Zags hold off San Francisco to reach final
Balanced scoring keys victory
Anton Watson scored 20 points and Drew Timme had 17 to help No. 9 Gonzaga beat pesky San Francisco 84-73 at the Orleans Arena and advance to yet another West Coast Conference championship game.
The Bulldogs will face No. 16 Saint Mary’s on Tuesday for the tournament title. The teams split two regular-season meetings.
Liberty High alum Julian Strawther scored 15 points while playing in his hometown, and Ben Gregg had 12 for Gonzaga.
Khalil Shabazz led San Francisco with 26 points. Tyrell Roberts scored 17 and Marcus Williams 11.
Gonzaga is in the conference championship game for the 26th time in a row. The Zags have won this event 20 times. They enter on an eightgame winning streak, with the last loss coming in overtime at Saint Mary’s.
■ Saint Mary’s 76, Brigham Young 69:
Alex Ducas scored 23 points to lead four Saint Mary’s players in double figures, and the No. 16 Gaels held off a late Brigham Young rally in the West Coast Conference semifinals. The Gaels will play in their fourth WCC title game in five years Tuesday night and try to win their first tournament championship since 2019. BYU will wait to see if the NIT has a spot. If the Cougars don’t make the postseason, this was their last game as a WCC team; the program joins the Big 12 Conference next season.
Mountain West women At The Thomas & Mack Center
■ San Diego State 69, New Mexico 68:
Sophia Ramos had 15 points, seven rebounds and eight assist for the Aztecs, who shot 50 percent from the field. Shaiquel Mcgruder and Viane Cumber each scored 15 points for the Lobos, who were held to 26 percent from three-point range. San Diego State faces top-seed UNLV on Tuesday.
■ Wyoming 72, San Jose State 57:
Malene Pederson led the Cowgirls with 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Allyson Fertig added 13 points. Jada Holland had 17 points for the Spartans, who shot 32 percent from the field.
■ Colorado State 59, Boise State 52:
Conference player of the year Mckenna Hofschild had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Rams, who won the turnover battle 17-5. Natalie Pasco scored 15 points for the Broncos, who shot 29 percent.
West Coast women At Orleans Arena
■ No. 16 Gonzaga 79, Brigham Young 64:
Yvonne Ejim had 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for her ninth career double-double, Brynna Maxwell made four 3-pointers and scored 18 as the Bulldogs advanced to the championship game. Gonzaga scored 19 second-chance points and added 25 points off 23 BYU turnovers. The Bulldogs have now won four straight in the series.
■ Portland 75, Pacific 72:
Alex Fowler had 29 points, six rebounds and four assist for the Pilots. Fowler shot 71 percent from the field and also added five steals. Liz Smith had 19 points and four rebounds for the Tigers, who won the rebound battle 38-25.
Western Athletic Conference women
At Michelob ULTRA Arena
■ Sam Houston State 82, Abiline Christian 81:
Mikayla Woods scored six straight points in the final 10 seconds for the Bearkats, who trailed 72-57 with under six minutes left in the game. Woods finished with a team-high 18 points. The Wildcats missed a halfcourt heave at the buzzer.
■ Utah Tech 72, Utah Valley 68:
Maggie Mccord shot 63 percent from the field and finished with 19 points for the Trailblazers, who finished with just nine turnovers.
The Wolverines were led by Shay Fano’s 18 points and 12 rebounds.
■ New Mexico State 65, Texas-rio Grande Valley 49:
Molly Kaiser scored 25 points to lead the Aggies, who outrebounded the Vaqueros 38-32. Iyana Dorsey had 18 points for Texas-rio Grande Valley, which shot 26 percent from the field.
■ Seattle 80, Texas-arlington 78:
Peyton Howard knocked down two free throws with 4 seconds left to give the Redhawks the lead for good and the upset win. Seattle had won just five games all season. Howard finished with 11 points. Kayla White scored 20 points for the Mavericks.