Pac-12 WBB column: Mayhem in Las Vegas as favorites fall and WSU claims its first title

LAS VEGAS – For most conferences, having the top four seeds eliminated before the final of the league tournament would be a disaster.

For the Pac-12, it’s perceived as almost a badge of honor — validating, at least internally, that conference depth is at an all-time high and that there is nothing alarming about two teams projected as No. 1 NCAA Tournament seeds losing in a quarterfinal (Utah) and semifinal (Stanford).

Stanford failed to make the final for the first time in seven years, losing 69-65 to UCLA on Friday, its fourth loss to a different Pac-12 opponent for the first time since 2017-18.

“We didn’t get the nets that we wanted here, but there’s still nets to cut down in the NCAA Tournament,” guard Agnes Emma-Nnopu said after Stanford’s second loss in six days.

The Cardinal still is projected by ESPN as a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs, while regular season co-champion Utah dropped to the No. 2 seed line following a 66-58 loss to Washington State on Thursday.

The much anticipated third rubber game between Stanford and Utah transformed into a Sunday final between No. 5 seed UCLA and No. 7 Washington State, the lowest seeded finalist in the tournament’s 22-year history. Both survived three games to be the ones standing at the end, another tourney first.

Also losing along the way were No. 3 seed Colorado, 61-49 to Washington State on Friday, and No. 4 seed Arizona, 73-59 to UCLA on Thursday.

“To me, every one of us could win games in the NCAA Tournament,” Oregon State coach Scott Rueck said. “The way Arizona State (8-20) finished the year, they could probably win a tournament game too. There’s not a Pac-12 team that wouldn’t be worthy.”

No. 11 seed Oregon State pulled off one of a record-tying six seeding upsets over the first three days at Mandalay Bay Michelob Ultra Arena. Others were by UCLA and Washington State (two each) and No. 9 seed Oregon.

To say there were no alarms going off for the higher-seeded losers would be inaccurate. Arizona coach Adia Barnes went to Geno Auriemma levels with criticism after her team’s third consecutive loss, costing the Wildcats a chance to host in the NCAA first/second round.

“I can’t make you dive for balls,” Barnes said. “I can tell you that you will lose if you don’t do those, but I can’t go play for you, so that’s hard as a coach. I can’t control that. So what I can do is try to put different lineups in. I can change on-ball defense, but I can’t make you box out.

“If we played our (butts) off and we fought and we dove and we did all the little things and we lose a game, I can accept that. I can’t accept the mentality of not fighting and not a desire to win.”

Mostly, though, there is a confidence by Pac-12 coaches that being battle tested for the NCAA stage is a good thing and that with rest will come success when sub-regional play begins March 17.

Stanford, Utah, UCLA, Colorado, Arizona, Washington State and USC are expected to be NCAA qualifiers. Oregon would make a Pac-12 record eight participants in the 68-team NCAA field, which will be announced March 12. Stanford, Utah and perhaps UCLA will host NCAA first/second round games.

“I think this has been a really challenging last five weeks for our team,” coachTara VanDerveer said of Stanford, with six of its last eight regular season games on the road. “What our team can benefit most from is some rest. We’ll take three days off at least and let people just get refreshed.

“We have to fix some things, there’s no doubt. But this is an incredibly competitive conference. So we’re prepared for the NCAA based on what we’ve done in the Pac-12.”

Since the 2015-16 season, the Pac-12 leads the nation in Final Four appearances (seven), NCAA wins (76) and NCAA winning percentage (.685). Stanford was national champion in 2021, edging Arizona in the final. But in 2022, only Stanford — of the six qualifiers — reached the Sweet Sixteen, and three teams lost in the first round.

So no matter how deep the Pac-12 looks on paper, ultimate success for this season still is to be determined.

Cougars earn first Pac-12 women’s title in any sport

Washington State finished the job Sunday with a nail-biting 65-61 win over UCLA, earning the school’s first Pac-12 women’s title in any sport. The Cougars are tied for the second-lowest seed to win a major conference women’s basketball tourney title, trailing only Auburn’s 1997 SEC championship as a No. 9 seed.

“It just is a testament to anything’s possible,” WSU coach Kamie Ethridge, reiterating what Cougars football coach Jake Dickert told her team. “If you get the right people in place that believe and work and are committed to each other you can accomplish amazing things together.”

Ethridge, a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame for her career as a player, was a long-time assistant coach before starting her head coaching career at Northern Colorado (2014-18). She now has Washington State at previously  unimaginable heights thanks to elite international recruiting and player development.

The championship game was the third meeting against UCLA. The Cougars lost 73-66 on Jan. 22, the last game star guard Charlisse Leger-Walker missed on a trip home to New Zealand for her grandmother’s illness and subsequent  funeral. The Cougars won the rematch 62-55 on Feb. 25 with Leger-Walker, then took the rubber game largely thanks to Leger-Walker’s 23 points and center Bella Murekatete’s 21.

Neither team led by more than eight points. There were 13 lead changes, the last at the end of the third quarter. Other than a tie at the beginning of the fourth, WSU maintained a lead throughout the final period with Murekatete and Leger-Walker combining for 14 points.

“The biggest thing for us was just being able to stay in the moment and not let things get too high up or get too bogged down about things that were going on,” said Leger-Walker, voted the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after scoring a record 76 points. “The experience that we have on our team right now and the leadership that we have helps with that a lot.

“Every timeout, or every time we came back on to the court, there was something being said like we’ve got this. We just need to focus on this play right here, focus on our next play, or just stay positive, stay together. All little things that we say to each other to keep us in the moment.”

A driving layup by UCLA’s Kiki Rice rimmed out with 15 seconds remaining and the Bruins down three. They maintained possession then Astera Tuhina partly blocked a 3-point try by Charisma Osborne that all but ended UCLA’s hopes of its first Pac-12 title since 2006.

Tuhina, a freshman from Kosovo, also was instrumental in the win with six points, six assists and her defense against  Rice or Osborne.

“If we have enough mental errors or possession errors, it’s really tough to recover from that, and we had too many today to come out with a victory,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “We always say that you have to choose the pain of regret or the pain of discipline and right now, we’re going to have to learn from some of the pain of regret.”

Others on the all-tournament team were Murekatete, UCLA’s Osborne, Rice and Emily Bessoir and Stanford’s Cameron Brink.

Moments of the tourney

No single moment defined the tournament more than Leger-Walker’s game-clinching 3-pointer against Utah, which rallied from 19 down late in the third quarter to within three with 39 seconds left.

Out of timeout, the All-American dribbled the clock down to 10 seconds, made a move inside the arc then passed to Ula Motuga, who returned the ball with enough space for Leger-Walker to hit a long trey with 8.6 seconds left.

“That is what greatness looks like,” Pac-12 Network analyst Mary Murphy said.

Leger-Walker spread the credit around after Washington State’s first win over an opponent ranked as high as No. 3.

“ I knew kind of it was coming back (from Motuga), so I just knew I had to get it off fast and just shoot it, really,” she said. “I’m just so glad it went in. Obviously in those moments, you know, it’s a big time shot, but the plays we made before that, the runs that we had in that third quarter, and then taking that momentum into the fourth, that’s what really got us that win.”

Utes show wear after Stanford win

Pac-12 scoring leader Alissa Pili said her late-season ankle injury was not a reason for her off game against Washington State, although she didn’t look like herself. “I just didn’t play well,” she said.

The Utes clearly missed guard Issy Palmer, who wasn’t cleared to play because of a leg injury, and forwards Jenna Johnson and Dasia Young were in foul trouble.

“That fouled up our rhythm,” Utes coach Lynne Roberts said. “Gianna (Kneepkens) had to run the point guard when (Ines) Vieira was out. She can do it, but that’s not her natural position for us. We sputtered a little bit with that.”

Pili and Stanford’s Cameron Brink and Haley Jones are among 15 finalists for the Wooden Award for national Player of the Year. The list will be trimmed on March 29, with the winner announced in April.

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