LAS VEGAS (AP) — Bella Murekatete scored 19 points and Washington State upset No. 3 Utah 66-58 on Thursday night in a Pac-12 quarterfinal game.
The Cougars (21-10) led by three with 39.3 seconds left and had the ball, and rather than foul, the Utes allowed Charlisse Leger-Walker to virtually dribble out the shot clock, make one pass, get the ball back, and drain a 3-pointer with eight seconds left to extend the lead to 64-58.
Leger-Walker finished with 15 points, while Ula Motuga chipped in 13 for the Cougars.
Utah (25-4) was led by Gianna Kneepkens, who scored 18 points. Alissa Pili added 11 points for the Utes.
After trailing by four at halftime, the Cougars outscored Utah 27-11 in the third quarter after erasing a two-point deficit by closing the period on a 14-0 run and took a 53-41 lead into the final period.
No. 6 STANFORD 76, OREGON 65
Cameron Brink had 22 points and 11 rebounds as Stanford overcame a lot of early misses and beat Oregon in the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals.
Stanford (28-4) made just three of 20 shots in the first quarter. Brink and the Cardinal found their rhythm after that and improved to 20-1 all-time in the conference tournament quarterfinals.
Brink posted her 14th double-double of the season, Hannah Jump added 13 points and Talana Lepolo had 10. Haley Jones scored eight points on 3-of-15 shooting but had 13 rebounds.
The Cardinal held off a third-quarter rally by Oregon by using a 7-0 run to close the period.
Stanford dominated the glass, outrebounding the Ducks, 56-39. The Cardinal grabbed 21 offensive boards and turned them into 21 second-chance points.
Te-Hina Paopao scored 28 points for the Ducks (17-14).
No. 19 UCLA 73, No. 21 ARIZONA 59
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Emily Bessoir had 18 points and 13 rebounds for her first career double-double, Charisma Osborne also scored 18 points and UCLA beat Arizona in the Pac-12 Tournament.
UCLA, a No. 5 seed, advances to the semifinals on Friday after handing Arizona its first three-game skid of the season.
Londynn Jones made her only 3-pointer with 5:18 left in the third quarter to put UCLA ahead 47-35 and the Bruins led by double figures the rest of the way. Arizona only made two field goals in the third quarter — both in the opening three minutes.
Bessoir made two 3-pointers to start the fourth quarter and Gina Conti added another 3 to give UCLA a 17-point lead with 7:30 left. The Bruins (24-8) didn’t make another field goal but connected on 11 of 12 free throws to secure it.
Shaina Pellington, Lauren Fields and Jade Loville each scored 10 points for Arizona (21-9).
No. 17 MICHIGAN 63, PENN STATE 61
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Laila Phelia and Emily Kiser scored 13 points each and Michigan and survived a Penn State comeback in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
The fifth-seeded Wolverines (22-8) will play fourth-seeded Ohio State in Friday quarterfinals. The Buckeyes swept Michigan in two regular-season meetings.
Leigha Brown added 12 points and nine rebounds and Elise Stuck had 11 points. Phelia and Brown, who combine to average over 35 points a game, returned after Phelia missed seven games with a lower-leg injury and Brown two games for what described in a program statement as an undisclosed “internal issue.”
Marisa McKenna and Leilani Kapinus scored 16 points each and Alexa Williamson 12 for the 13th-seeded Lady Lions (14-17). They were without second-leading scorer and their top 3-point shooter, Shay Ciezki, who injured an ankle in Wednesday’s opening-round win over Minnesota.
No. 18 NORTH CAROLINA 68, CLEMSON 58
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Alyssa Ustby scored 15 points with six rebounds, four assists and two steals and 18th-ranked North Carolina, the seventh-seed, pulled away from Clemson for a win in the second round of the ACC Tournament.
The Tar Heels (21-9) now face 13th-ranked and second-seeded Duke on Friday in the quarterfinals. The teams met last Sunday with North Carolina rallying for a 45-41 win.
Deja Kelly scored 14 points, Eva Hodgson 13 and Kennedy Todd-Williams 12 for the balanced Tar Heels, who kept the Tigers at bay despite entering the fourth quarter with a seven-point lead and Kelly and Ustby with four fouls each.
Amari Robinson tied her career high with 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting for the Tigers (17-15).
No. 20 COLORADO 62, OREGON STATE 54
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Frida Formann scored 16 points to lead Colorado to a victory over Oregon State in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament.
Formann made 4 of 9 shots with two 3-pointers for the third-seeded Buffaloes (23-7), who advance to play No. 7 seed Washington State in the semifinals on Friday after the Cougars upset No. 2 seed Utah 66-58 earlier in the day. Aaronette Vonleh added 15 points and Jaylyn Sherrod pitched in with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Adlee Blacklock scored 12 points to top the Beavers (13-18). Reserves AJ Marotte and Timea Gardiner added 10 points apiece.
Formann had 10 points in the first half and Marotte scored eight for Oregon State as the two teams played to a 33-all tie at halftime.
No. 24 MIDDLE TENNESSEE 72, NORTH TEXAS 45
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — Jalynn Gregory led a balanced attack with 15 points and Middle Tennessee cruised to a win over North Texas.
Courtney Blakely, Kseniya Malashka and Anastasiia Boldyreva each scored 12 points for the Laidy Raiders 24-4, 17-2 Conference USA), who have won six straight. Savannah Wheeler added 10 points and Courtney Whitson had 11 rebounds and five steals to go with seven points to help MTSU to a 40-27 rebounding advantage.
Quincy Noble scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Mean Green (11-18, 8-11), which went 2 of 14 from 3-point range and shot 37% overall.
It was the 11th time this season Middle Tennessee held an opponent below 50 points.
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