College Hoops

Pac-12 has mixed weekend in Women’s NCAA Tournament

Pac-12 has mixed weekend in Women’s NCAA Tournament

The Pac-12 didn’t endure a complete disaster on the first weekend of the Women’s NCAA Tournament, but it also didn’t get everything it wanted. The past four days could have been a lot better, but they certainly could have been worse.

The biggest highlight for the Pac-12 in the opening two rounds of the Women’s NCAA Tournament came on Monday night in Durham, N.C. Colorado, a No. 6 seed, upset third-seeded Duke on the Blue Devils’ home court to move to the Sweet 16, as noted by our friends at Buffaloes Wire.

Colorado led for nearly all of the first half but then got punched in the mouth at the start of the third quarter. Duke carved out a small lead and led in the final minute, but the Buffaloes rallied to force overtime and then dominated the extra period. That result gave the Pac-12 its third Sweet 16 team and enabled the conference to feel the weekend wasn’t a lost one.

The SEC (4) and ACC (4) are the only conferences with more Sweet 16 teams than the Pac-12. The weekend was not a wipeout.

It also wasn’t a clear-cut success.

Stanford, a No. 1 seed, crashed out in the second round against Ole Miss. The Cardinal trailed nearly the whole game against the Rebels and their elite defense. Stanford rallied to tie at 49 and had the ball with 28 seconds left. Then the Trees coughed up three straight turnovers leading to five Ole Miss free throws. Stanford’s point guard play and overall ballhandling were weak points throughout the season. Ole Miss exposed those weaknesses and dealt Tara VanDerveer a brutal loss.

The Pac-12’s other Sweet 16 teams — in addition to Colorado — are Utah and UCLA. Utah led Princeton by only two points midway through the fourth quarter, but the Utes steadied themselves down the stretch and fended off an upset bid. They face LSU next.

UCLA handled Oklahoma to make its way to the Sweet 16, but the Bruins’ run figures to end in the next round. They face No. 1 South Carolina, an unbeaten juggernaut seeking back-to-back national championships.

Arizona was the other Pac-12 team to reach the second round. The Wildcats outscored No. 2 seed Maryland 19-4 late in the first half to take the lead over the Terrapins, but Maryland dominated the second half to knock out Adia Barnes’ team.

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