Men

Saint Mary's 60, No. 1 Gonzaga 47

Saint Mary's heard for weeks about the NCAA Tournament bubble. First four in, first four out, fortunate to be in the discussion to be included in the field of 68.

Tired of all the chatter, the Gaels put an emphatic end to it, popping the bubble by taking down a team no one outside their program thought they could beat.

Saint Mary's ended the nation's longest winning streak and Gonzaga's six-year reign as West Coast Conference Tournament champions, grinding out a victory in the title game on Tuesday night.

"We were told to pull off a miracle by people who don't know us," said Saint Mary's guard Jordan Hunter, who had 12 points and 15 rebounds. "We didn't need a miracle. We knew we could beat them."

Saint Mary's (22-11) all but shut down the nation's highest-scoring team by slowing the game and forcing Gonzaga to grind out possessions instead of playing fast and free.

The Gaels held Gonzaga's leading scorer Rui Hachimura in check and limited the Zags (30-3) to 2-of-17 shooting from 3-point range to end the nation's longest winning streak at 21 games.

Gonzaga's 18-game WCC tournament winning streak, dating to the 2012 title game, also came to an end, and so too could its bid for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Instead of waiting for Selection Sunday, Saint Mary's left no doubt, getting back to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year absence with its first WCC title in nine years.

Jordan Ford had 17 points and Tanner Krebs scored 13 for the Gaels.

"The way we did it, from where we were at the beginning of the year until now, I get a lot of satisfaction out of that," Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett said.

Gonzaga steamrolled its way to the regular-season title and through the WCC semifinals by getting out in transition, knocking down open shots.

The Zags did neither against Saint Mary's, held to a season-low in points and 37-percent shooting. Gonzaga had six assists after finishing with 26 in the WCC semifinals against Pepperdine.

Brandon Clarke led Gonzaga with 16 points and Hachimura was held to nine, nearly 12 under his average.

"It was our worst offensive game of the year and give them credit for that," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.

Gonzaga dominated the WCC during the regular season, finishing 16-0 while winning by a conference-record 27 points per game.

Two of those wins came against Saint Mary's: 66-55 in Moraga and 94-46 in Spokane.

The Bulldogs cruised into their 20th straight title game under Few — and 22nd overall — by crushing Pepperdine 100-74 in Monday's semifinals.

Saint Mary's controlled the pace in round three against Gonzaga, bogging down the Zags' offense and forcing them into difficult shots. Gonzaga struggled to get anything to fall, open or not, scoring a season-low 24 points by halftime and missing six of its seven 3-point attempts.

"Gonzaga likes to get out and run, they feed off energy," Ford said. "It was kind of like a home game for them and we had to slow the tempo."

The Zags also had a hard time containing Krebs. The junior, who averages 8.9 points per game, had 13 by halftime to push the Gaels to a 27-24 lead. Saint Mary's did it with second-leading scorer Malik Fitts limited to less than a minute because of foul trouble.

Saint Mary's continued to bog down Gonzaga and Fitts scored eight quick points to open the second half. The Gaels extended the lead to 48-41 with 7½ minutes left and answered every time Gonzaga tried to make a run.

"They were mucking it up a little bit, getting into lanes and we just didn't make shots," said Gonzaga guard Josh Perkins, who had 10 points, four assists and five turnovers.

Saint Mary's played arguably its best game of the season at the best possible time. Now it's on to the NCAA Tournament.

Gonzaga was never able to speed the Gaels up and rev up their high-scoring offense, showing a weakness that could be exploited.

Few teams have been able to slow Hachimura this season. The versatile 6-foot-8 Japanese forward entered the WCC title game averaging 20.1 points and is a top All-America contender.

Saint Mary's never allowed Hachimura to get into a flow, banging him around and bringing help defense anytime he made a move. Hachimura attempted just six shots and made three while going 3 for 6 on free throws.

Colonial Athletic Association

Northeastern 82, Hofstra 74

Vasa Pusica had 21 points, all on 3-pointers, and Northeastern regrouped after blowing a double-digit lead to defeat top-seeded Hofstra and win the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament.

The second-seeded Huskies (23-10) won the league's automatic NCAA Tournament berth for the second time in five seasons — and perhaps exorcised a bad memory from last year's finals.

Then, Northeastern held a 17-point second half lead over College of Charleston in the finals but wound up losing in overtime. It appeared the same thing might happen this year, too. Hofstra used a 28-12 run over the first 10 minutes after halftime to erase a 16-point deficit and tie the game 54-all.

That's when the senior Pusica took charge. His fourth 3-pointer put the Huskies back in front. Pusica added another long-range basket three minutes later for a 66-58 lead. By the time he made his sixth 3, Northeastern led 71-60.

The Pride (26-8) could not recover despite 29 points from the nation's second-leading scorer, Justin Wright-Foreman.

Northeastern is headed to its ninth NCAA Tournament while Hofstra, as the CAA regular-season champions, has a guaranteed spot in the NIT. The Pride were seeking their first NCAA berth since 2001 when Villanova coach Jay Wright was leading Hofstra's program.

Bolden Brace had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Northeastern, which finished with five players scoring in double figures.

Hofstra came in on a roll with four straight wins and with the CAA's top scorer in Wright-Foreman shooting the lights out. Wright-Foreman set a league tournament record with 42 points in a semifinal overtime win against Delaware on Monday night. But Wright-Foreman and his teammates were mostly cold in the opening half as the Pride fell behind by double-digits 13 minutes in as Huskies pushed the pace for a 19-7 run.

Northeastern hit five 3-pointers in the stretch with Pusica's two in a row from long range getting the run going. By the time Jordan Roland hit a wide-open look from left side of the basket, the Huskies were ahead 23-12 and appeared to be cruising.

Hofstra, the CAA's top scoring and best shooting team this season, shot just 28 percent (9 of 32) in the first period. Wright-Foreman went 3 of 12 overall before the half and made just two of seven attempts from behind the arc.

Jacquil Taylor had a game-high 15 rebounds for Hofstra.

Horizon League

Northern Kentucky 77, Wright State 66

Dantez Walton had 15 points and 14 rebounds for his first double-double, leading second-seeded Northern Kentucky to a win over top-seeded Wright State in the tournament final and into the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years.

The Norse (26-8) had control of the entire game with four starters and a reserve scoring in double figures. Jalen Tate scored 17 points, Zaynah Robinson had 15 points off the bench, Horizon League player of the year and tournament MVP Drew McDonald had 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Tyler Sharpe added 11 points.

The Raiders (21-13) struggled to score, making it difficult to come back in a game they trailed for nearly 39 minutes.

All-Horizon League player Loudon Love was 2 of 13 and scored nine points, reserve Bill Wampler had 16 points and Mark Hughes and Cole Gentry each scored 15 points for Wright State, which shot 37.5 percent.

The Raiders scored first and didn't lead again in a matchup of teams that shared the regular-season title after each team won by four points on its home court.

Early on, it didn't look like the series-breaker was going to be closely contested.

The Norse led by 18 points with 5:02 left in the first half, and Gentry made a 3-pointer from about 30 feet to cut the Raiders' deficit to 44-34 at halftime. Northern Kentucky went on an 11-3 run midway through the second half to lead by 19 points and coasted to victory.

Northern Kentucky’s balanced scoring and ball movement led to eight players making assists and six players making shots in the first half. The team is sound defensively, too, and may be able to compete with a highly seeded team in the NCAA Tournament.

With a chance to earn consecutive NCAA Tournament bids for the first time in school history, the Raiders simply could not make enough shots inside or beyond the 3-point arc to have a chance to win.

Northeastern Conference

Fairleigh Dickinson 85, St. Francis 76

Darnell Edge scored 21 points, Kaleb Bishop and Jahlil Jenkins added 20 points apiece, and Fairleigh Dickinson earned its second trip to the NCAA tournament in four years with a victory over St. Francis (Pa.) in the league final.

The second-seeded Knights (20-13) shot 64 percent (30 of 47) from the field and beat the top-seeded Red Flash (18-14) on the road for the second time this season. All five starters for the Knights scored in double figures. Elyjah Williams and Mike Holloway Jr. scored 12 points each for Fairleigh Dickinson, which used a 17-8 run to close the first half to take control and never let St. Francis get closer than three in the second half.

Bishop made 8 of his 10 shots for the Knights, including all three of his 3-point attempts, and added a team-high 10 rebounds.

The Red Flash were searching for their first NCAA appearance since 1991 and just the second in school history but couldn't slow the Knights down when it mattered.

Jamaal King led St. Francis with 21 points and eight assists. Isaiah Blackmon finished with 13 points, but the Red Flash made just 4 of 17 free throws while Fairleigh Dickinson converted 18 of 20 at the line.

Fairleigh Dickinson is likely No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Summit League

North Dakota State 73, Omaha 63

Vinnie Shahid scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half, and North Dakota State beat Omaha in the title game to earn its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2015.

The No. 4-seeded Bison (17-15) also got 15 points and seven rebounds from Tyson Ward.

North Dakota State saw a 14-point second-half lead evaporate before securing the win with a late run. Omaha (21-10) tied it at 51 with 8:37 to play and had a chance at the lead, but Matt Pile missed a free throw on a potential three-point play. From there, the Bison went on a 9-0 run and were never threatened again, sealing the win with free throws down the stretch.

Mitch Hahn scored 16 points and Zach Jackson had 15 for Omaha. Pile finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds while KJ Robinson scored 11 points.

Ward got back on track after scoring a season-low three points in North Dakota State's semifinal win over Western Illinois. He had 25 points in a quarterfinal win over Oral Roberts.

Ward had 11 against Omaha at halftime, and then Shahid took over. Shahid's 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 2:10 remaining lifted the lead back to 10.

The No. 2-seeded Mavericks had gone the final 6:44 of the first half without a field goal. North Dakota State built a 41-27 halftime lead.

North Dakota State has a 1-3 record in the NCAA Tournament, including an 80-75, overtime upset of No. 5 seed Oklahoma in 2014. This was the Bison's fifth title game appearance in seven years.

Women

West Coast Conference

Brigham Young 82, No. 12 Gonzaga 68

Brenna Chase scored 25 points, Shaylee Gonzales added 20 and Brigham Young beat Gonzaga to win its third West Coast Conference tournament title.

The second-seeded Cougars (25-6) handed Gonzaga its two WCC losses in two close regular-season meetings and tried turning the third game into a rout with a dominating second quarter.

BYU scored the first 16 points of the second to build 12-point lead and went up by 16 early in the third quarter.

The two-time defending tournament champion Bulldogs (28-4) rallied late in the third to pull within seven, but missed their first 12 shots of the fourth to end any chance of a three-peat.

Zykera Rice led top-seeded Gonzaga with 25 points.

Paisley Johnson added 19 points, Sara Hamson blocked four shots and BYU went 13 for 25 from the 3-point arc to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.

BYU won the two regular-season meetings, both by two points.

The Cougars rallied from a 12-point deficit to win 70-68 at home and Hamson blocked two shots in the final minutes in a 66-64 home win.

BYU beat Pepperdine 68-63 in the WCC Tournament semifinals and Gonzaga needed two overtimes to beat Saint Mary's, winning 78-77 on Rice's buzzer-beating shot.

Rice dominated early in round 3, scoring 10 points in the first quarter to help the Zags build a 23-19 lead.

BYU took control by dominating defensively in the second quarter.

Gonzaga missed its first nine shots and went 1 for 11 in the period as the Cougars took a 42-30 lead into halftime.

BYU stretched the lead 55-39, but Gonzaga made a late run, pulling within 63-57 after BYU coach Jeff Judkins was called for a technical foul and Chandler Smith hit two free throws.

But the Cougars stretched the lead back to 12 early in the fourth and Gonzaga shot 2 for 15 in the quarter.

BYU used a dominating second quarter to sweep the season series and leave no doubt about its NCAA Tournament chances.

The Zags will make the NCAA Tournament, but will have a lower seed than if they had won the WCC Tournament.

Big East

DePaul 74, No. 13 Marquette 73

Chante Stonewall converted a go-ahead, 3-point play with 5.4 seconds left and DePaul beat Marquette for the its fourth Big East Conference title in six seasons.

Stonewall took a pass at the 3-point arc, drove the lane and was fouled while making a layup. She added the free throw for a one-point lead and Natisha Hiedeman went coast-to-coast but her bank shot fell short.

Stonewall's free throw gave DePaul its first lead since 10-8, with 4:07 left in the first quarter, and its 17th straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

Stonewall finished with 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting for DePaul (26-7), which has won 11 games in a row. Lexi Held added 10 points and Kelly Campbell grabbed 12 rebounds.

Hiedeman led top-seeded Marquette (26-7) with 18 points. Selena Lott scored 13, Amani Wilborn 12, and Allazia Blockton and Danielle King each had 11. The Golden Eagles entered with their most victories since the 2006-07 season.

Wilborn made two baskets in the final six seconds of the first half to give Marquette a 40-35 lead. She sank a fade-away jumper in the lane with the shot clock winding down and, after a DePaul turnover, she made a contested layup just before the buzzer for 10 first-half points. Stonewall paced DePaul with 13 points in the half.

Blockton missed a 3-pointer with 43 seconds left but King grabbed the offensive rebound. The Golden Eagles dribbled down the clock and Hiedeman was fouled with 10.4 seconds left before making 1 of 2 free throws for a 73-71 lead.

DePaul has just 11 Big East losses in the last four years — with five coming to Marquette. Last season, DePaul made a tournament record 16 3-pointers in an 86-63 win over Marquette for its third championship in five years. In 2017, Marquette beat DePaul 86-78 for its first Big East title.

Horizon League

Wright State 55, Green Bay 52

Emily Vogelpohl scored eight of her 14 points in the fourth quarter to help Wright State beat Green Bay in the tournament championship game.

The Raiders, who have eight won games in a row, advance to their second NCAA Tournament and snap Green Bay's streaks of four consecutive tournament titles and 13 straight wins in the Horizon League tourney.

Michal Miller made with a layup, Symone Simmons hit a 3-pointer and Miller added a jumper before Vogelpohl's 3 as the shot clock expired capped a 10-0 run and made it 47-38 with 6:52 remaining. The Phoenix responded with an 11-2 run to tie it a 49-all about five minutes later but Vogelpohl hit a jumper and then made two free throws to give Wright State a four-point lead with 22 seconds left. After Laken James made a 3-pointer to trim Green Bay's deficit to 53-52 with 18 seconds left, Miller and Vogelpohl each hit 1 of 2 from the free-throw line to cap the scoring.

Miller added 13 points, Simmons had eight points and 14 rebounds and Tyler Frierson added six points with 13 boards for Wright State (27-6).

Mackenzie Wolf led Green Bay with 10 points while James added eight points, five rebounds and eight assists.

Wright State outrebounded the Phoenix 46-28, including 14-3 on the offensive glass which led to a 13-3 advantage in second-chance points.

Summit League

South Dakota State 83, South Dakota 71

Macy Miller finished with 30 points, giving her 2,295 to set the Summit League's career mark, to help South Dakota State beat South Dakota to earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The Jackrabbits have won nine of the last 11 Summit League tournaments, including two straight.

Miller broke the mark of 2,277 set by Kevi Luper (Oral Roberts, 2009-12) with a second-quarter layup in the midst of a 24-4 run that gave South Dakota State a 45-34 lead after Rylie Cascio Jensen hit back-to-back 3-pointers. The Coyotes (28-5) missed 9 of 10 from the field during that stretch before two layups by Hannah Sjerven trimmed their deficit to seven at halftime. The Jackrabbits (26-6) scored nine of the first 11 third-quarter points to make it 54-40 and South Dakota trailed by at least eight points the rest of the way.

Miller hit 4 of 7 from 3-point range and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Madison Guebert added 22 points, including three 3s for South Dakota State.

Allison Arens scored 26 for the Coyotes. Ciara Duffy, who came in leading the team in scoring at 15.1 points per game, left the game in the opening minutes with an apparent ankle injury. She returned later in the first quarter but was limited to 15 minutes, scoring four points on 2-of-3 shooting.

South Dakota could become the first Summit League team to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Coyotes were ranked No. 25, their first appearance in program history, in the Feb. 11 AP poll and have received votes in each poll since.

career mark, to help South Dakota State beat South Dakota 83-71 on Tuesday to earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The Jackrabbits have won nine of the last 11 Summit League tournaments, including two straight.

Miller broke the mark of 2,277 set by Kevi Luper (Oral Roberts, 2009-12) with a second-quarter layup in the midst of a 24-4 run that gave South Dakota State a 45-34 lead after Rylie Cascio Jensen hit back-to-back 3-pointers. The Coyotes (28-5) missed 9 of 10 from the field during that stretch before two layups by Hannah Sjerven trimmed their deficit to seven at halftime. The Jackrabbits (26-6) scored nine of the first 11 third-quarter points to make it 54-40 and South Dakota trailed by at least eight points the rest of the way.

Miller hit 4 of 7 from 3-point range and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Madison Guebert added 22 points, including three 3s for South Dakota State.

Allison Arens scored 26 for the Coyotes. Ciara Duffy, who came in leading the team in scoring at 15.1 points per game, left the game in the opening minutes with an apparent ankle injury. She returned later in the first quarter but was limited to 15 minutes, scoring four points on 2-of-3 shooting.

South Dakota could become the first Summit League team to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Coyotes were ranked No. 25, their first appearance in program history, in the Feb. 11 AP poll and have received votes in each poll since.