McCaa’s Free Throws Lift Northridge

Jamie McCaa made two free throws with nine-tenths of a second left to give seventh-seeded Cal State Northridge a 66-64 victory over sixth-seeded UC Irvine in the first round of the Big West Conference tournament Wednesday at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The Matadors (9-19), who play third-seeded Cal State Fullerton in today’s quarterfinals, had made only 12 of 21 free throws before McCaa went to the free-throw line.

Angie Ned made two free throws to give the Anteaters (9-19) a 64-61 lead with 27 seconds left. But eight seconds later, Cassandra Markovich made a three-point basket.

Kimberly Martin missed a short jumper that was rebounded by McCaa, who was fouled.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 94, Pacific 67 -- The fifth-seeded Mustangs scored 48 points in the first half to beat the eighth-seeded Tigers (6-22). The Mustangs will take a three-game winning streak into today’s game against fourth-seeded UC Riverside.