Stanford women cruise into Pac-12 championship game
Cameron Brink scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead No. 4 Stanford into the Pac-12 women’s tournament title game with a 79-45 victory over Oregon State on Friday in Las Vegas.
Stanford will play for the championship Sunday against the winner of the second semifinal between No. 9 UCLA and No. 11 Arizona.
Brink, selected to the conference’s All-Freshman team after averaging 9.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this season, finished 9 of 13 from the floor while adding four blocks.
Kiana Williams had 20 points, six rebounds and six assists for Stanford (24-2). Lexie Hull contributed 12 points and seven rebounds, and Hannah Jump added 10 points and five boards.
Aleah Goodman scored 12 points and Taylor Jones pulled down 13 rebounds to lead Oregon State (11-7).
When the teams met on Feb. 13, the Beavers challenged Stanford by getting within four midway through the third quarter before the Cardinal pulled away late for an 83-58 victory. Stanford, which improved to 62-9 against Oregon State, wasn’t about to let it get that close Friday.
The game was tied 13all after one quarter, and the Beavers took the lead briefly when Sasha Goforth drained a 3-pointer five seconds into the second.
Then turn.
The 6-foot-4 forward from Beaverton, Oregon, scored 11 points, blocked three shots and grabbed two rebounds during a 20-3 run that swung momentum in Stanford’s favor.
Brink’s surge sparked the Cardinal after a rather stagnant first quarter, when they shot 6 for 20. They improved to 46.7% in it was Brink’s the second period.
Brink also controlled the paint on the defensive end, shutting down passing lanes and making it difficult for the Beavers to penetrate, forcing them to shoot from the outside. But Oregon State couldn’t find its shooting touch, as it was a mere 3 for 13 (23.1%) from the floor in the second quarter.
Turnovers plagued the Beavers, who ranked sixth in the league with 14.1 per game but had committed 13 by the end of the third quarter. Oregon State finished with 15, and Stanford outscored the Beavers 18-5 in points off turnovers.
SAINT MARY’S ADVANCES >> A week after losing to Pacific to close the regular season, Saint Mary’s upset the sixth-seeded Tigers 69-55 in the West Coast Conference tournament in Las Vegas. Taycee Wedin led the seventh-seeded Gaels with 21 points and 8 rebounds. Saint Mary’s now faces rival USF in today’s quarterfinals.
Women’s Top 25
NO. 2 TEXAS A&M 77, LSU 58 >> Kayla Wells had 16 points, Alexis Morris added 13 as the Aggies opened the Southeastern Conference Tournament with the victory. The Aggies (23-1), who won their first league regular-season title Sunday, advanced to the tournament semifinals for the fourth time in the past five years. They’ll face No. 16 Georgia on Saturday in the semifinals
Khayla Pointer had 26 points for LSU (9-13).
NO. 3 N.C. STATE 68, VIRGINIA TECH 55 >> Elissa Cunane scored a season-high 27 points and had nine rebounds to help North Carolina State (18-2). beat Virginia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
NO. 5 LOUISVILLE 65, WAKE FOREST 53 >> Freshman Hailey Van Lith scored a season-high 24 points and Louisville (22-2) beat Wake Forest (12-12) in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
NO. 7 SOUTH CAROLINA 75, ALABAMA 63 >> Zia Cooke scored 22 points, Aliyah Boston had 16 points and 13 rebounds and South Carolina (20-4) beat Alabama (16-9) in the SEC Tournament.
NO. 16 GEORGIA 78, NO. 17 KENTUCKY 66 >> Jenna Staiti and Maya Caldwell scored 20 points each and Georgia (19-5) beat Kentucky (17-8) in the Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinals.
Men’s Top 25
LOYOLA (CHI.) 73, S. ILLINOIS 49 >> Freshman Jacob Hutson had 13 points and Lucas Williamson and Braden Norris each added 11 as Loyola won in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
Loyola (22-4) opened the game on a 10-0 run before Anthony D’Avanzo scored the Salukis’ first basket 5:23 into the game.
The Ramblers have won three straight games against Southern Illinois (12-14) after sweeping a two-game set in Chicago to close out the regular season.
The Salukis were playing without guard Lance Jones, who was injured in the first half of Thursday night’s game against Bradley.
D’Vanzo led Southern Illinois with 18 points and freshman Dalton Banks, making his first career start in place of Jones, added 12 points.
Loyola led 35-22 at halftime and held a double-figure lead for the final 27:29 of the game.