Oregon State
Arizona (Pac-10 Tourney)
Beavers Fall In First Round Of Pac-10 Tournament
March 08, 2003 | Women's Basketball
March 8, 2003
By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Sports Writer
SAN JOSE, Calif.- Krista Warren scored 20 points and conference freshman of the year Shawntinice Polk added 15 points and 13 rebounds as No. 22 Arizona defeated Oregon State 70-56 in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament Saturday.
Jessica Jones and Michelle Smith had 12 points each for sixth-seeded Oregon State.
Polk, a 6-foot-5 center, also had four steals, three assists and a blocked shot for the No. 3 seed Wildcats, who shot 44 percent after making 52 percent of their shots in the first half. Arizona led the Pac-10 in field-goal percentage this season at 48.1.
The Wildcats (21-7) have won five straight games, and their victory Saturday sets up a meeting with No. 25 Washington on Sunday in the semifinals. The Wildcats beat the Huskies 79-66 on Feb. 6, but lost 60-59 in Seattle on Jan. 11.
Arizona tied for second in the Pac-10 with Washington, but the Huskies edged the Wildcats for the tournament's No. 2 seed in a tiebreaker. Since they split the season series, the tiebreaker went to conference record and they had identical records against all the other teams. The next tiebreaker is overall Division I winning percentage, which gave the advantage to Washington (21-6, .778) over Arizona (20-7, .741).
Oregon State (14-14) pulled to 49-41 on a layin by Kristina Rukstelyte with 10:13 remaining, but Arizona's defense held the Beavers without another field goal for nearly five minutes.
The Wildcats also took care of the ball down the stretch, controlling many of the loose balls and patiently moving the ball around to get open shots. They pulled down several offensive rebounds in the final minutes that allowed them to take time off the clock.
Both teams shot over 52 percent in the first half, but Arizona was 7-for-11 from free-throw line while Oregon State was just 3-for-5.
The first time these teams played this season, Oregon State trailed by 38 points with eight minutes left in the game and lost 72-44. The Beavers took the second meeting 71-65 in overtime Jan. 30, and had won four of the last five meetings.
The Beavers led 10-5 before Arizona went on a 12-2 run to go ahead 17-12. The Wildcats broke a 21-all tie and scored eight straight points on the way to a 36-26 halftime lead.
