1 » round, the 26-year-old Nordqvist has an overall 11

LAS VEGAS -- T.J. McConnell laid out like a baserunner diving headfirst into a base. He missed the ball, but, after landing with a thud, jumped up and raced the other direction. Aaron Gordon, who did get the steal because of McConnells effort, flipped the ball ahead and Arizonas point guard ran under it, scoring an easy basket in transition. The play, and countless others like it in a spirit-crushing rout over Utah, let the rest of the Pac-12 field -- and the country -- know that one of the nations best defensive is in high gear for the post-season. Playing with a feverish intensity from the opening tip, Arizona raced through the record book and overwhelmed the stunned Utes in a 71-39 rout on Thursday to match the most lopsided game in Pac-12 tournament history. "We were locked in," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "Everything that we wanted to do defensively, we were able to do it." Nick Johnson scored 14 points, McConnell 13 and Gordon added 11 for Arizona, which shot 53 per cent. That was just a side note to what the Wildcats were doing defensively. After playing two close games against Utah during the regular season, top-seeded Arizona (29-3) opened the tournament with a have-to-see-it-to-believe-it defensive performance. Energized by a raucous crowd that made it feel like the McKale Center, the Wildcats were at their lane-jumping, shot-contesting best against the Utes (21-11) to move into Fridays semifinals against Colorado or California. Arizona jumped on Utah early and had stamped its name in the record books by then, setting marks for fewest points allowed, fewest field goals (12) and lowest shooting percentage (25). The Wildcats held the Utes to 13 points in the first half, another record, and matched UCLAs 32-point win over Oregon State in 2006 to move into Fridays semifinals against Colorado or California. Jordan Loveridge and Delon Wright, Utahs leading scorers, combined for seven points on 1-of-4 shooting and Utah lost by 13 fewer points than its 10 previous losses combined. "When we get stops and get rebounds and get the push, our athleticism is really at play," Johnson said. "I think finishing with dunks and around the basket gets everybody going. Arizona had hoped to make a statement in the Pac-12 tournament to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Pac-12 regular-season champion Wildcats certainly did in their tournament opener, playing with an intensity Utah had no chance of matching after playing a close game against Washington the night before. The crowd at MGM Grand Garden Arena started chants of "U of A! U of A!" long before the opening tip and the Wildcats turned the game into a rout not long after the ball went up. Racing out for dunks and 3-pointers in transition set up by their climb-in-your-jersey defence, the Wildcats stormed past the Utes with an 18-2 run that put them up 22-6. Arizona kept its foot on the Utes behind its defence, contesting every shot, pass and dribble. The Wildcats held Utah to 5-of-19 shooting while forcing eight turnovers in the first half. Loveridge and Wright, who combine for over 31 points per game, took four shots and had no points between them. "They were really putting on a defensive clinic in the first half," Utah centre Dallin Bachynski said. Second half, more of the same. Utah missed its first 11 shots -- its first field goal came 9:15 in -- and at one point had five players on the court who had yet to score in the game. Yep, it was that bad. The only thing in doubt at that point was whether the Utes would get to 30 points. They got there with 4:17 left, but, boy, was it ugly. "They took pride in guarding us," Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "They took the life out of us." Custom Shirts Fast .5 million, four-year contract with the Texas Rangers that could be worth $32. Wholesale Custom Shirts .C. -- Gleason Fournier scored the shootout winner as the Grand Rapids Griffins defeated the Abbotsford Heat 4-3 Friday in American Hockey League action. http://www.shirtscustom.us/ .com) - The Toronto Raptors set their sights on a second straight victory with the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the Air Canada Centre tonight riding a two game streak of their own. Best Custom Shirts . Tony Parker had 33 points and nine assists and San Antonio never trailed in a resounding 116-92 victory over Portland, bullying the younger Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. Cheap Custom Shirts . Carey Price made 27 saves for Montreal (30-21-6) for his fourth shutout of the year and second in four games. David Desharnais added an empty netter for the Canadiens. Reto Berra stopped 25 shots for Calgary (21-28-7). CHONBURI, Thailand -- Swede Anna Nordqvist shot a 5-under 67 at the LPGA Thailand on Saturday for a 4-stroke lead over top-ranked Inbee Park and American Michelle Wie. The 27th-ranked Nordqvist sprinkled her third round at the Siam Country Club with four birdies and an eagle on the 10th against a bogey on No. 5. Leading since the first round, the 26-year-old Nordqvist has an overall 11-under 205. She is chasing her first win on the U.S. LPGA Tour since 2009. Park shot 67 and Wie 69. "I think the great players out there, Inbee, Stacy (Lewis), theyve been up there so many times, so they look pretty comfortable out there," Nordqvist said. "For me, its a matter of keep putting myself in those positions and the win will happen eventually." Defending champion Park, playing her first tournament of the season, birdied the opening two holess and Nos.dddddddddddd 10-13, with a lone bogey on the eighth. "I hit a lot of great irons shots out there today, I think I still left four birdies out there," the four-time Major champion said. The 2010 runner-up Wie had an error-free round. "Couple hard pins, couple easy pins. Didnt really take advantage of the par 5s like I wanted to, but I cant really complain about it. Hopefully tomorrow Ill just have a lot more birdies," Wie said. "I really want that win, but Im not going to put the added pressure on myself." Paraguays Julieta Granada (71) was a further stroke behind in fourth. Tseng Yani of Taiwan, winner here in 2011 and 12, carded a 6-under 66 for an overall 5-under 211 and a share of fifth with Americans Cristie Kerr (68) and Lexi Thompson (69) as well as New Zealand teen prodigy Lydia Ko (69). ' ' '