Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament: UCLA advances to semis; USC falls to Stanford

Michaela Onyenwere scored six of her 12 points in the fourth quarter to help No. 9 UCLA hold off Washington for a 58-46 victory on Thursday night in a Pac-12 quarterfinal.

Charisma Osborne also had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Bruins (15-4), while Lauryn Miller had nine points and Natalie Chou added seven.

UCLA staved off upset-minded Washington, which pulled within three early in the fourth but couldn’t gain enough momentum to seize control of the game.

Quay Miller had a game-high 19 points with seven rebounds, while Tameiya Sadler chipped in 12 for Washington (7-14).

After cutting the Bruins’ lead to 44-41 with 8:22 left in the game, the Huskies missed their next four shots and turned the ball over on another possession. Washington’s only points during a crucial five-minute stretch came from two free throws by Sadler.

Meanwhile, the Bruins hit five consecutive shots from the field, added a couple of free throws, and used a 12-2 run to open a 56-43 lead with 2:52 left and never looked back.

It looked as if UCLA was going to put the game away early, as the Bruins held Washington scoreless for more than four minutes and without a field goal for nearly six, during a first-period stretch that allowed them to use an 11-0 run and build a 16-5 lead.

Emily Bessoir gave the Bruins a 15-point lead moments into the second quarter with a long 3-pointer, but Washington turned the tables and capitalized on seven turnovers by UCLA, which also shot just 25.0% from the field in the second quarter.

The Huskies used a 13-0 run over more than seven minutes to pull within two before UCLA’s Lindsey Corsaro made a 3 and moments later a layup, putting UCLA ahead by five for a halftime lead of 30-25.

Chou’s defense late in the third quarter helped thwart another Huskies rally, as she recorded three steals in less than two minutes, one of which allowed the Bruins to extend their lead to five, at 42-37.

Stanford 92, USC 53

Stanford guard Anna Wilson drives as USC guard Endyia Rogers defends during the second round of the Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament on Thursday in Las Vegas.

(Isaac Brekken / Associated Press)

Ashten Prechtel had 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 4 Stanford to a 92-53 victory over USC in a Pac-12 quarterfinal on Thursday.

Haley Jones and Hannah Jump each had 14 points, and Lacie Hull added 10 points for the Cardinal (23-2, 19-2), who improved to 48-6 all-time in the Pac-12 tournament and 18-1 in the quarterfinals.

Alissa Pili led USC (11-12, 8-10) with nine points.

Stanford, which won its first regular-season conference title since 2014, also swept its regular-season series with USC by way of 80-60 and 86-59 routs, giving the Cardinal an average winning margin of 28.6 in the three games.

Stanford has now held 11 opponents to 53 points or fewer. The Cardinal ranked ninth in the nation in points allowed at 53.0 per game.

Stanford was dominant from the opening tip. USC missed its first eight shots and didn’t get its first field goal until the 4:37 mark, when Kyra White cut Stanford’s lead to 11-3. The Cardinal scored the next 10 points, extending their advantage to 21-3.

Stanford led 31-5 after scoring the first eight points of the second quarter. The Cardinal went 9 of 21 from 3-point range in the first half, while the Trojans missed all 11 of their first-half attempts from beyond the arc.