No. 21 Saint Mary’s ends No. 17 Gonzaga’s monopoly

No. 21 UNLV knocks Colorado State out of MWC tournament

LAS VEGAS>> Reserve Amarachi Simpson scored 18 points, Kiara Jackson scored 12 points and No. 21-ranked UNLV advanced to the Mountain West Conference Tournament championship game by beating Colorado State 62-52 on Tuesday night.

The top seed to the post-season tourney, the Rebels (29-2) face the winner of the other semifinal between Boise State and San Diego State. UNLV is on a 14-game win streak and the Rebels haven’t loss since New Mexico beat them 69-66 on Jan. 20.

Desi-rae Young grabbed 13 rebounds and Alyssa Brown collared 10 boards for the Rebels.

Marta Leimane scored 15 points for Colorado State (20-11).

UNLV outscored Colorado State 14-7 in the last three-and-a-half minutes to preserve the win after Sydney Mech’s layup with 3:48 left got the Rams within 48-45.

Following two foul shots by UNLV’S Brown, Kimpson made a layup and converted a threepoint play to set the Rebels up for a championship appearance.

The Rebels built an 8-0 lead and extended it to 13-2 on Nneka Obiazor’s 3-pointer with 3:40 left in the first quarter and ended it with a 16-7 advantage.

Despite a nearly 5-minute scoring spell to start the second, Ashley Scoggin made a 3 for a 1911 UNLV lead before the fifth-seed Rams narrowed their deficit to 2621 at halftime.

PORTLAND 67, NO. 14 GONZAGA 66>> Kennedy Dickie scored 16 points and

Portland shocked No. 14 Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference Tournament title game for a second-straight year, this time ending the Bulldogs’ school-record 24-game winning streak with a 6766 victory in Las Vegas.

The win, earning Portland its seventh berth into the NCAA Tournament, came 13 days after the Pilots lost 90-40 at Gonzaga in a regular-season finale. The Pilots won last year’s final 64-60.

Emme Shearer hit a 3-pointer with 1:39 to play to give the Pilots a 67-64 lead. After Kaylynne Truong’s jumper in the lane pulled the Bulldogs’ within one, Portland survived two turnovers on held balls and an offensive rebound in the last minute.

LAS VEGAS>> Aidan Mahaney scored 23 points, Mitchell Saxen had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and No. 21 Saint Mary’s led nearly the entire way to beat No. 17 Gonzaga 69-60 on Tuesday night and interrupt the Bulldogs’ stranglehold on the West Coast Conference Tournament title.

Gonzaga had won four WCC championships in a row and 10 of 11. Saint Mary’s in 2019 was the one year the Bulldogs didn’t claim the trophy over that span.

Also for Saint Mary’s, WCC player of the year Augustas Marciulionis scored 13 points. Anton Watson led the Zags with 18 points. Ryan Nembhard finished with 13 points and 11 assists, and Graham Ike had 10 points even though he played only 20 minutes because of foul trouble.