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| Jubilation breaks out as the team celebrates its comeback over Louisville. (Eric Gay/AP) |
Overcoming a deficit that was 12 points at the half and 14 points early in the third quarter, the Stanford women’s basketball team staged an epic comeback to defeat Louisville 78-63 on March 30 and advance to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament.
The Cardinal will face the South Carolina Gamecocks in the semi-finals at 3 p.m. April 2. The game will be on ESPN.
Things looked bleak during the first half, when the
team shot a dismal 35.29 percent in the first quarter, which ended with a 13-21
deficit; and an even worse 21.05 percent in the second, which left the team in
a 26-38 hole.
Then came the third quarter with its improved 52.63
percent shooting, ending with the Cardinal behind only 48-50. During the fourth
quarter, the team shot a sizzling 76.92 percent to hold Louisville to 13 points
and ice the win.
As the SF Chronicle’s Ann Killion put it, “Sometime
between the second and third quarters, the Cardinal players remembered who they
were; the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed. They remembered what they had been
through on this journey…”
Long,
winding road to San Antonio
That journey was one that had allowed the team only
one home game before Santa Clara County COVID restrictions sent it on the road.
A video clip shown before recent games recounts the team’s 63-day odyssey
covering more than 7,100 miles.
However, as the old saying goes, “As the going gets
tough, the tough get going.” That’s just what the team did.
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| A determined Lexie scored 21 points. (Eric Gay/AP) |
Junior guard Lexie Hull led the team with 21 points
to go with nine rebounds and three steals.
Ashten
adds 16 points in 16 minutes
Coming off the bench in the second half, sophomore
forward Ashten Prechtel helped to spark the comeback with 16 points in 16
minutes, plus three rebounds and two blocks.
Also in double figures were senior guard Kiana
Williams with 14 points, four rebounds, four steals and five assists; and sophomore guard
Haley Jones with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Although limited to 21 minutes after a brief trip to
and from the locker room, freshman forward Cameron Brink did her part with nine
points, four blocks and five rebounds.
The team had seven 3’s, below its usual double-digit
tournament output, but they were big. Ashten had three, Kiana two, and Lexie
and fifth-year guard Anna Wilson one each.
In the end, the Cardinal’s dominance showed not only
in the score but in other areas: rebounds 45-37; blocks 7-3; steals 8-5;
assists 16-11; points in the paint, 38-24; and more.
Stanford had fewer fouls, 6-17, and fewer turnovers,
9-10.
After that, it was time to celebrate and cut down
the nets.
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| Anna steals the ball in the Missouri State game. (Morry Gash/AP) |
Easy
Sweet 16 win over Missouri State
Two days earlier, Stanford easily advanced to the
Elite Eight by defeating Missouri State 89-62 on March 28.
Missouri State scored first, but after that Stanford
took control with a dominating, balanced attack.
All 12 players got into the action, and 11
contributed in some way.
Sophomore guard Hannah Jump led the scoring with 17
points, followed by Kiana with 16, Anna with 13 and Haley with 11.
Team
pours in 15 3’s
Fifteen 3’s accounted for just over half of the final
score. Seven players got in on that action: Hannah buried five, Kiana four and
Ashten two. Cameron, Anna, Lexie and Haley had one each.
Stanford bested Missouri State in the first three
quarters, ending the third with a 34-point advantage, 71-37.
The Cardinal had a big advantage with assists,
24-11, blocks, 7-3 (five by foul-limited Cameron in just 10 minutes), points in
the paint, 28-14; fast break points, 18-8; and steals, 8-3. Rebounds were
closer, 45-43, with 10 by Ashten, eight by Haley and six by Anna.
Missouri State had four more turnovers, but was
better at the free-throw line, making 63.6 percent to Stanford’s 61.5 percent.
Both teams had 12 fouls.
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| Russell Wilson cheers for his sister, Anna, against Missouri State. (Getty Images) |
Families,
friends add support
Among the reported 1,072 attendees were family and
friends of Stanford players. They included Anna’s older brother, Russell, and because
San Antonio is Kiana’s hometown, a large contingent of her family and friends
was there.
Sideline reporter Holly Rowe noted that Kiana’s
parents have supplied the team with some tasty food as well as a ping pong table
and gear, inspiring a tournament involving players and staff.
Besides Stanford and South Carolina, UConn and Arizona
advanced to the Final Four, giving the Pac-12 two entrants.
In the meantime, Kiana was named most outstanding
player in the Alamo Region, and Cameron and Lexie were named to the
all-tournament team, giving Stanford three of the five slots on that team.
