Elsa Lemmila posted a double-double and Jaloni Cambridge capped her 17-point effort with a win-sealing layup in No. 11 Ohio State’s 60-55 quarterfinal defeat of No. 19 Minnesota at the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.
Lemmila had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Cambridge’s clutch bucket with 16 seconds left punctuated a strong all-around game with six assists, five rebounds and three steals. Chance Gray added 13 points in the victory.
The fourth-seeded Buckeyes (26-6) forced 21 turnovers to overcome a 44-27 deficit on the glass, which included Sophie Hart’s 19 rebounds to lead the fifth-seeded Gophers (22-8). Hart added 12 points and Grace Grocholski tallied a game-high 18 points.
Grocholski also dished four assists, including setting up Mara Braun on a 3-pointer that pulled Minnesota to within 58-55 with 1:32 remaining. Grocholski had a look at a potential game-tying triple with 43 seconds to go, but could not convert.
The win sends Ohio State into Saturday’s semifinals to meet No. 1 seed UCLA.
No. 2 UCLA 78, Washington 60
Lauren Betts finished with 26 points and eight rebounds and the top-seeded Bruins rode a late run to overwhelm the eighth-seeded Huskies in Friday’s first quarterfinal.
UCLA (29-1) clung to a one-point lead with 2:33 remaining in the third quarter before going on a 7-0 tear to close the period. The All-American Betts then went to work, scoring six points in a 13-3 run spanning almost four minutes of the fourth quarter.
The two spurts created breathing room after Washington (21-10) put a scare into the Bruins for three quarters-and-change. The Huskies built a 10-point lead in the first half behind hot starts from Avery Howell, who scored a team-high 18 points, and Sayvia Sellers.
Sellers scored half of her 10 points early in the second period as Washington extended its advantage to 22-12. UCLA responded when Kiki Rice ripped off seven of her 18 points to fuel a 15-0 Bruins run, giving them a lead they held the rest of the way.
–Field Level Media
