No. 5 USC women thwart No. 2 Stanford, grab title
Mckenzie Forbes scored 26 points as No. 5 Southern California beat No. 2 Stanford 74-61 on Sunday at MGM Grand Garden Arena to win the Pac-12 tournament title and earn the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
The second-seeded Trojans (26-5) played in the championship game for the first time since 2014, when they also defeated Stanford. That was their only other Pac-12 tournament title.
After ranking first in the nation in rebounding margin (14.0) this season, the top-seeded Cardinal (28-5) were outrebounded 48-28 — including 18-6 on the offensive glass.
Forbes, a senior who came in averaging 13.1 points per game, shot 11 of 21 from the floor, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range, and was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.
Rayah Marshall had 18 rebounds and 10 points and Kayla Padilla 13 points for the Trojans. Cameron Brink scored 19 points and Kiki Iriafen 18 for Stanford.
USC freshman Juju Watkins, averaging 27.6 points, scored nine on 2-for-15 shooting. It was the first time she didn’t score in double figures.
Watkins made her first field goal midway through the third quarter, putting the Trojans up by 13.
Top 10 women
■ No. 1 South Carolina 79, No. 8 Louisiana State 72: At Greenville, S.C., Milaysia Fulwiley scored 24 points for the Gamecocks (32-0) in a Southeastern Conference tournament final marred by a fourth-quarter melee that led to center Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina’s top scorer and rebounder, and five others being ejected. The Tigers (28-5) have lost 16 straight games to the Gamecocks.
■ No. 3 Iowa 94, Nebraska 89, OT:
At Minneapolis, Caitlin Clark scored 30 of her 34 points after intermission for the Hawkeyes (29-4), who won their third straight Big Ten tournament title. Alexis Markowski had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Cornhuskers (22-11), who led by 13 late in a first half that saw Clark miss all nine of her 3-point tries. Iowa trailed 75-67 with 2:30 left in regulation.
■ No. 9 Connecticut 58, Marquette 29: At Uncasville, Conn., Paige Bueckers had 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Huskies (28-5), who had only seven players available after losing center Aaliyah Edwards to a broken nose Saturday in a Big East quarterfinal. The Golden Eagles (23-8), who shot 22.2 percent, scored their last points with 4:49 left in the third quarter.
■ No. 14 Notre Dame 55, No. 10 North Carolina State 51: At Greensboro, N.C., Hannah Hidalgo had 22 points, six assists and six rebounds for the Fighting Irish (26-6), who won their first Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title in five years. The Wolfpack (27-6) shot 35.0 percent. Mountain West women
At Thomas & Mack Center
■ Fresno State 62, Air Force 44: Mia
Jacobs had 25 points and eight rebounds for the ninth-seeded Bulldogs (15-17), who held the eighth-seeded Falcons (15-17) to 28.3 percent shooting. FSU next faces top-seeded UNLV (27-2) in a quarterfinal at noon Monday.
■ San Diego State 72, San Jose State 51: Reserve Meghan Fiso scored 15 points for the seventh-seeded Aztecs (20-12), who led 37-18 at halftime. They next face second-seeded New Mexico (21-10) in a quarterfinal at 5 p.m. Monday. The 10thseeded Spartans (7-24) had a 43-33 edge in rebounds.
■ Boise State 85, Utah State 49: Abby Muse had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to lead 13 scorers for the sixthseeded Broncos (20-12), who held the 11th-seeded Aggies (5-25) to 22.4 percent shooting. BSU next faces third-seeded Wyoming (16-13) in a quarterfinal at 7:30 p.m. Monday.
Top 25 men
■ No. 3 Purdue 78, Wisconsin 70:
At West Lafaeyette, Ind., Zach Edey played through an injured left leg to notch 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Boilermakers (28-3, 17-3) to become the first Big Ten player with 2,200 points and 1,200 rebounds. Afterward, Edey’s No. 15 jersey was raised to the Mackey Arena rafters. The Badgers (19-12, 11-9) were called for 11 fouls while jousting with Edey.
■ No. 12 Illinois 73, Iowa 61: At Iowa City, Iowa, Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 18 of his 25 points in the first half for the Illini (23-8, 14-6 Big Ten), who led 39-29 after the Hawkeyes (18-13, 10-10) missed 13 of their first 14 shots. Payton Sandfort scored 19 of his 23 points after intermission for Iowa.
Men’s tournament finals
■ Drake 84, Indiana State 80: At St. Louis, Tucker Devries scored 27 points for the second-seeded Bulldogs (28-7), who successfully defended their Missouri Valley Conference tournament title. The topseeded Sycamores (28-6) trailed 67-49 midway through the second half.
■ Longwood 85, UNC Asheville 59: At High Point, N.C., Michael Christmas scored 18 points for the fifth-seeded Lancers (21-13), who shot 59.6 percent in the
Big South tournament final. The secondseeded Bulldogs (22-12) trailed by at least 25 for the final nine minutes.
From staff and wire reports