Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Gonzaga men and women headed to Sweet 16

Oregon-Gonzaga women

Timothy Gonzalez / AP

Oregon State’s Sydney Wiese, center, tries to split Gonzaga’s Georgia Stirton, left, and Shelby Cheslek during the first half of a college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Corvallis, Ore., on Sunday, March 22, 2015.

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Eleven must be Gonzaga's lucky number.

The No. 11 seed Bulldogs, paced by Emma Wolfram with a career-high 17 points, held off a furious late rally by the Oregon State Beavers on their home court for a 76-64 victory on Sunday.

Gonzaga (26-7) advances to the Sweet Sixteen, heading home to Spokane to face the winner of Monday's game in Knoxville between Tennessee (28-5) and Pittsburgh (20-11). The Bulldogs were also the No. 11 seed in 2011, and also playing in the Spokane Regional, when they made a stunning run to the regional finals before losing to top seed Stanford.

The Beavers (27-5) have never made it to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament's current format. In 1983, the Beavers beat UCLA to advance to the second round when the field was 32 teams.

Gonzaga led by as many as 12 points midway through the second half, but Oregon State tied the game at 64 on Jamie Weisner's 3-pointer with 3:30 to go.

That would be the last points the Beavers would score as Gonzaga had the game's final 12 points.

Sunny Greinacher's layup put the Zags back in front before Keani Albanez's layup just beat the shot to make it 68-64 with 1:26 left and time ran out for the Beavers.

Weisner had 24 points for Oregon State, which won it's first-ever Pac-12 regular-season title this season. The team's wins are the most-ever for the women in school history.

But the Beavers had struggled at time heading into the NCAAs. A loss to Stanford in the final week of the regular season spoiled Oregon State's perfect record at home, and then the team fell to Colorado in is Pac-12 tournament opener against Colorado.

Last year Oregon State returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 18 seasons. After opening with a victory against Middle Tennessee, the beavers fell to South Carolina in the second round.

The Zags, the West Coast Conference champions who won an at-large bid, are playing in their seventh-straight NCAA Tournament.

The Beavers jumped out to a 9-2 lead, following a pair of baskets from Ruth Hamblin, named the Pac-12 player of the year. Gonzaga narrowed it to 12-11 on Greinacher's jumper, then pulled in front on Georgia Stirton's basket.

Albanez's steal and jumper put the Bulldogs up 17-14, but Weisner answered with her own 3 on the other end.

The Zags, shooting 73 percent through the first 10 minutes and making 13 straight shots after starting 1-of-5, pulled in front 31-25. Hamblin's layup pulled Oregon State within 33-32.

The Bulldogs finished up the half going 2-for-11 and held a 37-34 lead at the break.

Ali Gibson's 3-pointer tied it for Oregon State to open the second half but Gonzaga took control from there, going up 47-38 on consecutive layups from Elle Tinkle.

The Bulldogs stretched the lead to 53-43 on Greinacher's jumper with just under 12 minutes to go.

TIP-INS

Gonzaga: Elle Tinkle's dad is Wayne Tinkle, who is head coach of the Oregon State men's team. Tinkle, naturally, threw his allegiance behind his daughter for the game, sitting in behind the Zags' bench.

Oregon State: Weisner played on the same AAU team as Elle Tinkle when the two were kids. ... The two teams met previously in the 2004 WNIT, where the Beavers won 69-64 in Corvallis.

UP NEXT

Gonzaga heads home to Spokane to face the winner of Monday's game in Knoxville between Tennessee (28-5) and Pittsburgh (20-11).

Oregon State's season ends.

•••

SEATTLE — Kyle Wiltjer and Kevin Pangos met at halfcourt for a hug and a high five. Gone are the questions about Gonzaga's five-year run of failing to advance from the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Click to enlarge photo

Gonzaga's Kevin Pangos, right, drives against Iowa's Mike Gesell during the first half of an NCAA tournament college basketball game in the Round of 32 in Seattle on Sunday, March 22, 2015.

The Bulldogs are back in the Sweet 16.

Wiltjer scored 13 of his 24 points during Gonzaga's flawless first half, Domantas Sabonis added 18 points and the second-seeded Bulldogs advanced to the round of 16 for the first time since 2009 with a 87-68 win over No. 7 seed Iowa in a South Region matchup on Sunday.

After five straight departures on the first weekend, the Bulldogs (34-2) are back in the regional semifinals, thanks to an efficient offensive performance in the first 20 minutes that Iowa could never overcome.

Wiltjer made his first six shots before finally missing a 3-point attempt midway through the second half. Sabonis added eight in the first half, including a thundering left-handed dunk that was followed by a scream that had KeyArena roaring just like Gonzaga's home gym.

Jared Uthoff led Iowa (22-12) with 20 and Aaron White added 19.

Gonzaga will make just its third appearance on the second weekend of the tournament since 2001. After looking less than impressive in an opening victory over 15th-seeded North Dakota State, the Bulldogs dominated Iowa from the start.

Wiltjer was nearly perfect. He made 10 of 12 shots and 4 of 6 3-pointers. His 24 points came in just 25 minutes as he was slowed by early foul trouble. Pangos added 16 points and four 3-pointers, while Gary Bell Jr. scored 10.

The Bulldogs were almost flawless offensively for the first 20 minutes. They passed with precision, scored quickly with opportunities developed and were deadly from behind the 3-pointer line. Wiltjer hit a trio of 3-pointers, including a 24-foot swish that gave Gonzaga a 34-19 lead and capped a 16-4 run. But Pangos and Bell — Gonzaga's defensive stopper — both added a pair of 3s to complement what was working on the interior.

Przemek Karnowski scored nine points and had four assists, all in the first half, and Sabonis' 18 points off the bench were his most since Jan. 15 at Pepperdine.

Meanwhile, Iowa's stars struggled early. Uthoff and White both had six points in the first half but had to work. Gonzaga gave up size for athleticism, going with Byron Wesley guarding White and Bell marking Uthoff.

Iowa started the second half with eight of the first 10 points and Uthoff knocking down three jumpers to get within 11. The Hawkeyes had a chance to cut the deficit under 10, but a turnover by Mike Gesell led to Pangos' third 3-pointer and the Bulldogs lead was back to 14.

Iowa trimmed the lead to 11 on multiple occasions but could never get the deficit to single digits. Gonzaga finally pulled away for good with a seven-point flurry, capped by Pangos' corner 3-pointer with 6:35 left for a 69-49 lead.

Iowa was trying to reach the round of 16 for the first time since 1999.

TIP INS

Iowa: The combination of Olaseni and Adam Woodbury, Iowa's two big bodies in the middle, couldn't match Gonzaga's interior game. Olaseni and Woodbury combined for 6 points and 5 rebounds and both fouled out.

Gonzaga: The Bulldogs hit 12 of 16 shots to start the game and shot 62 percent in the first half. Gonzaga was the best shooting team in the country at 52 percent. ... Gonzaga outscored Iowa 40-32 in the paint.

UP NEXT

Iowa: Season over.

Gonzaga: The Bulldogs will face UCLA in the Sweet 16 on Friday in Houston.

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