Latest news with #Spokane4Region
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Nashville's Felicia Grinter an official in NCAA Women's Final Four of March Madness for ninth time
For the ninth time in her career Felicia Grinter, a 1987 Glencliff graduate, was selected to officiate the NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four this weekend in Amalie Arena, in Tampa, Florida. Grinter is among 11 officials selected to work the Final Four joining Kyle Bacon, Tiffany Bird-Nelson, Fatou Cissoko-Stephens, Gina Cross, Maj Forsberg, Brian Hall, Brenda Pantoja, In'Fini Robinson, William Smith and Joe Vaszily. 'The officials chosen for the Final Four have exemplified excellence and consistency throughout both the regular season and the tournament,' said national coordinator of women's basketball officiating Penny Davis. 'Their dedication, precision and ability to perform under intense pressure earned them nominations from their conferences, my recommendation, and approval by the basketball committee." A three-person crew will work each Final Four game, while two officials will serve as the standby officials for all three contests. Friday's first semifinal features two No. 1 seeds in South Carolina and Texas at 6 p.m. CT. The second semifinal game, which is scheduled for 8:30 p.m., features No. 1 overall seed UCLA against the Spokane 4 Region champion and No. 2 seed Connecticut. The championship game is Sunday at 2 p.m. Grinter also officiates the WNBA and officiated the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She was a 2018 inductee to the Metro Nashville Public Schools Sports Hall of Fame. Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Final Four: Nashville's Felicia Grinter an official for ninth time
Washington Post
01-04-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Paige Bueckers puts away USC, leads U-Conn. women back to Final Four
SPOKANE, Wash. — Connecticut freshman forward Sarah Strong had no intention of letting the Huskies' latest showdown with the USC Trojans be decided at the free throw line in the closing seconds. Back in December, Strong missed two free throws and a deep heave in the final five seconds of a two-point loss to USC, one of just three defeats U-Conn. suffered all season. When the two powerhouses met again in the Spokane 4 Region final Monday, Strong started hot and stayed hot, scoring 10 of her 22 points in the first quarter of a 77-64 victory. U-Conn. star guard Paige Bueckers brought home the win from there, delivering another brilliant second-half flourish to finish with a game-high 31 points to go with six assists, three rebounds, four steals and two blocks. No. 2 seed U-Conn. advanced to the Final Four for the 16th time in the past 17 NCAA women's basketball tournaments, joining No. 1 seeds UCLA, South Carolina and Texas in Tampa. Bueckers, a redshirt senior who scored a career-high 40 points in a Sweet 16 win over Oklahoma, earned the region's most outstanding player honors en route to her fourth Final Four. When the March Madness brackets were released this month, it seemed as if the No. 1 Trojans, led by JuJu Watkins, and the No. 2 Huskies, led by Bueckers, were on a collision course for the Elite Eight. But with Watkins sidelined by a season-ending knee injury and Bueckers content to wait until the second half to search for her own offense, it was Strong who set the tone early and positioned U-Conn. for its fourth straight double-digit victory of the tournament. The 19-year-old Strong, who was the top-ranked prospect in the high school class of 2024, is a deft outside shooter, a skilled scorer and a willing passer blessed with good size at 6-foot-2 and an excellent motor. Strong opened the scoring for U-Conn. with a three-pointer from the corner, and she unleashed a pretty spin move for a layup in traffic early in the second quarter to help the Huskies find their rhythm during a turnover-filled first half. U-Conn. rode an 11-2 closing run to take a 39-25 halftime lead as Strong fed Bueckers for a pair of three-pointers to close out the second quarter. There was no mercy after the break: Strong, who shot 8 for 13 from the field and grabbed 17 rebounds, hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc to open the third quarter, and USC never got closer than five points despite a strong push late in the third quarter. Bueckers, 23, made sure of it. The all-American guard drew loud cheers when she swatted a three-point attempt by Talia von Oelhoffen late in the third quarter, and she found guard Azzi Fudd for a three-pointer to start the fourth. With USC on the ropes, Bueckers hit back-to-back jumpers to put U-Conn. back up by double digits, found Fudd for another three-pointer, hit another pull-up jumper and then, after falling to her knees, threaded a pass to a cutting Fudd for a layup in traffic. The undermanned Trojans couldn't mount another response because they lacked enough sources of quality offense without Watkins, their leading scorer and top playmaker. USC senior forward Rayan Marshall posted a team-high 23 points to go with 15 rebounds, but the Trojans shot just 3 for 13 on three-pointers and finished with their second-lowest scoring total of the season. The defeat ended a valiant and emotional run from USC, which closed out Mississippi State following Watkins's injury in the round of 32 and held off No. 5 seed Kansas State in the Sweet 16. The Trojans will head into an uncertain offseason: Standout forward Kiki Iriafen will be headed to the WNBA Draft, and Watkins will miss a significant portion of the 2025-26 season at minimum. However, USC boasts several talented underclassmen, including Kennedy Smith, Avery Howell and Kayleigh Heckel, to bridge the gap until Watkins's return. U-Conn (35-3), meanwhile, will face the UCLA Bruins (34-2), the tournament's overall top seed, in a national semifinal Friday. The Huskies are seeking Coach Geno Auriemma's 12th national championship and the program's first since 2016. U-Conn. was eliminated in last year's Final Four by Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Miami Herald
23-03-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Women's NCAA Spokane roundup: Kansas State outlasts Kentucky in overtime
Temira Poindexter hit her eighth 3-pointer of the game with 1:09 left in overtime Sunday and fifth-seeded Kansas State pulled off a mild upset, 80-79, of No. 4 Kentucky on its home floor in Lexington in a matchup of Wildcats in the Spokane 4 Region. Kentucky (23-8) had several chances to win on its last possession, the last coming when Georgia Amoore tried a short baseline floater after an inbounds pass with 3.2 seconds left. The ball rolled around the rim and fell out as time expired. Poindexter scored a game-high 24 points for Kansas State (28-7), which canned 14 of 35 3-pointers. Serena Sundell added 19 points and 14 assists, while Ayoka Lee tallied 16 points and reserve Kennedy Taylor netted 11. Clara Strack led Kentucky with 22 points, while Amoore added 18 points and six assists. Dazia Lawrence contributed 15 points, while Teonni Key chipped in 13 points and 15 rebounds. Kansas State forced overtime when Serena Sundell canned a jumper with 8.1 seconds left in regulation. It will play either USC or Mississippi State in a regional semifinal. No. 5 Ole Miss 69, No. 4 Baylor 63 Madison Scott buried a pullup jumper with 40.4 seconds left Sunday to snap a tie and the 5th-seeded Rebels ended the game with an 8-2 run to eliminate the 4th-seeded Bears on their home floor in Waco, Texas. The Rebels sealed the outcome by canning six straight free throws in the last 29.9 seconds, improving to 22-10 and earning just their third berth in a regional semifinal since 1993. They will match up with either UCLA or Richmond in the next round of the Spokane 1 Region. Sira Thienou scored 16 points for Ole Miss, while Scott added 14 and Kirsten Deans hit for 13 points. The Rebels made only 25 of 67 field goal attempts but went 17 of 21 at the foul line, grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and forced 21 turnovers. Four players scored in double figures for the Bears (28-8), led by Antoinette Vonleh with 16 points. Jada Walker added 15, while Sarah Andrews chipped in 14 points and six assists. Darianna Littlepage-Buggs came off the bench to net 10 points. --Field Level Media Field Level Media 2023 - All Rights Reserved
