The 2022 Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament consists of its final four teams. Offensive production was at a minimum to start the day but slowly kicked into high gear as the night progressed.
Colorado stuns Arizona 45-43 in defensive slugfest
As evidenced by the final score, neither team could find the mark offensively in this game. Early on, Arizona used their defense, including three blocks and a pair of interceptions, to hold a slight lead. It was a big development for the Wildcats, who were non-starters Catherine Reese.
Lauren Ware was a big push in his place, clearing the defensive glass and scoring in the paint. She had nine points and two blocks as she helped Arizona take a 19-11 lead with 6:05 left in the first half, but the Buffaloes locked down the defense after a timeout and held. the Wildcats without a field goal for the rest of the half.
Colorado beat Arizona 13-3 to steal a 24-22 halftime lead. After the two teams combined to draw 2-20 from downtown in the first half, Mya Hollingshed decided to advance from distance to the third quarter for the second game in a row. She splashed a pair of triples and made her presence felt on the defensive end as well.
Since At Bendu Yeaney With 6:05 to go in the first half, Arizona made just one of their next 17 field goal attempts but still played strong enough defense to enter the fourth quarter with seven. delay.
In the fourth, the Wildcats crushed the Buffaloes with a 13-3 run, capitalizing on five straight turnovers for Colorado and swinging the momentum in their favor, leading 41-38. The Buffaloes responded with a pair of buckets in the lane and a clutch hat-trick from Frida Forman extended the lead to four with two minutes to go — almost exactly the same situation as the Buff’s first-round win over Washington when his threes made it a six-point game.
The Wildcats had a chance to tie or win the game, but by Shaina Pellington three at the buzzer was off, and the Buffaloes advance to the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals for the first time in seven years and face top-seeded Stanford at 6:00 p.m. Friday.
Stanford uses big opening frame to beat Oregon State 57-44
Similar to how Oregon State stormed into Arizona State in the first round, Stanford beat the Beavers 16-2 in the first quarter. The Cardinal took advantage of the Beavers defensemen to give them space and took four three-pointers in the first period, including two for Anna Wilson.
Their lead grew to 22-4, with the Beavers shooting just 2-15 to start. Eventually, they found their groove and hung on to Stanford, relying on Emilie Codding and Ellie Mac to get them out of their funk. The Beavers scored nine in a row, but Wilson didn’t stop filling in, getting his fourth double-digit goal of the season in just the first half.
Mack’s three-point shot beating the buzzer with his heels on the logo kept the Beavers within reach of the defending national champions, trailing 27-18 at intermission. Talia von Oelhoffen struggled all day for the Beavers, but his three to open the second half made things interesting.
Hailey Jones took over in the third quarter after a 1-8 first half, scoring 12 points in the third period. She scored at will in the paint, taking it coast to coast on one occasion and flaunting herself deep in the paint on another. She proved why she is the Pac-12 Player of the Year, as voted by league coaches, finishing the game with 20 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists.
The Cardinal held a double-digit lead throughout the second half to secure the victory. Despite the 13-point win, the margin was the smallest in a Pac-12 tournament game since 2020, as they won all three games in 2021 by more than 20 points.
Oregon hangs on to knock out UCLA 63-60
For more on how Oregon defeated UCLA in a finish on the wire, check out our recap for Billy Spotz.
READ MORE: Oregon holds off UCLA 63-60 to advance to Pac-12 semifinals
Utah overtakes Washington State 70-59
The Utes put on an offensive display in the first quarter that would make the San Antonio Spurs dynasty proud. They did it across the board, scoring in the paint with reckless abandon early to knock down all three balls, swinging the ball from side to side in magnificent fashion.
After taking a 14-13 lead early in the first quarter, Utah scored the final 15 points of the quarter, converting 11 of its first 15 field goals and its last six of the period. The Utes splashed four triples and registered seven assists on 11 field goals to take a 16-point lead. Utah’s 29 points was a Pac-12 tournament record for a quarter.
The Cougars stalled the run with a few buckets from center Bella Murekatete in the second quarter, but aside from her, the usual suspects were mostly ineffective on offense. Tara Wallack entered the starting lineup for Ula Motuga and lost 11 points in the first half while Charlise and Krystal Leger-Walker combined for four points on 2-12 shooting.
Utah continued to pass Washington State, scoring 24 points from behind the arc alone for the Cougars’ 25-point total in the first half, taking a 20-point lead into the break. Jenna Johnson led all scorers with 13 points.
The final score does not indicate how well the Utes dominated this game. The Cougars closed the game 12-0 after Utah led by 21 points with two minutes remaining. It was too little too late for Washington State, which held the Utes just 1-12 from downtown in the second half.
Utah heads to the Pac-12 Semifinals for the first time ever, with Oregon standing in its way to the championship game.
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