Power 5 Roundup: Cambridge triple-double leads Vanderbilt past Texas A&M

Jordyn Cambridge recorded the first triple-double ever for the 13th-seeded Vanderbilt Commodores, finishing with 13 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals, as the Commodores comfortably defeated the 12th-seeded Texas A&M Aggies 85-69 in the first round of the SEC Tournament Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

It was the last game in the career of A&M head coach Gary Blair.

Vanderbilt (14-17, 4-12 SEC) has struggled this season, but beat No. 23 Florida in its second-to-last game of the regular season on Feb. 24. Though they lost to Alabama in between that win and the Texas A&M win, the Commodores seem to be building some momentum heading into Year 2 under longtime UConn assistant Shea Ralph. A&M was ranked as high as No. 17 this year, so Wednesday’s contest was actually a pretty solid win even though the Aggies are now 14-15 and 4-12 in the SEC. But Vanderbilt will need to win the whole SEC Tournament if it wants to go to the NCAA Tournament.

Brinae Alexander paced the Commodores with 23 points to go along with six assists and four steals. Iyana Moore added 18 points, six boards and four helpers to the winning cause, while Sacha Washington (10 rebounds, two steals) and Demi Washington both had 12 points.

The Aggies were led by Destiny Pitts’ 24 points on 4-of-8 shooting from three and 8-of-8 shooting from the stripe. Kayla Wells notched 20 points in defeat, while Aaliyah Patty was good for 10 points, nine boards and two blocks.

Other action

SEC Tournament first round

11th-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide over 14th-seeded Auburn Tigers, 75-68

Megan Abrams had 25 points and five assists, while the Crimson Tide also got double-doubles from JaMya Mingo-Young (14 points, 15 rebounds, four steals) and Brittany Davis (15 points, 11 rebounds).

Auburn led by three entering the fourth and by two with 7:36 to go before Alabama went on a 9-0 run that featured six points from Abrams. The Tigers cut their deficit to four with 38 seconds to play, but the Crimson Tide then iced the game with free throws.

ACC Tournament first round

13th-seeded Clemson Tigers over 12th-seeded Syracuse Orange, 88-69

Delicia Washington had 33 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals and the Tigers won the fourth 30-18 to pull away. Teisha Hyman had 25 points, seven boards, eight helpers and three steals in defeat.

This is a disappointing end to the season for a Syracuse team that beat No. 13 Ohio State on Dec. 1.

10th-seeded Duke Blue Devils over 15th-seeded Pitt Panthers, 55-52

11th-seeded Wake Forest Demon Deacons over 14th-seeded Virginia Cavaliers, 61-53

ACC leading scorer Jewel Spear dropped 23 points and the Demon Deacons came back from down seven with 8:41 to play. UVA trailed by just one with 3:47 to go, but Wake finished on a 7-0 run with the final five points coming from Christina Morra (13 points, 10 rebounds, three assists).

Big Ten Tournament first round

13th-seeded Rutgers Scarlet Knights over 12th-seeded Penn State Nittany Lions, 75-50

Ten different Scarlet Knights scored in this blowout. Osh Brown (18 points, 13 rebounds, three assists) and Shug Dickson (14 points, seven boards, nine helpers) had the best stat lines for the winners, who used a 23-11 third quarter to pull away.

Leilani Kapinus (three steals) notched a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double in defeat. Makenna Marisa added 15 points, seven boards, five helpers and three steals for the Nittany Lions.

14th-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini over 11th-seeded Wisconsin Badgers, 75-66

Kendall Bostic had 12 points, 16 rebounds and six assists for the winners, who turned a three-point halftime deficit into a 12-point lead entering the fourth. Wisconsin trailed by just four with 51 seconds to go, but Illinois closed the game on a 5-0 run.

Adalia McKenzie added 14 points, five boards and seven helpers to the winning cause, while Erika Porter had 15 points, four blocks and two steals and Aaliyah Nye had a team-high 17 points to go along with five rebounds.

The Badgers received 27, 17 and 15 points from Katie Nelson, Julie Pospisilova and Halle Douglass, respectively, but Krystyna Ellew (seven points) was the only other player to score for them. Nelson added eight assists and three steals, while Douglass had eight rebounds and three helpers.

Pac-12 Tournament first round

5th-seeded Colorado Buffaloes over 12th-seeded Washington Huskies, 64-52

Colorado’s Mya Hollingshed was good for 15 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Peanut Tuitele led the team in scoring with 16 points to go along with eight boards, three helpers and two rejections.

The Buffaloes were only up one entering the fourth, but won the final frame 24-13. The Huskies trailed by just one with 3:45 to play before Colorado went on a 12-1 run to close the contest.

8th-seeded Oregon State Beavers over 9th-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils, 59-54

ASU trailed by 17 with 5:34 to play, but by just two with 1:21 to go and 1:01 to go. Sun Devil Taya Hanson missed back-to-back threes that would have cut it to three with 18 and 13 seconds remaining. The 20-5 comeback run featured nine points from Hanson and eight points from Mael Gilles.

Talia von Oelhoffen posted 13 points, five rebounds and six assists for the winners. Ellie Mack was the Beavers’ high scorer with 14 points to go along with four boards.

Hanson finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Gilles had 14 and nine.

7th-seeded UCLA Bruins over 10th-seeded USC Trojans, 73-60

The Bruins won the fourth by 13 to account for the final margin. Angela Dugalić recorded a 13-point, 12 rebound double-double and Ilmar’l Thomas dropped 18 points for the winners.

Rayah Marshall achieved 17 points and 10 boards in defeat.

6th-seeded Utah Utes over 11th-seeded Cal Golden Bears, 66-60

The Golden Bears trailed by just two with 56 seconds to go, but freshman Gianna Kneepkens made a jumper at 31 seconds remaining to push Utah’s lead to four and Cal was unable to score again.

Kneepkens finished with 20 points and five rebounds. Jenna Johnson backed her up with 18 points and three assists.