadline.
The Coyotes will receive a 2027 fourth-round draft choice and a 2024 seventh-round draft choice (originally from Boston) for Stecher, who registered five points (one goal, four assists) in 47 games with Arizona this season.