Tag: NCAAWBB

March Madness NCAA Womens Tournament: Bruins and Blue Devils advanced to the Elite 8, Friday Evening in the California State Capital City

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UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts (51) blocks Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Amaya Battle (3) in the first half of the women’s Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament at Golden 1 Arena in Sacramento on Fri Mar 27, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Michael Roberson

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Both the University of California – Los Angeles (34-1) and the Duke Blue Devils (27-8) won their respective Sweet 16 games in the Western Regional #2 in Northern California.

UCLA took care of their half of the doubleheader by dominating their Big Ten foe, the Minnesota Golden Gophers by 24 points, 80-56 at Golden 1 Center. The #1 Bruins led from wire to wire and ended the game with their largest lead of the contest.

They shot 53% from the floor , while holding the rodents from the Land of 10,000 Lakes to a lowly 38%. Despite being outscored by Minnesota in the second quarter, UCLA was never in danger or losing the lead of game.

The Bruins presented four players with double-digits scoring. Senior guard Kiki Rice led her squad with 21 points. Senior center Loren Betts gave the Bruins 16 points and five rebounds, while senior guard Angela Dugalic had a double-double (13 points and 10 rebounds) and senior guard Gabriela Jaquez contributed 10 points and five rebounds.

The golden Gophers had two players reach the 10+ plateau. Grace Grocholski scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds. Sophie Hart tallied 11 points.

The Bruins will take on the Duke Blue Devils in Elite action Sunday, March 29 at Noon PT & # PM ET.

Th Duke Blue Devils garnered a buzzer-beating three pointer, ended the LSU Tigers tournament hopes. The two combatants had a very competitive battle that came down to the last seconds of the game.

LSU started the game with two made free throws. That was their only lead in the first half. Duke followed those two FTs with a 9-0 run. They led by five after one and by seven at recess.

LSU made a serious push in the second half, and actually took the lead for the first time, since the beginning of the game. The third quarter had five ties and seven lead changes. However, Duke did survive the onslaught at the 3/4 mark of the NCAA battle, and led by two, 67-65.

The Final stanza added two more ties and one lead change. Both teams had large runs in the fourth quarter. Duke ran off an 11-0 run, but LSU pulled off a 10-0 one themselves. Then the dramatic final seconds came into play.

Duke seemingly had the game in control with approximately 20 seconds left on the clock, with a 1-point lead, and two free throws to be shot. Duke senior guard Ashlon Jackson unexpectedly missed both free throws, and gave LSU another chance to win.

LSU junior guard Mikayla Williams drew a foul on the other end with a little more than 9 seconds left in regulation. She promptly converted both gifts from the Charity Stripe, and put her Tigers up by one, 85-84.

Jackson had less than 10 seconds to redeem herself, or someone bail her out of “goat-dom.” Jackson not only made up for her errors, but pulled off a historic NCAA miracle. She pulled and hit a dagger three pointer at the buzzer to advance to the next round. The crowd was ecstatic with the finish, at least most of them. Duke was the victor, 87-85 over LSU.

Jackson finished with 19 points and 5 assists, while two teammates, Toby Fournier (9 rebounds) and Taina Mair (5 rebounds) scored 22 points.

LSU was led by junior guard MiLaysia Fulwiley’s 28 points, while fellow junior guard Mikaylah Williams scored 22 points and senior guard and rapper, Flau’jae Johnson chipped in 13 points for the Tigers.

UCLA and Duke are set to fight for a Final Four bid in Phoenix.

Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in. 

Experience Goes A Long Way: Cal’s Women Open With Impressive 90-58 Win Over Short-Handed St. Mary’s

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Lost among the excitement of Cal’s decisive 90-58 opening night win and their prospects for a competitive debut season in the ACC was former Cal assistant Jeff Cammon trying to get his Gaels’ back to Moraga with their confidence intact.

Last season, Cammon had a lot more experience on the team bus, and St. Mary’s nagged Cal in a 74-69 loss in which they came dangerously close to the home team after trailing by 15 with just seven minutes remaining.

On Monday, with two freshman guards playing extensively, without marquee offensive leader Zeryhia Aokuso and his entire team flubbing on an intricate, defensive game plan, Cammon watched the evening unravel in a 2nd quarter that saw the Bears outscore his group 22-6 and lead 42-21 before the break.

“It’s super challenging,” Cammon said. “You’re dealing with young ladies who have almost zero experience at the Division 1 level, not to mention we haven’t been together too long. We went to Italy but this is a whole different deal.”

Meanwhile, Charmin Smith’s Bears were unyielding, relying on their size, talent, and experience to wear down St. Mary’s from the early minutes to the final horn. Sophomore Lulu Twidale led Cal with 24 points, Marta Suarez added 17, and the graduate core of Ioanna Krimili (124 games at the D1 level), Kayla Williams (112 games) and Michelle Onyiah (105 games) combined for 34.

Cammon said Onyiah might have presented the biggest challenge with her quick, rehearsed post moves and 6’3″ grown woman confidence.

“Michelle is such a challenge for us. She’s so big and athletic for us,” Cammon said. “It puts a little pressure on us. Do we sink down and try to help or leave her to go one-on-one against our bigs?”

Smith wanted improvement, and she has it, declaring that this is her most impressive roster in six seasons as head coach. Last year, Smith and the Bears experienced a breakthrough with 19 wins and a WNIT Tournament postseason berth. With the additions of impact transfer portal additions, Williams, Jayda Noble, and Natalia Ackerman, Cal could surprise in the coast-to-coast ACC.

Williams ran the offense seamlessly in place of departed point guard Leilani McIntosh, and Krimili selflessly assisted Williams as Cal complied 17 assists on 28 made baskets. Inside the paint, Cal had their way with 18 more free throw attempts than the Gaels. Outside, they made 14 threes on 30 attempts.

Cal’s 22nd-ranked recruiting class showed nerves as the quintet of rookies combined to shoot 1 of 8 from the floor.   Kamryn Mafua, the highest ranked Cal freshman according to recruiting services, buried a wide-open three with 1:09 remaining to give Cal its biggest lead of 34 points.

The Bears have a Thursday matinee affair at 11:00 a.m. against Idaho State at Haas Pavilion before traveling to San Jose State on Saturday.

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NCAA Tournament/Stanford Cardinal podcast with Michael Roberson: Cardinal open tournament against Norfolk State Friday at Maples Pavilion

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Stanford Cardinal Women tip off against the Norfolk State Spartans for the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Fri Mar 23, 2024 (photo by Erin Chang isiphotos.com)

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Michael Roberson:

#1 The No.2 Stanford Cardinal (28-6) Women open the NCAA Tournament first round against the No.15 Norfolk State Spartans (27-5) at Maple Pavilion in Palo Alto. Talk about some of the expectations that Stanford has going into the NCAA Tournament.

#2 Michael, lets talk about the Cardinal’s last game they battled a very tough road tested USC Trojans (27-5) losing Sun Mar 10th in Las Vegas at the Pac 12 Tournament 61-74.

#3 It was a full on effort by Stanford forward Cameron Brink who scored 19 points but found herself getting double teamed and the Trojans set up some good defenses against the Cardinal.

#4 That last Stanford game had some historical significance it was the final Pac 12 game for the Stanford Women and for head coach Tara VanDerveer she will miss the Pac 12 format but is ready for the next chapter in Stanford basketball in the ACC.

#5 Stanford gets set this Friday for a 7:00pm PDT tip with the Norfolk State Spartans. The Spartans are hot they’ve won 15 straight games going into the NCAA Tournament. They’re ranked 15th. The Cardinal are No.2 and have the home floor advantage. Do you see the Cardinal having their hands full or will they have a chance to control the Spartans in this first round game?

Join Michael Roberson for the Stanford Cardinal Women podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com