I’m back at Pauley Pavilion! The top two finishers from this evening’s session will face the winners of round two in Saturday’s final.
UCLA and Missouri are meeting again for the first time since last year’s Raleigh regional final where the upstart Tigers snagged a surprise berth to nationals, leaving the Bruins in 12th place for the second year in a row.
Expect this year to look a little bit different: In addition to having home-court advantage, the Bruins are thriving under first-year head coach Janelle McDonald. They’re ranked fourth heading into this meet and should have no problem advancing to the regional final.
Missouri has poured it on the last few weeks and is expected to move on to the final, but could face substantial pressure from Stanford. The Cardinal dropped in the national rankings after an iffy performance at Pac-12 championships, but are capable of mid-197s when they hit.
Also, be sure to keep an eye out for the individual competitors:
- Central Michigan’s Hannah Demers (AA) will be rotating with the Round One winner while her teammate Taylor Pitchell (FX) will be with Stanford along with Sacramento State’s Amber Koeth (BB), BYU’s Sydney Benson (VT), and Anyssa Alvarado (UB)
- BYU’s Kylie Eaquinto (VT) and Elease…
