The Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals featured six NCAA Tournament teams, a bubble team, a double-overtime opener, and feisty efforts by the opponents of the top two seeds in Las Vegas. Stanford did pull away late, but the Cardinal trailed Cal by eight in the second half and were in a very close battle early in the fourth quarter before they finally began to dominate. UCLA scored a moderately comfortable win over Utah, but the game was just an eight-point contest through three quarters. The Bruins needed time to finally shake free of the Utes, who defended hard. All four games on Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal Thursday were interesting and up for grabs after three quarters. Let’s go through the highlights with some notes as Pac-12 women’s basketball moves to Friday’s semifinals and the last few games of this conference’s existence:
Arizona plays great defense. Adia Barnes coaches the Wildcats’ defense with a unique ability to get great effort and consistency from her players at the defensive end of the floor. USC committed 21 turnovers against that defense but was able to beat the Wildcats, 65-62, by forcing 17 U of A turnovers and getting 15 points and 15 rebounds from Rayah Marshall, who is playing her best basketball of the year. USC won its first Pac-12 Women’s Tournament quarterfinal since 2014. How about that?! It shows how long USC women’s basketball has been irrelevant, but the Trojans are irrelevant no more. They matter, and they’re going to be great as long as Lindsay Gottlieb is coaching them.
No one wants to play Arizona right now. USC survived a very tough test from Arizona twice in eight days. However, Arizona probably won’t make the NCAA Tournament after this loss. A win over Washington in the first round kept alive the Wildcats’ bubble hopes, but they probably needed a win over USC to get over the hump. Are they 100-percent done? Maybe not … but they’re highly unlikely to get into the field. Just one or two other bubble teams scoring big wins before Selection Sunday probably excludes the U of A from the field. The Wildcats can point to games during the Pac-12 season in which they couldn’t finish the job in the final few minutes.
Scott Rueck, who — in the eyes of many observers — has been the best coach in Pac-12 women’s basketball this season, watched his Oregon State team outlast Colorado in the day’s first quarterfinal. The Beavers trailed by 12 at one point. They were down nine after three quarters. They didn’t quit. They never quit. They managed to win their third game of the season versus Colorado in three tries. Led by a big game from post player Raegan Beers, Oregon State locked up a top-four seed in the Women’s NCAA Tournament and will host opening-round games in Corvallis. Colorado, on the other hand, doesn’t know if it will retain a top-four seed. The Buffs are right on the cut line for that important prize.
A lot of things went wrong for Stanford in the first half of its quarterfinal against eighth-seeded Cal. Cameron Brink, the team’s superstar, picked up three fouls. Stanford made just 5 of its first 11 free throws and only 3 of its first 15 3-pointers. Cal led by eight. The Cardinal could have gotten rattled, but they usually don’t get rattled. They battled back to win by 14 points, 71-57. The reason Stanford won the Pac-12 and has been so good this season without Lauren Betts — who transferred to UCLA — is that Kiki Iriafen has blossomed into a strong No. 2 player behind Cameron Brink. Iriafen can put this team on her back when Brink is ineffective or in foul trouble. Iriafen scored 28 points on 11-of-14 shooting. That will win games. It did on Thursday against a Cal team which put up a great fight for 33 minutes but finally caved in midway through the fourth quarter, when Stanford pulled away.
In Salt Lake City in January, Utah bested UCLA. The Bruins went through a rough patch in their season. In late February and beyond, however, UCLA has found a second wind while Utah just looks winded. The Utes have run out of steam. Alissa Pili has not played at her best. This did not bode well for the Utes heading into Vegas, and the conventional wisdom was affirmed. Utah fought hard — the game was just 49-41 UCLA through three quarters, and the Utes played tough defense — but the Utes looked like a tired team without the legs needed to go the distance. Utah finished this quarterfinal 9 of 30 on 3-pointers. Tired shooters lost their juice, and UCLA focused on attacking the paint. The Bruins attempted only 17 threes — 13 fewer than Utah — and focused more on 2-point shots, finishing 48 percent from the field. UCLA gained a 57-44 lead with just under seven minutes left. Although Utah pulled within eight (57-49) with just under four minutes left, the Utes weren’t able to get any closer than that. UCLA looks a lot more like the team we saw in the earlier months of the season, when the Bruins were unbeaten and ranked No. 2 in the country behind South Carolina.
Oregon State plays excellent defense, and Stanford should not be expected to pull away from the Beavers in the game’s first three quarters. However, OSU played two overtimes against a good Colorado team. That has to take some bite out of the Beavers, who will be hard-pressed to last all 40 minutes against Stanford’s talent and size. Stanford shot poorly in the first half against Cal on Thursday. Oregon State will need Stanford to similarly struggle on Friday in the first semifinal, which starts at 5 p.m. Pacific (8 Eastern) on Pac-12 Network.
Here we go! Part three of the crosstown showdown and the battle for Los Angeles has arrived in Vegas! USC and UCLA are battling for bragging rights, a spot in the Pac-12 Tournament championship game, and a possible No. 1 seed in the Women’s NCAA Tournament. The winner isn’t guaranteed a No. 1 seed but will take a huge step toward that goal. The winner obviously gets a chance to win the Pac-12 Tournament, which would dramatically increase the odds of getting that top seed in March Madness. Both teams face the short turnaround from Thursday evening. Fatigue could be a factor for JuJu Watkins, who played 34 minutes — not a light workload, but not especially heavy, either — against Arizona.
This game figures to go down to the wire, but USC just faced Arizona’s withering, suffocating defense. The Trojans have not played a good offensive game in a few weeks. They will need McKenzie Forbes and Kayla Padilla to hit shots. Follow UCLA Wire along with us for full coverage.