UNLV women survive into final
Charleston (31-3) is NCAA-bound
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Essence Booker scored 22 points, DesiRae Young added 20 and No. 21 UNLV held off San Diego State for a 71-68 victory on Tuesday night in a Mountain West Conference semifinal.
UNLV (30-2) has won 21 straight and will play in its second consecutive title game, facing the Colorado State-Wyoming winner on Wednesday.
The Rebels had an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter before the Aztecs pulled to 60-59 with 1:15 remaining. Booker scored six of the Rebels’ next nine points to push the lead to 69-62 with 22 seconds left.
Sophia Ramos and Abby Prohaska hit back-to-back 3-pointers to get the Aztecs within one before Booker’s two free throws capped the scoring with six seconds remaining. Kiara Jackson blocked Ramos’ 3-point attempt to end it.
Booker was 4 of 15 from the floor and 13 of 14 from the free-throw line. Young was 7-of-15 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds. Justice Ethridge added 15 points for the top-seeded Rebels.
Ramos scored 17 points to lead fifth-seeded San Diego State (2310), which advanced with a 69-68 quarterfinals win on Monday over New Mexico. Abby Prohaska added 15 points.
WCC: In Las Vegas, Maisie Burnham scored 19 points, Alex Fowler had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Portland beat two-time defending West Coast Conference Tournament champion Gonzaga 64-60 to claim an NCAA Tournament berth.
Portland (23-8) snapped a sixgame losing streak against the No. 16 Zags (28-4) — with its last win coming in the tournament semifinals during the 2019-20 season. The Pilots won the tournament championship that year before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Portland played in four straight NCAA Tournaments from 199497 before getting back in 2020.
Portland, which trailed by 13 points early in the third quarter, scored seven unanswered points in the fourth quarter to extend its lead to 58-50. But Gonzaga scored the next nine points to take a lead on Yvonne Ejim’s jumper from the free-throw line with 43.9 seconds left.
Fowler drove into the lane and spun her defender before finishing a contested shot. She was fouled on the play and sank the free throw for a 61-59 lead with 37.8 seconds left.
Men
WCC: In Las Vegas, Drew Timme scored 18 points and became Gonzaga’s all-time leading scorer to lead the sharpshooting No. 9 Bulldogs past No. 16 Saint Mary’s 77-51 on Tuesday night in the tournament championship game. The Zags (28-5) continued their domination of the WCC with their fourth consecutive tournament championship and 10th in 11 years.
Saint Mary’s (26-7) actually was seeded first in the tournament and the teams split the regular-season series. The Gaels are the last team to beat Gonzaga in the conference tournament.
In Washington, Ryan Larson scored 23 points and his effort at both of ends of the floor late helped send Charleston past upset-minded 24-10 UNC Wilmington 63-58 in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament championship and clinch an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Ante Brzovic scored 16 points for Charleston (31-3) which currently has the highest win total in Division I-play this season.
NORTHEAST: In North Andover, Mass., Ziggy Reid scored 23 points, Jordan Minor had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Merrimack closed on an 8-0 run to beat Fairleigh Dickinson 67-66 for the Northeast Conference Tournament championship. Merrimack (1816), which is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament due to a four-year transition to Division I, closed its season on an 11-game winning streak. Fairleigh Dickinson (19-15) had already secured the conference’s automatic bid in the Big Dance but was seeking its seventh NEC Tournament title.
HORIZON: In Indianapolis, Marques Warrick scored 18 points and Sam Vinson added 16 to lead Northern Kentucky to a 63-61 victory over Cleveland State and win the Horizon League tournament. The Norse (22-12), one-point losers to Wright State in last year’s title game, advance to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time since 2017. The Vikings (21-13) scored twice in the final 10 seconds but a final 3-pointer came with just 0.2 left.