California powers past San Diego, 77-60

For a week and a half, Ashley Walker and her California teammates could only stew about a blowout loss in the Pacific 10 Conference championship game and two years of NCAA tournament failure.

They took all that aggression out on San Diego.

Walker dominated the inside with 21 points and 12 rebounds, Devanei Hampton scored 22 points and the third-seeded Golden Bears (27-6) won their first NCAA tournament game in 15 years, 77-60 over the Toreros on Saturday at Stanford in the Greensboro Regional.

The best season in school history had a disappointing finish as the Bears lost three of their final six games heading into the tournament, including a 56-35 loss to Stanford in the Pac-10 title game.

Walker and Hampton were held to seven points against the Cardinal, but the two powerful post players wouldn’t let the Bears be one-and-done in the NCAA tournament for a third straight year.

“It was another of our goals that we set out to get to this year,” Walker said. “Things did not go our way necessarily this season. We just wanted to show who we really are and what we can do in the tournament.”

Cal took advantage of the opportunity to play close to home on Stanford’s campus after losing in the first round the past two years in Pennsylvania. With many of their fans cheering on at Maples Pavilion and without the jet lag from a cross-country flight, the Bears overpowered the 14th-seeded Toreros (19-13) and built a 20-point first-half lead.

The Bears will play sixth-seeded George Washington Monday in the second round. The Colonials (26-6) advanced with a 66-56 victory over 11th-seeded Auburn (20-12), despite a poor game by Kimberly Beck, the Atlantic 10 Conference player of the year who scored three points on one-for-seven shooting.

Second-seeded Rutgers routed 15th-seeded Robert Morris (23-10), 85-42, at Des Moines, Iowa, in the first round of the Greensboro Regional. The Scarlet Knights (25-6) will play seventh-seeded Iowa State in the second round.

Alison Lacey made a runner in the lane with 47.4 seconds left and then made two free throws to lift the Cyclones (21-12) to a 58-55 win over 10th-seeded Georgia Tech (22-10).

Spokane Regional

Jayne Appel dominated 15th-seeded Cleveland State (19-14), scoring 29 of her career-high 33 points in the first half to help second-seeded Stanford roll to an 85-47 victory at Maples Pavilion.

Appel finished two shy of tying Stanford’s NCAA tournament record and pulled down 12 rebounds in 25 minutes. The Cardinal (31-3) won their 19th in a row.

Star guard Angela Tisdale scored 26 points to lead third-seeded Baylor (25-6) to an 88-67 victory over 14th-seeded Fresno State (22-11) at Albuquerque. The Bears, with Tisdale scoring seven points, took control with a 17-2 run midway through the first half.

Baylor will next play sixth-seeded Pittsburgh (23-10), which advanced with a 63-58 victory over 11th-seeded Wyoming (24-7), which was making its first tournament appearance.

Chakhia Cole made the game-winning basket with 17.5 seconds left as fifth-seeded West Virginia (25-7) beat 12th-seeded New Mexico, 61-60, at Albuquerque. The Lobos (20-13) had chance to win, but missed two shots.

Oklahoma City Regional

Second-seeded Texas A&M; (27-7) had an easy time with 15th-seeded Texas San Antonio (23-10), never relinquishing the lead at Baton Rouge, La. The Roadrunners committed 30 turnovers, allowing the Aggies to score 38 points.

MaryLynne Schaefer made a three-point basket with 13 seconds left to put 10th-seeded Hartford (28-5) ahead and then made two free throws to give the Hawks a 59-55 victory over seventh-seeded Syracuse (22-9) at Baton Rouge.

New Orleans Regional

Andrea Riley, a 5-5 sophomore guard, scored 26 points to help third-seeded Oklahoma State (26-7) win an NCAA tournament game for the first time since 1996, beating East Tennessee State, 85-73, at Des Moines, Iowa. The 14th-seeded Lady Bucs (21-12) were making their first NCAA tournament appearance.

Seventh-seeded Marist (32-2) ended the game with a 32-2 run to beat DePaul, 76-57, at Baton Rouge. The Red Foxes (32-2) have won 23 in a row. The 10th-seeded Blue Demons (20-12) were leading, 55-44, midway through the second half when Marist took over. . . . Second-seeded Louisiana State (28-5) overpowered 15th-seeded Jackson State (18-14) at Baton Rouge, winning, 66-32.