SEATTLE — Haley Smith scored 16, and Jamee Swan added 15 and four blocked shots to help No. 9 seed Colorado women beat eighth-seeded USC 75-63 in the opening round of the Pac-12 Conference tournament on Thursday night.
Lexy Kresl had 12 points and seven assists and Lauren Huggins scored 11 for Colorado (14-16), which will face top-seeded and No. 8-ranked Oregon State in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Colorado, which made 25 of 47 (53.2 percent) field goals and 20 of 23 free throws, took a 39-27 lead into halftime as USC (15-15) shot just 22.9 percent (8 of 35) in the first 20 minutes.
The Trojans pulled within six on three occasions early in the second, but Huggins scored eight — including a pair of 3-pointers — during a 16-6 run which gave the Buffaloes a 67-51 lead with 6:45 to play.
Brianna Barrett led USC with 18 points.
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