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UC Irvine eliminates Cal State Northridge 93-78 in Big West Conference Tournament semifinal

By The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Derin Saran had 23 points and top seed UC Irvine rolled to a 93-78 victory over Cal State Northridge on Friday night in the semifinals of the Big West Conference Tournament.

UC Irvine (23-10) will play in the championship game on Saturday against the winner of the second semifinal between No. 2 seed Hawaii and third-seeded Cal State Fullerton. The winner earns an automatic spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Saran added nine rebounds, five assists, and four steals for the Anteaters. Jurian Dixon totaled 18 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Kyle Evans contributed 15 points and eight rebounds.

Josiah Davis led the way for the fourth-seeded Matadors (20-14) with 26 points and eight assists. Josh O’Garro added 22 points and James Evans Jr. pitched in with 17 points and three steals.

UC Irvine took the lead for good with 19:33 left in the first half. The score was 49-37 at the intermission behind 15 points from Dixon. Saran had 10 points in the second half and the Anteaters used a 10-0 run to extend their lead to 18 points before finishing off the victory.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Cheryl Reeve steps away from the WNBA grind for a Hall of Fame induction

By The Associated Press
Cheryl Reeve is taking a break from her busy WNBA season to head to Knoxville this weekend and be inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. She's only the second WNBA coach to enter the Hall of Fame, joining former Houston Comets coach Van Chancellor, who was inducted in 2001. “(I appreciate) the magnitude of this recognition of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the great work that has gone into this institution,” Reeve said. “To walk around and see the history of how much has been done years before I could ever have this opportunity to coach. Grateful to the WNBA because I think there was some consideration given schedule wise.” Reeve will be joined by WNBA greats Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne in this year's class. Parker and Delle Donne also will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame later this year. Other inductees include ESPN broadcaster Doris Burke, Kirkwood Community College coach Kim Muhl, Spanish star Amaya Valdemoro, French great Isabelle Fijalkowski and Clemson's all-time leading scorer and rebounder, Barbara Kennedy-Dixon.
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