College Women's Basketball Capsules: NCAA facing more hostless sites in women's tourney
Bidding to host the first two rounds of the women’s NCAA tournament is risky. The benefit to a team on the court can come at a high cost to the school financially.
For the second straight year there is a good chance that six of the 16 sites that will host first- and second-round games for the tournament won’t have host schools playing, which could spell a major economic loss for those institutions.
Last year in the opening rounds, five of the six sites that didn’t have host teams playing didn’t pull in the money they had guaranteed to the NCAA and had to make up the difference. The one site that did — Western Kentucky — was fortunate to have Tennessee at the site. The Lady Vols always travel well.
"Definitely having Tennessee come helped us meet our guarantee," said Darrell Horn, an associate athletic director at Western Kentucky. "It was a sea of orange and the fans bought a lot of the more expensive packages figuring that they would be around for both rounds."
Horn said that the school wasn’t relying on getting the Lady Vols to their site when they submitted their bid. Western Kentucky overestimated the cost of some items which helped them reach their guarantee.
"We put in $10,000 for blue carpeting and didn’t come close to needing that much for it," Horn said.
The site was seventh in attendance — the only one of the hostless arenas to crack the top 10 on the opening day. Unfortunately for Western Kentucky the Lady Vols lost in the first round, costing them an even greater financial windfall.
It wasn’t just the hostless sites that fell short of their guarantees and had to make up the difference to the NCAA. In all, 11 of the 16 sites didn’t reach their goals last year. Some were over $40,000 short while others were just a little bit off. The NCAA worked with this year’s hosts to try and help them reach their numbers.
"We took a real good look at not so much the budget model, but how we could better manage it," said Sue Donohoe, the NCAA’s vice president for Division I women’s basketball. "It’s important for us that our hosts aren’t overexposed financially and we aren’t overly exposed financially while ensuring that our host and student athletes are given the experience that it needs to be."
Some of the schools that lost money last season tried to recoup those losses from the NCAA, but were turned down. The NCAA tried to be really clear about the hosts’ responsibilities. This year they added a teleconference with the schools to talk about the bid specifications so that the institutions wouldn’t under budget and be left with a shortfall.
Even though a host school may lose money, there are benefits to guaranteeing your program home-court advantage. Last season, both Michigan State and Rutgers played on their home courts and pulled off upsets. Even with huge attendance, the Spartans still lost over $30,000.
Despite the expected economic loss, Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi saw the positive gains of hosting. His team won’t be there when the school hosts the first two rounds this year.
"We’ll take a little bit of a hit financially," said Maturi, whose school is also hosting part of the NCAA men’s hockey tournament. "We try to do it to benefit our team because it’s an advantage to play at home."
New Mexico has seen both sides of the profit equation the last two seasons. The Lobos, who hosted NCAA tournament games the past two seasons, qualified for the 2008 tournament and the school easily made their guarantee. Last year the Lobos didn’t get in and the school lost over $30,000. Athletic director Paul Krebs wasn’t upset that his team didn’t make the tournament. It was more that the four schools there had no local draw.
"There wasn’t anybody from this part of the country here," he said. "I think we had two or three teams get in from our league. The final game was Kansas State against Vanderbilt. And Kansas State was the closest team."
Unfortunately there isn’t much that the selection committee can do to try and solve that problem. One of the main principles of bracketing is geography. Proximity to a host school is one of the key ingredients in determining who is put where.
"We put in the host schools and see who they take with them," former NCAA women’s basketball committee chair Jacki Silar said. "We then go back through and stare at the computer screen and see what mileage tells you is the closest first-second-round site. We don’t want our host to lose money and try our darndest to not have that happen."
The NCAA switched from eight sites to 16 in 2009 and that caused some financial issues for the host schools. Because bidding was done two years in advance the NCAA also had to take supplemental bids to fill out this year’s tournament.
Pittsburgh, Louisville, and Seattle were all added by supplemental bid. None of them will have host teams playing.
There isn’t a perfect solution to avoid having hostless sites. The NCAA has resisted going to completely neutral sites — like the men’s tournament uses, because of attendance concerns. There were barely 1,000 people in Los Angeles last year in the first round and 700 in the second.
They have tried different formats, including giving the first two rounds to the top four seeds in each region, had the higher seeds host, played in only eight sites instead of 16, and twice played in the 16 predetermined sites.
"We try everything we can," Silar said. "We don’t want people not to want to host. We need hosts all over the country to make this work. We don’t want our hosts to lose money by any means."
Tournament Championship Games
La Tech women upset Fresno State in WAC 68-66
RENO, Nev. — Louisiana Tech knew it had to win the Western Athletic Conference tournament title to make the school’s first trip back to the NCAA tourney since 2006.
Star forward Shanavia Dowdell still isn’t sure exactly how they did it.
The 6-foot-2 senior had 20 points and 19 rebounds and Jasmine Bendolph hit an 18-footer with 33 seconds left to help snap top-seeded Fresno State’s 19-game winning streak with a 68-66 upset Saturday in the WAC title game.
"I don’t know what got into me," said Dowdell, the tourney MVP. "I was just out there saying, ‘Let’s go.’ I just wanted to help my team any way I could."
Whitney Jones added 13 points and Tarkeisha Wysinger and Adrienne Johnson 10 each for the Lady Techsters (23-8), who had been to 25 consecutive NCAA tournaments until the streak ended in the 2006-07 season. They won the national championship in 1988 and were the runner-up in 1983, 1987, 1994 and 1998.
"It was beautiful to see how hard our kids wanted it," Tech coach Teresa Weatherspoon said.
"The key today was simple. It was who wanted it the most," she said. "Our kids played their hearts out."
Hayley Munro had 15 points and Jaleesa Ross 14 for Fresno State (27-6), which shot only 34 percent from the field and was out-rebounded 49-35 but should still receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tourney.
"It took a good effort to beat us," Fresno State coach Adrian Wiggins said.
"Thankfully this isn’t the last basketball game this team will play this year. We’re looking forward to the next step. ... We still have our goals ahead of us," he said.
"La Tech is very physical. This game will be good for us. NCAA teams are very physical. We have to be ready for that," Wiggins said.
Saturday’s game was in doubt until the final buzzer, and Weatherspoon knew it would be.
"To beat them you have to keep playing hard the whole 40 minutes. Fresno won’t quit coming," she said. "That’s a good basketball team we beat today."
After Bendolph’s shot put Tech up 67-66, Fresno’s Joh-Teena Filipe missed a 3-point attempt with 14 seconds left. Dowdell made one free throw but missed another with 6 seconds left. Filipe rebounded and passed to LaShay Fears but her shot in traffic in the lane missed as time expired.
"It hurts to lose," said Ross, a junior who was named to the all-tournament team and last year became the first player to be named the WAC tourney MVP two years in a row. "We have to rebound harder the next time if we want to keep advancing."
Fresno State’s last loss was Dec. 30 to No. 2 Stanford, 68-46. The Bulldogs averaged outscoring WAC opponents this year by nearly 19 points a game. But Tech was in the game from the start and scored the first 10 points of the second half, including consecutive 3-pointers by Jones to take a 46-37 lead.
Fresno freshman Rosie Moult had a pair of 3-pointers and Emma Andrews one to cut it to 54-52 midway through the half.
Dowdell’s jumper made it 58-54 with 9:29 left. But Fresno State ran off 7 unanswered points when Ross sandwiched a pair of buckets around Munro’s 3-point play on a drive and a foul shot to put the Bulldogs on top 61-58 before Brietta Thomas’ 3-pointer tied it 61-61 at 7:39.
After Ross made a pair of free throws, Wysinger hit a jumper to make it 63-63. Fears made a layup to put Fresno in front 65-63 with 4 minutes left. Bendolph’s jumper tied it again at 3:23 and Fears gave the Bulldogs their last lead 66-65 at 2:19 before Bendolph made what proved to be the game-winner.
Jones made back-to-back 3-pointers and Dowdell hit four of her first five shots to put the Lady Techsters ahead 22-14 midway through the first half. They pushed the lead to 33-23 when Dowdell followed a 15-foot jumper with a 3-pointer at the 4-minute mark.
The Bulldogs had four turnovers the first 8 minutes of the game but none the rest of the half. They closed the first half with a 15-3 run keyed by consecutive 3-pointers from Filipe and Munro to take a 37-36 halftime lead.
-- Scott Sonner
Bowling Green wins MAC title 62-53 over Toledo
CLEVELAND — During a late timeout, Bowling Green coach Curt Miller finished addressing his team and then turned to his star player.
Placing his hands on Lauren Prochaska’s head, Miller reminded her that it was time, her time.
"I told her, ‘Get us to the finish line’," Miller said.
She got the Falcons there — first.
Prochaska scored a season-high 29 points and Bowling Green, determined not to lose in the championship for a second straight year, outscrapped Toledo 62-53 for the Mid-American Conference title on Saturday, giving the Falcons’ the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
After receiving their 10th MAC title trophy, Bowling Green’s players formed a circle at the top of the key. As the arena filled with the Queen’s anthemic "We Are the Champions," the Falcons swayed shoulder to shoulder and strained their voices trying to match Freddie Mercury’s.
This was the moment they waited for.
They had lost to Ball State in last year’s final, and finally that bitter feeling was gone.
"You want to forget," Falcons center Tara Breske said. "You don’t want that sick feeling of not coming out on top."
Prochaska wouldn’t allow it.
The MAC’s player of the year added seven rebounds and made four 3-pointers for the Falcons (27-6), who had coasted into the final with blowouts of Miami (Ohio) and Akron. Whenever Bowling Green needed a big play, she made it.
"There’s a reason why she’s MVP of our league," Toledo coach Tricia Cullop said. "She made big shot after big shot. She did a tremendous job."
It was some vindication for Prochaska, who didn’t play up to her standards in the tournament in the previous two years. Bowling Green had not won the title since 2007, and Miller knew the Falcons would only go as far as Prochaska would carry them.
She knew it too.
"He said it was time for me to step up and make plays," Prochaska said.
Tanika Mays scored 18, Melissa Goodall 15 and Naama Shafir 12 for Toledo (24-8), which beat Bowling Green by three points during the regular season.
With top-seeded Bowling Green clinging to a 52-51 lead, Prochaska, a silky smooth 5-foot-11 junior, calmly drove the right side and banked in a tough layup over Shafir. Goodall countered with a layup for the Rockets before Bowling Green’s Jen Uhl dropped a nice hook to make it 56-53.
On Toledo’s next trip, BGSU forward Breske blocked a short jumper by Shafir and Prochaska’s two free throws put the Falcons ahead 58-53.
Jessica Williams then missed a long 3 for Toledo, and Falcons guard Tamika Nurse made two more free throws with 26 seconds to go, giving Bowling Green all the cushion it would need to knock off their next-door neighbors from northwest Ohio.
Toledo, making its first title game appearance since 2001, continued to misfire from outside in the last minute and the final long rebound fittingly went to Prochaska, who flung the ball skyward and danced into the arms of her teammates. She was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.
"She’s a once-in-a-lifetime player," Miller said.
Arch rivals and the MAC’s most storied women’s programs, Toledo and Bowling Green, schools separated by a short stretch of Interstate 75, have a strong dislike for each other. While players on both teams have known each other for years, there were no handshakes when the starters lined up for the opening tip.
For 40 minutes, they battled for every loose ball, contested every shot and fought for a title each group felt was theirs.
Down 10 and out of sync, the Falcons closed the first half with a 17-2 run to open a 29-24 lead at the break.
Prochaska, driving to the basket at every opportunity, scored seven in the spurt before picking up her second personal foul on a charge and going to the bench with 2:27 left. Breske picked up the slack, and her short jumper gave BGSU its first lead at 26-24.
It was obvious from the start that this wouldn’t be another easy one for Bowling Green. Flustered by Toledo’s aggressive defense, the Falcons started just 1 of 11 from the field.
Prochaska had a tough time getting a clean look at the rim, but she knocked down a 3 to bring Bowling Green within 15-12, and for the first time the Falcons’ orange-clad fans, who outnumbered Toledo’s by more than 2-to-1, had a reason to scream.
Mays hit a 3 as Toledo responded with a 7-0 run, but that’s when Prochaska showed why there was no one better than her — or the Falcons — in the MAC.
"They hit some key shots at the end and we didn’t," Cullop said. "It came down to that."
-- Tom Withers
Portland St. beats MSU for Big Sky title
CHENEY, Wash. — Claire Faucher came out and missed her first shot of the game, and Portland State’s leading scorer worried that it might be a tough night. She needn’t have been concerned.
Faucher hit a Big Sky tournament record eight 3-pointers en route to 26 points as Portland State beat Montana State 62-58 on Saturday to win the tournament and its first trip to the NCAA tournament.
"I’m thankful they were falling tonight," said Faucher, a 5-foot-9 senior guard who made 8-of-16 from 3-point range. Faucher’s career high had been five 3-pointers twice.
"I always think before a game that I’m not going to shoot the 3, tonight I’m going to attack," said Faucher, who averages 13 points per game. "Then I come out and start pulling up 3’s."
Portland State (18-14) has been living off 3-pointers all season. The Vikings shot a team record 622 of them during the regular season, and 49 more in the first two tournament games. They are making 32 percent of those on the season.
Saturday they made 11-of-30 to bury the Bobcats (18-14).
Portland State won its first Big Sky Conference championship and will be making its initial NCAA appearance since joining Division I in the 1996-97 season. The Vikings, the No. 5 seed, beat perennial power Montana in the semifinals on Friday.
"It means a lot to this program," said coach Sherri Murrell, who has rebuilt the team in her third season. "That’s all we are going to expect from here on out."
Sarah Strand had 19 points and Erica Perry 18 to lead Montana State (18-14), the No. 6 seed. The Bobcats upset top-seeded Eastern Washington on Friday to advance to the finals.
The Bobcats were seeking only their second trip to the NCAAs.
Coach Tricia Binford was proud that her team won nine of its previous 11 games to reach the final.
"The Bobcats have had a great season," Binford said.
But they had no answer for Faucher.
"A championship game is when big time players turn up, and Claire Faucher is one of those players," Binford said.
Montana State shot 40 percent to the Vikings’ 33 percent, and outrebounded them 46-35. But they also committed 20 turnovers.
Portland State was making its second straight appearance in the championship game, after losing to Montana last year. They were the preseason pick to win the Big Sky. Last year’s team played two games in the WNIT, their first postseason appearance.
Eryn Jones added 11 points for Portland State. No one else was in double figures.
Portland State led 29-24 after a first half in which neither team shot well, and consecutive baskets by Kate DePaepe gave the Vikings an early 38-30 lead.
Montana State answered with a 10-2 run, and Katie Bussey’s 3-pointer tied the score at 40 with 14:12 left. Faucher hit a pair of 3-pointers to keep the Vikings ahead as the teams traded baskets.
Baskets by Strand and Perry brought Montana State within 51-50. But a layup by Kelli Valentine and Faucher’s eighth 3-pointer gave the Vikings a 56-50 lead with 6:30 left.
MSU’s Janette Jackson hit a pair of layups to cut PSU’s lead to 56-54. After Faucher scored on a breakaway steal, Bussey hit a 3-pointer to lift the Bobcats within 58-57.
Valentine scored on a jumper with 1:33 left, and Montana State missed a couple of shots on the other end to trail 60-57 with a minute left. Portland State inbounded the ball and ran time off the clock. Faucher missed, but Valentine rebounded with 30 seconds left and Montana State was forced to foul.
Jones made a pair of free throws for Portland State, and Perry replied with one of two for Montana State. Faucher’s long inbounds pass was intercepted and Montana State had the ball with 13.4 seconds left and trailing 62-58, but the Bobcats turned it over.
In the first half, Portland State missed its first 10 shots but still built a 16-11 lead.
Montana State went six minutes without scoring before consecutive 3-pointers by Strand brought the Bobcats within 18-17 with 5:19 left. Faucher hit a pair of 3’s for a 24-19 lead.
Kelly Marchant’s 3-pointer lifted Portland State to a 29-24 halftime lead.
The Vikings average more than 21 3-point attempts per game, but hoisted 20 in the first half alone, making seven.
Montana State has appeared in the NCAA tournament once, losing to Washington in the first round in 1993
These teams split the season series, each winning at home.
Montana State fell to 1-7 all-time in Big Sky title games.
-- Nicholas K. Geranios
Lehigh beats American to take Patriot title
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — With an NCAA bid on the line, it didn’t take long for Lehigh to turn up the defensive pressure in the Patriot League tournament final.
The Mountain Hawks clamped down after a game-opening 3 by American’s Raven Harris at Stabler Arena, their home court where they hadn’t lost all season.
And Lehigh stayed perfect after a 58-42 victory Saturday night sent the school to the NCAAs for the second straight year.
"We knew they were going to come out firing shots. Once (Harris) hit the shot, it made a difference because we knew we had to play lockdown defense even more," said guard Tricia Smith, who wore a smile on her face and the celebratory basketball net around her neck after the game
Smith had seven points, 11 rebounds and helped hold Patriot League player of the year Michelle Kirk of American to eight points — nearly 10 below her season average, while Alex Ross scored a team-high 13 and knocked down some key open jumpers.
American couldn’t recover after missing its next 11 shots following Harris’ 3. Lehigh turned what started as a choppy matchup between the league’s two best defensive teams into a blowout after the Mountain Hawks (29-3) pulled away in the second half.
American coach Matt Corkery cited his team’s transition defense and problems with the ball as the big culprits. "You combine those things, and you get the first five minutes that we had," he said.
The Eagles (22-9) cut a 15-point deficit to eight with 14 minutes left in the second after two foul shots by Liz Leer.
Lehigh then had a 10-0 run highlighted by open 3s from Tricia Smith and Kristen Dalton to go up 44-26 with 12-plus minutes remaining.
With Kirk having an off night, no other Eagle stepped up to fill the scoring void. American didn’t have a player score in double figures.
"Normally we handle the pressure with ease. When one person can’t score, someone else is usually in double figures," Leer said. "Tonight that wasn’t the case. We just weren’t hitting open shots."
Lehigh led by 12 at the half, but nine early turnovers by the Mountain Hawks gave American faint hopes they could get back in the game.
Instead, the closing minutes turned into a mere formality at Stabler Arena, where the Mountain Hawks finished the season 16-0. With about two minutes left, the Lehigh bench emptied and the crowd started celebrating.
"Blood, sweat and tears every day in practice," Ross said. "We really want to protect our home court."
Lehigh coach Sue Troyan singled out Smith for her defensive effort on Kirk.
"She in many ways is our most valuable player because she’s one of those kids that does those little things to help you win, that you don’t see in the boxscore," Troyan said about Smith.
She has such a following in the stands, a student group outfitted in pink fatigues has nicknamed themselves "Tricia’s militia."
They were among the dozens of fans that flooded the court after the final buzzer sounded, hooting and hollering as the team received the championship trophy. The same scene played out Friday night, when the Lehigh men won their conference tournament for a trip to the NCAAs.
And just like Friday, when the women watched the men celebrate, the men’s team was there in the stands Saturday to offer support.
Not like the women’s team needed much help.
"We emphasized in practice that the game would be won on the defensive end," Troyan said. "I really think they took that to heart."
After Lehigh went up double digits early, American settled down midway through the first half, got their hands in the passing lanes and poked away entry passes into the paint.
Still, it wasn’t enough to overcome the early problems on offense. With Lehigh on spring break, the stands weren’t filled, though the fans roared with approval at the half with the Mountain Hawks up 32-20, just 20 minutes from another NCAA bid.
-- Genaro C. Armas
Hampton tops S.C. State 57-46, wins MEAC
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — From intramurals to the NCAA tournament, it’s been a wild year for Hampton’s self-proclaimed "unknown commodity."
Now David Six hopes he’s given the world of women’s basketball a good reason to learn who he and his Pirates are.
Hampton’s interim coach won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title in his first year, beating South Carolina State 57-46 on Saturday night behind 17 points and 16 rebounds from tournament MVP Melanie Warner.
Quanneisha Perry added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the second-seeded Pirates (20-11), who shot 40 percent and won their first NCAA tournament berth since they had three league titles from 2000-04.
Last year, they lost to North Carolina A&T in the title game. That was roughly a month before the school opted not to renew Walter Mebane’s contract after four seasons and Six, a title-winning coach in Hampton — Hampton High School, that is — went from directing the university’s department of intramurals to running its women’s basketball program.
"I’m an unknown commodity," Six said. "How often does a high school coach get an opportunity to move to a Division I head coach? You almost never hear of it."
So, is it time to get rid of that interim tag yet?
"Here’s my thing: I never introduced myself to my players as ‘Interim coach David Six,"’ he said. "I’m just Coach Six. Things will work themselves out. I enjoy the opportunity and time I’ve had with them, and we’re going to focus on next year. That’s about it."
Sophilla Hipps had 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting for the eighth-seeded Bulldogs (14-19). They were denied both their third straight upset at the tournament and their first league title in 17 years.
Bernadette Fortune had 12 points for Hampton, which had two players with double-doubles for the first time since 2006 and reached the NCAA tournament for the third time in school history and got rid of the sour taste that lingered from last year’s title-game loss.
"We came out, we told ourselves we wouldn’t let what happened last year happen this year," Warner said. "We didn’t want our freshmen to have to feel that."
The Pirates were in control throughout in this one, pushing their lead to 12 when Warner capped a 10-4 burst with a 3-pointer from the corner that made it 40-28 with 13 minutes left. The Bulldogs didn’t get closer than nine the rest of the way.
"We did some different kind of things" defending Warner and Perry, South Carolina State coach Doug Robertson said. "She’s just a physical basketball player and she caused us matchup issues just with her ability to rebound the basketball."
Hampton, which won both of its previous tournament games by at least 20 points apiece, led for all but roughly 2 minutes. Warner was especially strong in the first half, scoring 11 points before the break, and the Pirates pushed their lead into double figures on Perry’s layup that made it 25-15 with 3½ minutes before the break.
Tiara Knotts finished with 10 points and Paris Alston added 11 rebounds for South Carolina State, which was trying to accomplish the rare feat of winning four games at the tournament.
The Bulldogs knocked out ninth-seeded Coppin State before pulling a pair of upsets, stunning top-seeded North Carolina A&T and beating fourth-seeded Howard in the semifinals to reach the championship game for the first time since winning their second straight league title in 1993.
"I won’t attribute any of that to fatigue," Robertson said. "I think we put a little bit more pressure on ourselves than we needed to."
-- Joedy McCreary
San Diego State beats Utah in overtime 70-60
LAS VEGAS — This time, the San Diego State Aztecs won’t have to sweat it out Monday to see if they’re going to the women’s NCAA tournament.
Behind 22 points from Quenese Davis, the third-seeded Aztecs secured an automatic bid Saturday when they beat Utah 70-60 in overtime for the Mountain West Conference tournament title.
"It’s nice for the first time not to be up here crying because we lost," said Jene Morris, who scored six of her 21 points in the extra period.
San Diego State lost last year’s title game to Utah, 63-58, then received an NCAA bid. In 2008, they lost the championship to New Mexico and were denied a postseason berth.
Without having another nerve-racking wait, the Aztecs (21-10) will have to find something else to do with their time.
"Probably be sleeping," Morris said.
Teammate Paris Johnson, who had 10 points and seven rebounds while doing the dirty work inside, figures she’ll be in the trainer’s room when the field is announced.
"Probably getting some treatment," Johnson said. "Our bodies are beat. We played three games, tough games. For me personally, I’m in the paint all the time going up against strong bodies. I’m pretty beat. So I’ll probably be resting my body, get some ice baths, just relax."
The fourth-seeded Utes (22-11) led 55-50 with 5:29 left in regulation but they went the rest of regulation and all of overtime without another field goal.
"I wouldn’t say we did anything differently besides kept them off the (offensive) glass," Davis said. "Coach pointed out to us at the timeout if we keep them off the O-glass, we’ll be successful, and we were."
Those lack of second chances did in the Utes.
"They got rebounds at the wrong time," said Kalee Whipple, who scored 15 points for Utah. "They got their shots, and that led to us just kind of getting frustrated, I think, at times. We still fought hard. We just didn’t hit a shot."
Utah was ahead 56-50 when Iwalani Rodrigues missed a layup with 3:44 left and Davis scored on a fastbreak at the other end, a sequence that deflated the Utes.
"Yeah, that was the buster," Utah coach Elaine Elliott said. "Yeah, that was it, no doubt about it. Because not only did we miss that, then I think they got the long pass. They laid it up right after that themselves. So that was the one key problem that obviously kind of set the tone the rest of the way."
The Aztecs had a shot to win it in regulation but couldn’t get a good look at the basket after calling a timeout with 16 seconds left. Morris’ contested 3-pointer was off-target as the horn sounded.
They dominated overtime, however, with Utah’s only points coming on a pair of free throws by Janita Badon in the final minute.
Taryn Wicijowski’s 19 points led Utah, which fell behind by six in overtime before getting off a shot.
The top two seeds had byes through the semifinal round, but that’s where Utah dumped top-seeded TCU 69-57 and San Diego State routed second-seeded BYU 77-47 Friday night.
"We couldn’t be more excited and proud than to be able to cut down the nets as Mountain West Conference tournament champions," Aztecs coach Beth Burns said after scaling the ladder to put the last snips on the nylon. "We played at a very high level all week long.
"I’m thrilled with the outcome, but I’m not surprised at the outcome."
-- Arnie Stapleton
UC Riverside beats UC Davis for Big West title
ANAHEIM, Calif. — UC Riverside’s Amber Cox and Alyssa Morris proved to be too much for UC Davis to handle and the pair vaulted the Highlanders to the NCAA tournament.
Cox scored a career-high 27 points and Morris added 19 to lead UC Riverside to a 71-67 victory over UC Davis for the championship of the Big West Conference women’s basketball tournament Saturday.
Cox made all five of her 3-point shots and was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
"I definitely feel like I’m in a zone," Cox said. "Each shot that I put up counts. But it’s really about being ready whenever the ball does come to you."
The third-seeded Highlanders (17-15) have won 14 of their past 17 games after a rough start.
"It really came down to too much Amber Cox and too much Alyssa Morris," Davis coach Sandy Simpson said. "We were right into them (defensively) and they’re still knocking it down. They were just lights out."
Riverside coach John Margaritis said his team’s 3-12 start reflected numerous injuries.
"I was deciding what drills to run with six people," Margaritis said. "We were just not developing. But we got healthy and we went home for four games. We won those four and that gave us some momentum.
"Down the stretch, we had enough weapons and enough trust in each other to compete."
Heidi Heintz scored a career-best 22 points and made 12 of 14 free throws for the top-seeded Aggies (21-10), who would have qualified for their first NCAA tournament with a victory. Paige Mintun added 18 points.
Riverside held a 67-55 lead with 5:37 to play but Heintz scored six points during an 11-0 surge that narrowed Davis’ deficit to 67-66 with 1:38 remaining.
"We knew at that point just to take an aggressive mindset, and just attack them and attack the rim," Heintz said. "They were fouling us every time we drove."
Haylee Donaghe had a chance to put the Aggies ahead after making a steal but missed her layup and the Highlanders’ Brittany Waddell grabbed the rebound with 48 seconds left.
Riverside freshman Tre’shonti Nottingham made two free throws with 15 seconds left to create a 69-66 lead. Minton converted the first of two free throws with 4.5 seconds left but Nottingham responded with two free throws with 1.9 seconds to play.
"It was very overwhelming because I had never been in a position like that," Nottingham said. "I was more nervous than ever at that point. But after I hit the first one, I was fine."
In the second half, Riverside shot 68.4 percent from the field and 72.7 percent from 3-point range.
Southern’s defense carries it to NCAA tournament
BOSSIER CITY, La. — Southern wasn’t going to settle for another trip to the WNIT.
Ashley Augerson scored 19 points, Hannah Kador added 15, and Southern held Alabama State scoreless for 13 minutes in a 60-47 victory on Saturday night in the Southwest Athletic Conference championship.
"We are the champs, Bear (Hannah Kador) is the MVP and we’re taking this trophy back to Baton Rouge," Southern coach Sandy Pugh said. "Last year we sat here and said we would back. The difference this year is that we won."
The top-seeded Jaguars (23-8) won their sixth conference title and will make their fourth NCAA tournament appearance under coach Pugh.
"I don’t have a lot of emotion right now, but I am blessed," Kador said. "Last year we didn’t have the bodies to compete with Prairie View, but this year we did."
The seventh-seeded Lady Hornets (13-17), who upset the No. 2 and 3 seeds to get to just their third SWAC title game, lost their offensive rhythm near the end of the first half as the Jaguars’ defense took over.
Tanika Jackson scored 22 points to lead the Lady Hornets.
"Southern presents a lot of problems for us because they play four guards and our strength is in our bigs," Alabama State coach Freda Freeman-Jackson said.
Tanika Jackson was the only Lady Hornet to purge double digits with 22 points.
"Tanika is a great player and is going to have a big career. We have to face her another year," Pugh said.
The Jaguars used a 15-0 run over the last seven minutes of the first half to move from a tie to a 34-19 advantage at the break. Although the Lady Hornets had a couple of free throw opportunities, ASU scored just one field goal in the first 12 minutes of the second half.
By that time the Jaguars had a 47-26 lead and control of the game.
When Alabama State’s Jamie Chambers made a 3-pointer with just over seven minutes remaining in the half, it would be her team’s last basket until the 14-minute mark of the second half. The 13-minute drought eliminated the Lady Hornets from an NCAA tournament bid.
A basket by Erica Henderson ended the drought, but by then they trailed 39-25.
Alabama State shot just 27 percent for the game and committed four more turnovers than Southern. But the Lady Hornets did trim Southern’s 21-point second half lead to just 54-43 with three minutes remaining. But that’s as close as they could get.
Jackson tried to personally bring her team back over the last five minutes. The junior scored her team’s last 10 points either from the free throw line or on jumpers in the lane.
Elsewhere
Gray-Lawson leaves on stretcher after neck injury
LOS ANGELES — Cal leading scorer Alexis Gray-Lawson was taken to a hospital for precautionary tests after injuring her neck with five minutes left during Cal’s 64-44 loss to No. 2 Stanford in the Pac-10 Conference tournament semifinals on Saturday.
Gray-Lawson, landed backwards and hit her head on the court after her shot was blocked by Michelle Harrison. The senior and three-time first-team All-Pac 10 selection lay motionless on the court for about 15 minutes before being taken away. She injured her neck.
Cal coach Joanne Boyle said Gray-Lawson was alert before leaving for the hospital.
"They took her over to the hospital, more I think for precautionary reasons," Boyle said. "When we were out there, she was talking and moving. She was talking not a lot, but she made eye contact. Just her neck was sore."
Boyle visited Gray-Lawson right after the game and characterized her as being in good spirits, laughing and joking, and was holding normal conversation with her coach and family members.
She remained in the hospital as the Bears flew back to the Bay Area.
Gray-Lawson, who was averaging 17.9 points coming into the game for the Bears (18-13), was held to just four on 2-for-10 shooting.
