INDIANAPOLIS – Lauren Betts scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half Sunday and No. 4 UCLA allowed only four baskets over the final 12 minutes as they rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat No. 2 Southern California 72-67 in the Big Ten Tournament championship game.
It marked the first time the Bruins (30-2) beat their longtime cross-town rival in three games this season. USC won the previous meeting – and the outright regular-season title – nine days earlier at UCLA, and the Bruins made no secret they wanted a rematch.
They still needed an incredible defensive performance to turn the game. The Trojans missed 14 consecutive shots, starting late in the third quarter, and made only four baskets in the fourth as their 48-35 lead withered away.
JuJu Watkins finished with 29 points and six rebounds to lead USC (28-3), which had a nine-game winning streak snapped.
Kiki Rice and Londynn Jones each had 13 points for UCLA. Rice also had eight assists and Betts had five rebounds, four blocks and four steals to win the tourney’s most outstanding player award.
No. 5 SOUTH CAROLINA 64, No. 1 TEXAS 45: Chloe Kitts had 15 points and nine rebounds, Tessa Johnson added 14 points and the Gamecocks won their third straight Southeastern Conference Tournament championship and ninth title in the last 11 years under coach Dawn Staley.
South Carolina (30-3), which never trailed and staked a claim to the No. 1 overall seed, held All-American Madison Booker to 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting to snap Texas’ 15-game winning streak.
No. 11 DUKE 76, No. 7 NC STATE 62: In Greensboro, North Carolina, Oluchi Okananwa had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help the Blue Devils rally from a 14-point deficit for their first ACC title in a dozen years and their first under coach Kara Lawson.
Okananwa was voted the tournament’s MVP after coming off the bench to match her career high for scoring.
No. 8 TCU 64, No. 17 BAYLOR 59: In Kansas City, Missouri, tournament MVP Hailey Van Lith had 20 points, including a key bucket with 48.8 seconds left to give the Horned Frogs (31-3) a four-point lead and the program’s first Big 12 championship.
Men
No. 8 MICHIGAN STATE 79, No. 17 MICHIGAN 62: Tre Holloman scored a career-high 20 points, Jase Richardson had 18 points and the Spartans (26-5, 17-3 Big Ten) closed the regular season with seven straight wins, including five against AP Top 25 teams.
Michigan State won the Big Ten’s first basketball title with 18 teams by three games over the Wolverines and No. 13 Maryland. Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo has won 11 Big Ten titles, tying the record Purdue’s Ward “Piggy” Lambert set in 1990 and Indiana’s Bob Knight matched in 1993.
With 37.2 seconds left, the rivals pushed and shoved one another at center court, where the Wolverines players were standing near the spot where Spartans seniors have kissed the logo before walking off the court in their final home game at Breslin Center since 1995.
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