Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament: UCLA holds off Arizona State rally to win 73-69; Washington upsets Oregon State

Japreece Dean scored 24 points and Michaela Onyenwere added 20 to help No. 25 UCLA beat 20th-ranked Arizona State 73-69 in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament on Friday.

The fourth-seeded Bruins (20-11) were up 14 points in the third quarter before the Sun Devils (20-10) rallied to within 57-56 at the end of the period.

Dean and Kennedy Burke combined for the team’s first eight points of the fourth quarter to extend the advantage to 65-58 with 4:15 left. The lead ballooned to nine before Arizona State got within 69-66 with a minute left after Robbi Ryan hit a 3-pointer from the wing. After a UCLA timeout, Onyenwere drove to the basket to make it a five-point game with 45 seconds left. UCLA missed four straight free throws in the final 30 seconds, but the Sun Devils couldn’t capitalize.

UCLA, which has won 11 of its past 13 games now since a two-point win over Arizona State on Jan. 25, will face either top-seed Oregon or Arizona in the semifinals on Saturday night.

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Kianna Ibis scored 14 points to lead Arizona State, which has a school-record six straight 20-win seasons. The Sun Devils now await an NCAA Tournament bid.

The Bruins jumped out to a 20-8 lead on the Sun Devils in the first quarter and extended the advantage to 15 in the second period before Arizona State finally got going offensively and cut its deficit to 41-31 at the half. The Sun Devils then were down by 14 in the third quarter before cutting the deficit to one by the end of the period.

During that third quarter, Dean missed the third free throw after she was fouled shooting a 3-point shot. She had made 73 of her previous 74 from the line. She’s shooting nearly 92 percent on the season.

Oregon 77, Arizona 63: Sabrina Ionescu had 18 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds to lead sixth-ranked Oregon to a 77-63 win over Aari McDonald and Arizona in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament on Friday.

The star junior guard, who is the NCAA career leader with 17 triple-doubles, put on a show for the many Ducks faithful who made the trip to Las Vegas.

Also in the crowd, sitting in the front row across from the Oregon bench, was Las Vegas Aces president and coach Bill Laimbeer, whose team has the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft in April. Ionescu is eligible to turn pro this year, but said last month she has no idea what she will decide.

Ruthy Hebard led Oregon (28-3) with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

McDonald did everything she could to keep the eighth-seeded Wildcats (18-13) in the game. She had 34 points, going 12 for 21 from the field. She hit shots from the outside and made twisting layups.

Oregon was up 60-53 heading into the final quarter when Ionescu threw a no-look pass on the baseline to Oti Gildon for a lay-in. The Wildcats got no closer the rest of the way.

McDonald had 18 points in the first half, and her jumper with 3:32 left in the half had the Wildcats within 29-24 before the Ducks outscored them 11-4 the rest of the period.

Satou Sabally hit a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to make it a 12-point game.

Stanford 72, California 54: Kiana Williams scored 23 points, Alanna Smith added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and seventh-ranked Stanford beat rival Cal 72-54 on Friday night in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals.

The Bay Area battle was a back-and-forth affair with Stanford clinging to a small lead in the fourth quarter. Up 55-52 with 4:11 left, Shannon Coffee — who has been sporting a black mask most of the season after her injuring her face — hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key. It was her only basket, and it ignited a 17-2 run to close the game.

Dijonai Carrington added 16 points for Stanford (26-4).

Seventh-seeded Cal (19-12) beat Washington State in the opening round of the tournament. Star center Kristine Anigwe, who was dominant in the win on Thursday, had a much tougher time against Stanford. She missed seven of her first eight shots and finished with 14 points to go along with 14 rebounds. She came into the game averaging 23.2 points.

Recee Caldwell led Cal with 17 points, including the 1,000th of her career.

Both teams struggled on offense early. Cal built an early 14-7 lead as Stanford went without a field goal for nearly 7{ minutes. The Cardinal trailed by three after the first quarter. The teams traded the lead in the second quarter and Cal was up 29-28 with 1:56 left in the half. Stanford scored the final four points to go into the break ahead 32-29.

The teams split their regular-season meetings with Cal winning the first at the buzzer. Stanford won the rematch two days later by 25 points.

Washington 68, Oregon State 67: Missy Peterson hit a deep 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left to lift Washington to a stunning 68-67 upset of No. 11 Oregon State in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals on Friday night.

The victory continued the Huskies’ shocking run as they became the first 11-seed to reach the semifinals since 2012 when Washington State did it. Next up is seventh-ranked Stanford.

With the game tied at 65, Peterson inbounded the ball and got it right back five feet behind the 3-point line draining the 3-pointer. She fell down raising both fists in the air in excitement as her teammates jumped on her. The officials reviewed the play and gave a technical foul to Hannah Johnson for coming off the bench with time still on the clock.

Aleah Goodman hit the free throws from the technical foul, but then her final shot from well behind the 3-point line was short at the buzzer setting off a wild celebration from the Huskies.

Amber Melgoza scored 21 points and Peterson had 19 for the Huskies (11-20).

Trailing 55-53 midway through the fourth quarter, Peterson hit consecutive 3-pointers during an 8-0 run that gave Washington its biggest lead of the game. Joanna Grymek got Oregon State within four with 4:10 left. Melgoza hit a floater in the lane to make it 63-57 with just under 2 minutes left.

Oregon State scored six of the next seven points to get within 64-63 after Mikayla Pivac hit two free throws with 19.5 seconds left. Melgoza converted the second of two free throws a second later to make it a two-point game. Pivec answered with a spinning layup with 4.9 seconds left setting up the crazy finish.

This was the second year in a row that Oregon State (24-7) lost as a three-seed in its opening game of the tournament.

The Beavers were up 14 points in the second quarter before Washington scored the final 10 points of the half to close to 37-33 at the break. Darcy Reese, who hit just seven 3-pointers on the season, made four in the first half. She finished the game with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The Huskies continued that run and took a 51-46 lead late in the third quarter before the Beavers scored the final five points, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key just before the buzzer by Pivic that tied the game, setting up the exciting final quarter. Pivec finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds for Oregon State (24-7).

Saturday’s semifinals

TV: Pac-12 Networks

UCLA vs. Oregon, 6 p.m.

Stanford vs. Washington, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday’s championship

TV: ESPN2

Semifinal winners, 5 p.m.