Freshman’s 3-pointers lift Cardinal into final
SEATTLE — Freshman Kiana Williams continued her late season bombing spree Saturday night.
She hit six three-pointers in seven tries and scored 24 points to lead Stanford to a convincing 58-46 victory over Arizona State in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament. Stanford also slapped a tourniquet-tight defense on the sixth-seeded Sun Devils.
The No. 16 Cardinal, the No. 2 seeds, are pursuing their 13th conference tournament title in the event’s 17-year existence.
They’ll take on top-seeded Oregon in the championship game Sunday at 6 p.m. The No. 6 Ducks held No. 9 UCLA, the No. 4 seed, without a point in the final 5:28 and beat the Bruins 65-62 for the third time this season.
Sabrina Ionescu, the conference Player of the Year from Miramonte-Orinda, scored 17 points to lead the Ducks (29-4). Jordin Canada had 19 points and Monique Billings 18 for the Bruins (24-7).
Freshman of the Year Satou Sabally of the
Ducks left the game with an injury with 6:05 left and UCLA leading by six. Oregon went on a 13-4 run after that, and UCLA missed its last seven shots. Oregon committed a seasonlow seven fouls. Sabally’s status for the final wasn’t immediately known.
Stanford (22-9) beat Oregon in Eugene 78-65 in their only previous meeting this season.
The heavily pro-Oregon crowd helped energize the Ducks down the stretch, Ionescu said.
“They stood with us throughout the whole game,” she said. “We were down 13 (in the second quarter), and they were still pumping us up and cheering us on. That’s really nice to see. So we hope they come out (Sunday night) and continue to help us get this win.”
Williams is shooting 58 percent (19 for 33) from deep in her last five games.
She hit three baskets, two of them three-pointers, in the third quarter as Stanford built a 42-25 lead. She finally missed a three, after five straight makes, midway through the third quarter. Then she came back and hit a sixth.
Her 61 made threes are the third most for a Stanford freshman, behind Jamie Carey’s 81 (1999-2000) and Lindsey Yamasaki’s 65 (1998-99).
Alanna Smith, who scored 13 points, hit a three at the buzzer at the end of the third quarter, giving Stanford a 52-28 lead. The reserves played most of the fourth quarter.
Kiara Russell had 12 points and Charnea Johnson-Chapman 10 for the Sun Devils (21-12) .They made just 1 of 10 shots in the first quarter against Stanford’s tight defense; the Cardinal led 13-3 at the end of the period. Kianna Ibis hit a short jumper for a 2-0 lead 27 seconds into the game. For the rest of the quarter, the only offense ASU could muster was a foul shot by Sophia Elenga.
Things didn’t get any better for the Sun Devils in the second quarter. Williams hit a three from the top of the key, and ASU’s Courtney Ekmark was called for a foul as she jockeyed for rebound position. As the Cardinal inbounded the ball, Williams quickly hit a jumper. Moments later, Williams hit a straight basket, another three for a 27-7 lead.
Had Russell, a backup guard, not scored seven points in the second quarter, the Cardinal’s 32-18 cushion at halftime would have been even worse.
Williams had 13 in the half on 5-of-6 shooting. Stanford made 13-of-27 shots (48 percent). On the other end, its switching player-for-player defense left the Sun Devils little room to drive. They shot 25 percent from the floor, and Russell’s three was their only make in seven long-range attempts.