Forget your Cinderella picks, favored teams across the board have secured their semifinal spots after two days of the Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament in Las Vegas.
The tournament began on Wednesday with a dozen contenders. Oregon, Washington, Washington State and Arizona State were knocked out in the first round, leaving eight schools hunting for the championship.
No. 4 Oregon State vs. No. 5 Colorado
The Beavers outlasted the Buffaloes 85-79 in the first-ever Pac-12 tournament double-overtime game.
Colorado’s junior center Aaronette Vonleh scored what could be considered the most stylish basket of her career halfway through the second quarter.
A pass from Vonleh seemed destined for an easy two points as it headed for graduate guard Maddie Nolan, who was open in the post. But, dramatically, the fingertips of Oregon State sophomore forward Raegan Beers grazed the ball, launching it into the sky. Then, what seemed like a Beavers steal, tragically, landed in their own basket.
Just how they drew it up 😂 pic.twitter.com/8jvelwf2bw
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 7, 2024
However, the unlucky points against the Beavers didn’t slow them down at all. In fact, they fueled an Oregon State 10-0 run to shrink an 11-point deficit into a mere one-point margin by the end of the first quarter.
The energy of the orange-clad fans was impossible to ignore and vastly outnumbered their opponents. Their cheers drowned out any opposing chants — a morale booster for any team, especially in a neutral arena.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the sea of orange that we played in front of today,” Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck said. “It was amazing to see — not surprising if you’ve been around a while; it’s kind of what Beaver Nation does for us.”
Five Beavers cracked double figures in scoring. Leading the way was Beers with a double-double of 27 points and 13 rebounds, which were both game-highs.
Buffaloes graduate guard Jaylyn Sherrod was overcome with emotion in the postgame conference and attributed the team’s loss to her personal turnovers and game management down the stretch.
But head coach JR Payne came to her defense.
“Coaches and point guards get all the blame and all the glory. Anytime things don’t go our way, it’s hers and my fault usually. And when things go well, we also get a pat on the back,” Payne said. “There were a hundred different plays that happened tonight that could have changed the outcome of the game.”
Sherrod posted a team-high 23 points along with six rebounds and seven assists.
No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 8 Cal
The Golden Bears stunned the Cardinal early, handing them their largest halftime deficit of the season. But Stanford took the second half by storm, cruising to a 71-57 victory.
Packed with history, these two rivals met for their third matchup this season and their ninth encounter in Pac-12 tournament history.
Stanford fans likely broke a sweat in the first half, which must be an unfamiliar feeling this season given the team’s 27-4 overall record and No. 2 national ranking. Pac-12 Player and Defensive Player of the Year Cameron Brink found herself in early foul trouble, picking up three personals by halftime. She also struggled offensively, shooting just 1-for-8 from the field in eight minutes of action.
“I didn’t think I would be very happy at halftime sitting here,” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said. “But [in] the second half our team really stepped up.”
Although disjointed in the first half, the Cardinal showed why they’re the No. 1 seed in the second half. They outscored the Golden Bears 43-21 and shot 50% from the field while limiting Cal to just 21.4%.
Despite falling to their opponent, Cal head coach Charmin Smith was proud of how her team performed.
“We talked about bringing the fight to them, and I thought in the first two games we were very passive. We let them do things. We let them dictate. We were reactive,” Smith said. “In this game, I thought we were the opposite. We were the aggressor. We dictated. We got some of their best players in foul trouble. We were aggressive. We were attacking. We were scoring. It’s exactly what we wanted.”
Stanford and Oregon State will meet in Friday’s first semifinal game at 5 p.m.
No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 6 Utah
The final game of the quarterfinals stamped an all-chalk bracket two days into the tournament, with the higher-seeded Bruins defeating the Utes 67-57.
Depth is a major strength for UCLA. The Bruins have one of the deepest teams in the conference, with almost four players averaging at least 12 points this season.
“All 12 players, you have to guard us,” senior forward Angela Dugalić said. “We all have different things that we’re really good at. You take away one thing, we’ve got another thing.”
Dualić poured in a season-high 17 points for the Bruins, including another season-high three 3-pointers.
It wasn’t hard to tell that both teams left everything out on the floor, shown by their consistent hustle and physicality. Despite going down twice with injuries, Utah’s junior guard Inês Vieira went back out both times after taking a short break. Senior forward Alissa Pili explained that that’s how Vieira got her nickname.
“That’s why they call her the Mosquito,” Pili said. “No matter how many times you try to swat it away, it just keeps coming back.”
Five Utes played 30-plus minutes and four of them scored in double-digits. Pili led the team in scoring with 16 points and five rebounds.
With UCLA heading into the semifinals, it sets up a familiar crosstown rivalry away from Los Angeles Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Trojans and the Bruins will battle it out for a spot in the final.
Before the quarterfinals began, the Pac-12 honored USC’s redshirt freshman Aaliyah Gayles as the first-ever Tammy Blackburn Inspiration Award recipient. Gayles suffered multiple gunshot wounds during a house party in 2022 and underwent multiple surgeries to repair the damage. Nonetheless, she signed with USC from her hospital bed.
The honor recognizes women’s basketball players, coaches and staff within the conference who have shown bravery, resilience and an inspiring spirit in the face of personal adversity. The award’s namesake, Tammy Blackburn, is a veteran Pac-12 Network broadcaster and former basketball player for San Diego State who has been battling breast cancer since 2017.
As a tradition, the “Threes for Equality” program is happening again this year. The Pac-12 partners with Pacific Premier Bank to donate $150 for every 3-pointer made in the tournaments. The money will directly support organizations focusing on social injustice to make an impact beyond the court. Teams have made a combined 90 threes over two rounds, totalling $13,500 dollars raised thus far.