Stanford women breeze into Elite 8
Cardinal roll to win over Missouri State as Jump has 17 points to lead way
SAN ANTONIO >> Missouri State had waited two years to get another crack at the Sweet 16 and Stanford, only to watch the Cardinal turn their rematch into a romp.
Hannah Jump scored 17 points off the bench and top seed Stanford strolled past the No. 5 Lady Bears 8962 to earn a spot in the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament for the 21st time.
Stanford led by 23 at halftime and by as much as 38 in the fourth quarter as the Cardinal kept up their postseason barrage of 3-pointers by making 15.
The Cardinal (28-2) have made at least 13 from long range in each of their three tournament games. Jump led the way Sunday with five.
“We try to ride the hot hand,” said Kiana Williams, Stanford’s career leader in 3-pointers who made four and scored 16 points. “It’s hard to guard us because you can’t just focus on one person.”
The tournament’s overall No. 1 seed advanced to Tuesday’s Alamo Region final against No. 2 Louisville, the winner of Sunday’s later game against No. 6 Oregon.
A win there would send Stanford to its 14th Final Four. Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer has won two national championships, but none since 1992.
“I still don’t think we’re playing our best basketball yet,” guard Anna Wilson said. “We’re playing really well. We’re clicking and in a lot of different ways than usual. But I think that each player has a lot more to give to the team . ... I think that with the trajectory we’re going in, it will be good timing. We don’t want to peak too early.”
Elle Ruffridge scored 18 points to lead Missouri State (23-3), a team with a history of punching above its status as a mid-major from the Missouri Valley Conference. The Lady Bears have two Final Four appearances of their own, but the last came two decades ago behind record
scorer Jackie Stiles. LOUISVILLE 60, OREGON 42 >> Dana Evans scored 29 points and No. 2 seed Louisville advanced with a win over sixth-seeded Oregon.
The Cardinals will face top seed Stanford on Tuesday night in the Alamo Region final.
Louisville (26-3) continued its stellar defensive play, holding Oregon (159) to 14 points in the first half, including six in the second quarter.
Evans provided the offense.
After going scoreless in the first quarter, the AllAmerica guard started to heat up. Oregon had freshman Maddie Scherr guarding her in the opening period before she hurt her ankle and had to come out of the game. Evans responded by scoring 13 points in the second and ended the period with a nifty drive and dish right before the buzzer to give Louisville a 29-14 advantage at the break.
Oregon rallied in the second half, cutting its deficit to 10 after three quarters. The Ducks were down 41-33 with 50 seconds left in the third after two free throws by Nyara Sabally. But she went down with a left ankle injury 20 seconds later.
TEXAS 64, MARYLAND 61 >> Charli Collier scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as No. 6 Texas shut down No. 2 Maryland’s high-powered offense for a win that sent the Longhorns to the Elite Eight as the lowest seed still alive in the tournament.
The Terrapins had the highest-scoring offense in the country during the regular season and averaged 99 points in the first two rounds before running into a Texas defensive wall that slowed the pace to a grinding halt. SOUTH CAROLINA 76, GEORGIA TECH 65 >> Zia Cooke scored 17 points to lead top-seed South Carolina to a win over fifth-seeded Georgia Tech.
It’s the third time in the past four women’s NCAA Tournaments that the Gamecocks have at least reached the regional finals. South Carolina won the national championship in 2017.