COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Irvine Women Defeat TCU to Advance to Basketball Tournament Final

UC Irvine beat Texas Christian, 76-67, to advance to the championship final of the UCI Marriott women’s basketball tournament Friday at Bren Center.

Tamara Thomas had 16 points and Allah-mi Basheer 15 to lead UC Irvine.

The Anteaters (3-0) will meet Texas El Paso in the championship game at 7:30 tonight.

In the Redlands men’s basketball tournament:

Chapman 84, Redlands 81--Pete Sverkos scored 19, Jim Falletta 18 and Toby Curto 15 for Chapman (5-0). The Panthers meet Concordia at 8 tonight in the title game.

In the Golden State Athletic preseason women’s basketball tournament:

Fresno Pacific 68, Southern California College 64 (OT)--Fresno Pacific outscored Southern California, 7-3, in overtime for the victory. Jody Caruso scored 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Vanguards. Teammate Angela Minor added 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Southern California (1-4) outrebounded Fresno Pacific, 57-38, but was unable to overcome the Sunbirds’ shooting. Fresno Pacific (4-4) shot 42% in the game, including 45% from three-point range. Shawna Beck hit six of 11 three-pointers to lead Fresno Pacific with 20 points.

Concordia 78, St. Martin’s 66--Concordia outscored St. Martin’s by 10 points in the second half to win and advance to the championship final. Forward Angela Sather had 23 points and nine rebounds to lead Concordia (2-4). Concordia will play the winner of the Biola-Point Nazarene game.

In nonconference women’s basketball:

Long Beach State 97, California 91--Kim Barfield had a career-high 30 points, sinking seven of eight shots in the second half for Long Beach State (2-1) in its home opener.

Long Beach State took the lead for good at the 9:32 mark on a driving lay-up by junior Adara Newidouski, who finished with 18 points.

San Diego 69, Cal State Fullerton 59--Laura King had a game-high 19 points and four three-pointers to lead host San Diego (1-3). Kari Kron had 14 points for the Titans.