Johnson, Reese lead defending champion LSU past UCLA 78-69 to reach Elite Eight

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Angel Reese says LSU's players are embracing the role of "good villains” as they make a run toward repeating as national champions.

Flau’jae Johnson had 24 points and 12 rebounds and Reese put up her 26th double-double of the season Saturday as LSU (31-5) beat UCLA 78-69 in the Sweet 16.

Reese had 16 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out late in the game for the Tigers, who closed the game on a 14-2 run. Aneesah Morrow had 17 points and Mikaylah Williams added 12.

And all the while the Tigers did their usual trash-talking, screaming and waving goodbye to their opponent.

“We’re the good villains,” Reese said. “We’re impacting the game so much and all of us are super competitive and want to win and do whatever it takes to win. We’re just changing the game."

LSU advanced to the Elite Eight, where it will face Caitlin Clark and Iowa on Monday night in a rematch of last year's national championship game. The Hawkeyes beat Colorado 89-68 in Saturday's second semifinal game in the Albany 2 Region.

Lauren Betts had 14 points and 17 rebounds for UCLA, which finished the season at 27-7. Londynn Jones and Gabriela Jaquez also put up 14 points each and Kiki Rice scored 13 for the Bruins.

LSU led by seven points at halftime. But after making just two of their first 20 shots from 3-point range, the Bruins hit four of their next five.

Consecutive 3-pointers from Jones keyed an 11-2 run that gave UCLA the lead at 45-44, and the teams were tied at 48 headed into the fourth quarter.

Jaquez hit a jumper that gave the Bruins a 67-64 lead with 2:46 left. But LSU responded with its run, sparked when Reese blocked a shot by Betts, leading to a drive by Johnson that fouled out Rice.

“I think that I wasn’t scared of the moment,” Johnson said of her game. “I really loved the delight. I love that underdog feeling. Coach Mulkey told me go do what you do, and I did.”

Johnson had two early 3-pointers in the first half. Her spinning baseline drive and layup highlighted an 8-0 LSU spurt that put the Tigers up 25-18.

The Bruins made only one of 16 shots from behind the arc before Jones’ 3-pointer from the left wing just before the halftime buzzer. That ended an 8-0 LSU run and cut what had been a 10-point lead to 34-27.

“Credit to LSU,” Bruins coach Cori Close said. “They got the shots that they wanted down the stretch, and we didn’t get the shots that we wanted. We did not execute the way that we needed to, and that’s one that’s going to sting for a really long time for me.”

MULKEY AND THE MEDIA

The game was played hours after The Washington Post released a much-anticipated story about Mulkey, over which she had threatened legal action, warning it would be a “hit piece.” Instead, it was a profile highlighting both positive and negative aspects of her career and describing her as a colorful personality who “wears feathers almost as dramatically as she ruffles them.”

She wore a loud, multicolored sparkling pantsuit on Saturday. After the game, she said she likely would not read the article but questioned the timing of its release just before her team arrived at the arena.

“Imagine that. Must have thought y’all would look at it, get some clicks or be a distraction,” she said.

BIG PICTURE

LSU: The Tigers are looking to become the first repeat champion since UConn won its fourth straight in 2016.

UCLA: The Bruins have made 19 NCAA Tournament appearances and have been in the Sweet 16 nine times, including three in the last four years. But they have advanced to just two regional finals.

UP NEXT

LSU blew out Iowa 102-85 last year to give the Tigers their first national title. Reese had 15 points and 10 rebounds in that one, famously mocking Clark with a hand gesture Clark had given another opponent at the end of a game and pointed to her own ring finger. Clark finished with 30 points in that loss.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket/ and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

UCLA guard Charisma Osborne (20) drives around LSU guard Hailey Van Lith (11) during the fourth quarter of a Sweet Sixteen round college basketball game during the NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

UCLA players react on the bench during the fourth quarter of a Sweet Sixteen round college basketball game against LSU during the NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

LSU guard Last-Tear Poa (13) reacts during the fourth quarter of a Sweet Sixteen round college basketball game against UCLA during the NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

LSU head coach Kim Mulkey reacts during the fourth quarter of a Sweet Sixteen round college basketball game against UCLA during the NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

LSU head coach Kim Mulkey reacts during the third quarter of a Sweet Sixteen round college basketball game against the UCLA during the NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

LSU guard Mikaylah Williams (12) shoots against UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) during the second quarter of a Sweet Sixteen round college basketball game during the NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

UCLA head coach Cori Close reacts during the second quarter of a Sweet Sixteen round college basketball game against the LSU during the NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

UCLA guard Kiki Rice (1) puts up a shot against the LSU during the second quarter of a Sweet Sixteen round college basketball game during the NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

UCLA guard Kiki Rice (1) motions to teammates during the second quarter of a Sweet Sixteen round college basketball game against the LSU during the NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

UCLA guard Kiki Rice (1) puts up a shot against the LSU during the second quarter of a Sweet Sixteen round college basketball game during the NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

LSU head coach Kim Mulkey reacts during the second quarter of a Sweet Sixteen round college basketball game against the UCLA during the NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

LSU forward Angel Reese (10) and UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) fight for control of the ball during the second quarter of a Sweet Sixteen round college basketball game during the NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

UCLA guard Londynn Jones, right, tries to strip the ball from LSU guard Aneesah Morrow (24) during the third quarter of a Sweet Sixteen round college basketball game during the NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

LSU guard Last-Tear Poa (13) and forward Angel Reese (10) react with teammates during the third quarter of a Sweet Sixteen round college basketball game against UCLA during the NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

LSU guard Flau'jae Johnson (4) and LSU forward Angel Reese (10) react during the fourth quarter of a Sweet Sixteen round college basketball game against UCLA during the NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man who has been under investigation in the deaths of four women whose bodies were found scattered across northwest Oregon last year has been indicted in two of those killings — as well as in the death of a woman whose body was found in Washington state.

A grand jury indicted Jesse Lee Calhoun, 39, on second-degree murder charges in the deaths of Charity Lynn Perry, 24; Bridget Leanne Webster, 31; and Joanna Speaks, 32, the Multnomah County district attorney announced Friday. Perry and Webster were found in Oregon, while Speaks was found in an abandoned barn in southwestern Washington.

“Today’s indictment of Jesse Calhoun marks a significant step toward justice,” Multnomah County Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell told a news conference at Portland police headquarters. “We recognize that until today, there have been many questions and that their deaths have caused fear and anxiety across our area and for the families that have been waiting for answers.”

The indictment came just weeks before Calhoun was due to be released from state prison, where he was returned last year to finish serving a four-year term for assaulting a police officer, trying to strangle a police dog, burlary and other charges.

He was initially released in 2021, a year early, because he was among a group of inmates who helped fight devastating wildfires in 2020. Gov. Tina Kotek revoked the commutation, which was issued by her predecessor, Kate Brown, last year when police began investigating him in the deaths.

Court records did not immediately reflect whether Calhoun has an attorney representing him on the murder charges. Authorities have not divulged what evidence they allege linked him to the deaths. The district attorney’s office said Friday that the charging document was still being finalized.

The families of the three have told reporters they struggled with addiction or mental health issues.

The deaths of two other women — Kristin Smith and Ashley Real, both 22 — are still being investigated, the prosecutor’s office said.

The bodies were found over a three-month period starting in February 2023 — in wooded areas, in a culvert and under a bridge — in a roughly 100-mile (160-kilometer) radius, sparking concern that a serial killer might be targeting young women in the region. Speaks’ body was found in Clark County, Washington, in April 2023, but investigators have said they believe she was killed in the Portland area.

Last June, the Portland Police Bureau said that speculation about a serial killer was not supported by the available facts — but by July, that had changed, and authorities acknowledged the deaths appeared to be linked.

Real’s body was the most recent one found, on May 7, 2023. Her father, Jose Real, told The Associated Press last year that Calhound had previously choked her, in November 2022. A Portland police officer took an initial report from Real and his daughter, and she gave the officer Calhoun’s name, but she was too scared to help investigators track him down, he said.

Perry’s mother, Diana Allen, and Smith’s mother, Melissa Smith, attended the news conference Friday and credited the work of the detectives.

“It’s been very, very frustrating for us families not to have answers,” Allen said. But, she added, the investigators “cared more about justice for Charity than they did for my feelings. I have to have a level of respect for that.”

Smith said she hopes to eventually have her daughter’s case solved as well.

“We just keep going, we keep waiting, we keep praying,” she said. “Stay hopeful.”

Johnson reported from Seattle.

FILE - This undated photo provided by the Oregon Department of Corrections show Jesse Lee Calhoun, who has been under investigation in the deaths of four women whose bodies were found scattered across northwest Oregon last year. Calhoun has been indicted in two of those killings — as well as in the death of a woman whose body was found in Washington state. (Oregon Department of Corrections via AP)

Melissa Smith, mother of Kristin Smith, right, looks to Diana Allen, mother of Charity Lynn Perry, left, as they speak during a news conference on Friday, May 17, 2024, in Portland, Ore., after a grand jury indicted Jesse Lee Calhoun on second-degree murder charges in the deaths of Charity Lynn Perry, 24; Bridget Leanne Webster, 31; and Joanna Speaks, 32. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Family members of victims hug after a news conference on Friday, May 17, 2024, in Portland, Ore. A grand jury indicted Jesse Lee Calhoun on second-degree murder charges in the deaths of Charity Lynn Perry, 24; Bridget Leanne Webster, 31; and Joanna Speaks, 32, the Multnomah County district attorney announced Friday. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Family members of victims hold hands following a news conference on Friday, May 17, 2024, in Portland, Ore., after a grand jury indicted Jesse Lee Calhoun on second-degree murder charges in the deaths of Charity Lynn Perry, 24; Bridget Leanne Webster, 31; and Joanna Speaks, 32. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Melissa Smith, mother of Kristin Smith, leaves after speaking during a news conference on Friday, May 17, 2024, in Portland, Ore., after a grand jury indicted Jesse Lee Calhoun on second-degree murder charges in the deaths of Charity Lynn Perry, 24; Bridget Leanne Webster, 31; and Joanna Speaks, 32. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Charity Lynn Perry's mother, Diana Allen speaks during a news conference on Friday, May 17, 2024, in Portland, Ore. A grand jury indicted Jesse Lee Calhoun, 39, on second-degree murder charges in the deaths of Charity Lynn Perry, 24; Bridget Leanne Webster, 31; and Joanna Speaks, 32, the Multnomah County district attorney announced Friday. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

A person wears a T-shirt with the names of Kristin Smith, Charity Lynn Perry, Joanna Speaks, Ashley Real, and Bridget Webster on it during a news conference on Friday, May 17, 2024, in Portland, Ore. A grand jury indicted Jesse Lee Calhoun, on second-degree murder charges in the deaths of Charity Lynn Perry, 24; Bridget Leanne Webster, 31; and Joanna Speaks, 32, the Multnomah County district attorney announced Friday. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)