LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jill Townsend scored on an 15-foot fadeaway jumper as time expired and No. 18 Gonzaga rallied past second-seeded BYU 43-42 on Tuesday in the West Coast Conference championship to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Kaylynne Truong inbounded the ball with 0.6 seconds to play, finding Townsend on the left side of the lane. Townsend, one of three starters who did not start because of illness, came off a Jenn Wirth screen and just got the shot off over 6-foot-7 Sara Hamson as time expired.
It was the only points of the game for Townsend, who started on the bench with leading 3-pointer shooter Cierra Walker, and third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder LeeAnne Wirth because of gastroenteritis.
Freshman Yvonne Ejim, playing a season-high 21 minutes, led the Bulldogs (23-3) with 13 points, nine in the fourth quarter, and nine rebounds — both season highs. She forced a tie-up with a friendly possession arrow on an offensive rebound when Kayleigh Truong missed a layup with two seconds left.
No 20 SOUTH FLORIDA 48, WICHITA STATE 44
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Sydni Harvey scored 14 points and South Florida, the top seed in the American Athletic Conference tournament, avoided a major upset with a win over ninth-seeded Wichita State in the quarterfinals.
Elena Tsineke added 12 points for the Bulls (16-3), who overcame 24.6% shooting (15 of 61) and 16 turnovers. They will play fourth-seeded Temple in the semifinals on Wednesday.
Bethy Mununga, who averages 11.2 points, was limited to three points on three shots, but she grabbed 15 rebounds, seven on the offensive end where the Bulls had an 18-9 advantage for a 14-5 difference in second-chance points.
It was South Florida’s worst shooting game of the season and they barely avoided a season-low in points from the regular-season finale when they lost to UCF 58-45, shooting 25.5%.
Trajata Colbert scored 13 points for the Shockers (5-14),
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