Taller Bears dispatch Huskies in quarterfinal

Ashley Walker didn’t need much time. Sixteen minutes was enough.

Walker had 14 points and 10 rebounds in limited playing time to help No. 12 California (25-5) beat Washington 61-41 in a quarterfinal game of the Pac-10 tournament Friday in Los Angeles.

The senior, along with starter Devanei Hampton, sat for most of the second half as Cal coach Joanne Boyle turned the game over to her bench. The two post players combined for 20 points in the first and scored at will against Washington, which lost in a quarterfinal for the fourth year in a row.

Washington (8-22) had trouble finding answers for Cal’s big post players from the start and tried changing its defense because of the matchup problem.

Hampton, who had nine points, is 6-foot-3 and Walker is 6-foot-1.

“You’ve got two all-Pac 10 performers in the paint on Cal’s team,” Washington coach Tia Jackson said.

The Bears will face Southern California in today’s semifinals.

USC 70, (16) Arizona State 65: Heather Oliver scored 17 points, Camille LeNoir had 18 points and eight assists, and the Trojans (16-14) defeated the Sun Devils (23-8).

The sixth-seeded Trojans shot 52.9 percent and made 10 3-pointers to snap a seven-game losing streak to the third-seeded Sun Devils. It was only the second time a six seed had beaten a third seed in the tourney.

Briann January (Lewis and Clark High), who was wearing Dymond Simon’s No. 1 jersey, made two consecutive jumpers to make it 63-60 with less than 4 minutes remaining. Simon was injured in a loss to Stanford.

“It was a team decision,” January said. “She’s a big part of our team and we wanted to show her how much we cared for her.”

(2) Stanford 77, Arizona 46: Nnemkadi Ogwumike had 15 points and freshman Lindy La Rocque added a career-high 12 to lead the Cardinal (27-4) past the Wildcats (12-19).

Stanford, the top seed in the tourney, will face UCLA in a semifinal today.

UCLA 62, Oregon State 56: Atonye Nyingifa had 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Bruins (19-11) rallied to defeat the Beavers (19-11). Darxia Morris and Doreena Campbell had 10 points each for the fourth-seeded Bruins. Brittney Davis led the fifth-seeded Beavers with 22 points.