The Saturday semifinals of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament feature the third installment of UCLA-Oregon and the sixth-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils, who managed to upend the Oregon State Beavers on Friday.
Oregon won the two regular season matchups against the Bruins — 70-61 in Los Angeles on January 7 and 101-94 in an overtime thriller in Eugene February 19. Arizona State will face Stanford, the No. 2 seed, who improved to 41-4 in Pac-12 Tournament play Friday night.
Here are some things to watch for in each game of the semis and info on how and where you can watch them:
6:00 PM PST — (4) UCLA vs. (1) Oregon
The Ducks wasted little time in their Friday quarterfinal. A 21-6 second quarter pushed their lead to 27 over the Buffaloes heading into the break. Oregon kept its foot on the gas, scoring 32 points in the third as they cruised to victory.
More from High Post Hoops
- Bet $5 on Sparks vs. Sky, Win $150 Instantly with Limited-Time DraftKings Promo
- Cash in for Over $2,000 With WNBA Promo Bonuses from FanDuel & Caesars
- FanDuel WNBA Promo Code Gives You $2,500 Bonus for ANY Game Tonight!
- Unlock $200 GUARANTEED With Crazy DraftKings WNBA Promo
- Unlock Over $4,500 Bonus With 3 Best WNBA Sportsbook Promos!
The Ducks held the Buffs to 31% shooting and hit 13 of their 27 three-point attempts. Lexi Bando shot 6-9 from deep. Sabrina Ionescu dished 13 assists and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Satou Sabally scored 21 points in her 19 minutes. No member of the Ducks logged more than 27 minutes. Fresh legs could benefit the Ducks Saturday as they face a UCLA team that had to go a full 40 minutes against Cal.
Kelly Graves shined a light postgame on a weakness he’s seen in his team this season:
"One of our weaknesses has been to build a lead and just kind play around and not go for the jugular, so to speak. In this game we built a nice lead, and by halftime in the third quarter we came out and played some of the best basketball of our season."
UCLA led by five at the half against the Golden Bears, but Cal came all the way back to enter the fourth with a lead. Monique Billings finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, and Jordin Canada poured in 27 points (11-12 FTs) to go with five assists and five steals. The Bruins were sparked by Kelli Hayes, who shot 6-8 overall and 5-7 from deep. Hayes came up with a steal and score in the final two minutes after Cal secured a rebound down by one:
Cal scored 38 points in the paint and shot 44% from the field (compared to UCLA’s 35%). The separator came at the charity stripe — UCLA got there a whopping 34 times and made more free throws (24) than the Golden Bears attempted (16).
Mikayla Cowling delivered one of her best performances of the season (16 points, seven rebounds, four assists, played all 40 minutes) when it mattered most. Kristine Anigwe added 15 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out in the fourth.
Two different times earlier in the game, Anigwe left the court, appearing to have momentarily lost the ability to walk on her own. Anigwe fell into the arms of Cowling after a whistle, then was carried off. She returned to the floor moments later and re-entered the game. Later, as Anigwe sat in foul trouble, she was shown on camera suddenly slumping in her seat and was carried off once again.
Cal head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said the following after the game on Anigwe:
"She hasn’t been feeling well, and just had a moment where we just needed to have our excellent medical staff give her a look. She’s a competitor and wanted to get back in the game. Our medical staff cleared her to do that, and then we got her back in for about a minute before she fouled out."
Keys to UCLA-Oregon, part three
- The Bruins need Kelli Hayes to stay hot, and Japreece Dean needs to give them a lift offensively as well. Those are the two best shooters that head coach Cori Close can put out there to open up the floor for Jordin Canada. If those two players are hitting shots, it may also allow Monique Billings to work one on one inside.
- The Ducks need to limit UCLA’s second chance opportunities. Extra opportunities to get out and run could allow them to go for the jugular, as Kelly Graves mentioned after the Colorado game. In addition to the individual excellence of Canada and Billings, UCLA has demonstrated an ability to climb back into games by hammering teams on the offensive glass.
- How soon will the Ducks turn Sabrina Ionescu loose to run pick and roll again and again? Teams that send help are at the mercy of her sharpshooting teammates. The big adjustment from UCLA could come in their pick and roll coverage, playing those actions two on two without sending help. Oregon State executed this approach well in the regular season, which forced Ionescu to take it upon herself to hit from the midrange on nearly every possession.
8:30 PM PST — (6) Arizona State vs. (2) Stanford
Stanford was tested Friday night by the seventh-seeded Women of Troy, who have hung tough all season without much reliable depth. USC’s first quarter hurt them most. Stanford started the game on a 10-2 run and led by 12 at the end of the quarter. The two teams essentially played to a draw the rest of the way.
USC started the game in a 2-3 zone, and Kiana Williams got loose for two three-pointers. Head coach Mark Trakh called a timeout to stop the bleeding and acknowledged that tactical decision as a mistake in an interview with Jill Savage of the Pac-12 network, saying, “We’re not a zone team.”
The Women of Troy were pushed for all 40 minutes by a talented Washington State team the day prior. Fatigue likely played a factor, as did a quality defensive effort from a much deeper opponent. USC shot just 26%, and All-Pac-12 performer Kristen Simon was plagued by foul trouble throughout the game.
Williams led the way for Stanford with 18 points, and Dijonai Carrington added 13 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer praised Carrington’s efforts and her entire bench after the game:
"During the year we’ve played a lot of different lineups because of [Brittany McPhee] and [Carrington] both being out. So I have confidence going to our bench, and I need them to back me up when they go into the game."
Arizona State made sure a team outside the top four would crash the semifinals with an impressive win over Oregon State. Courtney Ekmark shot 5-7 from deep and Kianna Ibis (14 points, 14 rebounds) scored six points in the final minutes. ASU doubled OSU up on the offensive glass as well, finishing with 16.
The Beavers led 50-44 with 5:14 to play after a Mikayla Pivec jumper. ASU proceeded to take control of the game with a 9-0 run. Ibis led the way and Ekmark drilled her fifth three-pointer of the game during that run.
Oregon State broke out for 25 points in the third quarter but was held to just five in the fourth. ASU’s game ball likely went to Charnea Johnson-Chapman, who took it upon herself to prevent Marie Gulich from establishing deep post position at any point in the game.
Gulich took just six shots as a second defender often crowded her on or before the catch. ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne put the onus on the rest of OSU’s team to beat them. Kat Tudor was limited to six shot attempts as well. Starting forward Taya Corosdale shot 0-5 in just 19 minutes.
OSU head coach Scott Rueck was asked after the game about ASU’s adjustments in defending Gulich:
"They certainly helped more than they did last game. They sent two or three people at times. I thought that was one of the adjustments. I kind of felt like they would try something like that. I didn’t feel like we saw the floor as well as we did in the first half, we did in the third quarter. That was the difference."
Keys to ASU-Stanford, part three
- The first one is simple: Courtney Ekmark needs to continue to knock down shots and flash that versatility to her jump shot that no one else on the roster can replicate. Ekmark showed Friday she has the footwork to fly off a few screens and knock down the three ball, that she isn’t limited to standing in a corner waiting for wide open spot-up opportunities to come her way.
- Who will win the matchup between Charnea Johnson-Chapman, coming off her best game of the season, and Alanna Smith? We’ve seen Smith explode on a big stage before. Johnson-Chapman, if she’s able to replicate Friday’s performance without fouling, is the type of physical presence that can really frustrate Smith inside.
- USC’s Aliyah Mazyck did a fantastic job on Brittany McPhee Friday night, limiting her to seven shot attempts. Will the guards for the Sun Devils step up to do the same? The challenge in guarding McPhee is that she’s so effective without the ball in her hands. She only needs half a step on a backdoor cut to burn you, and she’s always looking to take her defender down into the post when her bigs catch it at one of the elbows.
Pac-12 Conference Tournament First Round Recap
Recapping the first round of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament, which featured two one possession games and a very competitive 8/9 matchup.
Both games will be aired on the Pac-12 Network. You can also log in online on the Pac-12 website or app through your cable provider to stream all four games live.
Note: Header image via Pac-12 Network.