Pili’s buzzer-beater lifts Utes over Bruins
Alissa Pili drove to the rim for a go-ahead layup with eight-tenths of a second left to give No. 9 Utah a 71-69 win over No. 8 UCLA on Sunday.
Pili scored 23 points and had nine rebounds to lead Utah (18-2, 8-2 Pac-12), which rallied twice and closed the game on a 7-0 run. Utah trailed for a total of 30 minutes before holding the Bruins scoreless over the final 68 seconds.
“We were kind of up and down like on a roller coaster in the first half and I think we were a lot more consistent in the second half with just moving the ball and finding the right play,” said Pili, a USC transfer. “Our defense definitely picked up too.”
Emily Bessoir scored a career-high 17 points, which included five three-pointers, and had six rebounds to lead UCLA (17-5, 6-4). Kiki Rice added 11 points, and Londyn
Jones and Gabriella Jaquez chipped in 10 points apiece.
The Bruins lost their second straight one-possession game, having lost to Colorado 73-70 in overtime on Friday.
“We still have some mental errors we got to take care of,” UCLA coach Cori Chase said. “You can’t give away possessions and win at the highest levels. I thought we gave less possessions today than we did at Colorado. But it still came down to a few of those mental possessions that I’m sure we would all like to have back.”
USC 71, at No. 25 Colorado 54:
Destiny Littleton scored 21 points and Rayah Marshall and Kadi Sissoko had double-doubles to lead the Trojans (16-5, 6-4 Pac-12) to their second win over a top-25 team this season.
Marshall had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Sissoko added 18 and 12, and Littleton made a career-high six of 13 three-point attempts, four of them in a key third-quarter surge that put USC in command over the Buffaloes (16-5, 7-3). Littleton’s six threes were the second most by a Trojan.
In the third quarter, the Trojans matched their firsthalf output, scoring 26 points to take a 52-41 lead into the fourth quarter.
Purdue 73, at No. 2 Ohio State 65:
Abbey Ellis made a season-high five threepointers and the Boilermakers (15-6, 6-5 Big Ten) earned their first top-five road victory in program history.
at No. 3 Stanford 62, Oregon 54:
Cameron Brink recorded Stanford’s first triple-double featuring blocked shots with 16 points, 11 rebounds and a careerhigh 10 blocks to lead the Cardinal (21-2, 9-1 Pac-12) to their 21st straight Pac-12 home win.
Washington State 70, at No. 19 Arizona 59: Bella Murekatete scored 18 points, Ula Motuga added 16, and the two hit key buckets down the stretch to carry the Cougars (15-6, 5-5 Pac-12), who held the Wildcats (16-5, 6-4) to 30.8% shooting.
Men
at No. 1 Purdue 77, Michigan State 61:
Zach Edey scored a career-high 38 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to help the Boilermakers (21-1, 10-1 Big Ten) win their eighth straight. Edey also had three blocks.