LAS VEGAS (AP) — Leilani McIntosh scored 19 points and eighth-seeded California beat ninth-seeded Washington State for the third time this season, posting a 65-44 victory on Wednesday in the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
Ioanna Krimili added 14 points and Ugonne Onyiah had 11 with nine rebounds for the Golden Bears (18-13). Marta Suarez grabbed 10 rebounds as Cal had a 48-35 rebounding advantage with 20 on the offensive end leading to a 26-8 difference in second-chance points.
Cal plays top-seeded and second-ranked Stanford in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Eleonora Villa scored 17 points for the defending tournament champion Cougars (18-14), who went 3-8 after Charlisse Leger-Walker, the tourney MVP, was lost for the season with a knee injury.
It was the worst offensive game for Washington State, which shot a season-worst 30.5% (18 of 59) in its lowest-scoring game of the season. WSU lost 73-72 in overtime at Cal and 66-59 at home.
The Golden Bears limited Washington State to 6-of-30 shooting (20%) in the first half to open a 30-14 lead. Krimili had seven points as Cal eased to a 16-10 lead after one quarter and then held the Cougars to 2-of-14 shooting in the second. WSU missed its last eight shots and Cal scored the last eight points.
The Bears shot 39% (13 of 33) in the first half, and the teams combined to go 1 of 16 from long range.
Cal was 7 of 17 behind the arc in the second half and led by as many as 23 in the third. Beyonce Bea closed the third quarter with a three-point play and Washington State had a 9-2 run to open the fourth quarter to get within 52-39 with six minutes to play but the Cougars shot 1 of 8 from there.
— In the tournament opener earlier on Wednesday, Frida Formann scored 17 points and 18th-ranked Colorado handed Oregon its worst loss of the season, 79-30.
Quay Miller scored the first four points of the game and the Buffaloes had the last 13 points of the first quarter for a 26-7 lead.
Colorado (22-8), the fifth seed, plays fourth-seeded and 13th-ranked Oregon State in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Tameiya Sadler had 11 points and Miller 10 for the Buffaloes, who shot 9 of 18 from 3-point range — with Formann going 5 for 6 — and shot 48% (33 of 69) overall. Colorado also had a 54-28 rebounding advantage.
The Ducks (11-21) shot just 19% (10 of 53), 1 of 13 from 3-point range, to run their school-record losing streak to 14. The skid is the longest for any member school since the conference expanded to 12 teams. They also fell to 0-14 against ranked teams.
Oregon made two shots in each of the first two quarters and three each in the last two. A 3-pointer with 1:50 left was the last Oregon basket of the game. Their previous lows were 30.4% shooting, 1 of 11 from 3-point range and 41 points. It was the lowest scoring game since the Ducks had 30 on Jan. 13, 1976.
Colorado coach by JR Payne, who was an assistant when Oregon coach Kelly Graves was at Gonzaga, has won five straight against the Ducks.
The Buffs led 38-11 at the half and 53-19 after three quarters.
