The Mercury News

Women: Stanford meets Notre Dame for third year in row.

Powerhouse­s meet in NCAA Tournament for the third straight year

- By Gary B. Graves

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Notre Dame and Stanford have crossed paths so much lately in the NCAA Tournament their looming matchup in the Lexington Regional final seemed almost inevitable.

The powerhouse programs have traded Sweet 16 wins the past two years, but the stakes Sunday at Rupp Arena are much higher: A Final Four berth is on the line.

“We’re going to have to come out and play well offensivel­y, and we’re going to have to play well defensivel­y,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said.

Top-seeded Notre Dame (33-3) has won 17 straight games but will be playing without star forward Brianna Turner, whose season ended with a knee injury last week. The Irish survived easily Friday night, routing No. 5 Ohio State 99-76, with sophomore guard Arike Ogunbowale scoring 32 points to lead six players in double figures.

“Our whole team played really well without Brianna,” Ogunbowale said.

Second-seeded Stanford (31-5) advanced with its seventh straight victory, a come-from-behind 77-66 win against No. 3 Texas.

No one from either school is all that surprised it has come to this, given the bracket and the seeding.

“My first thought was Ohio State is going to be in our bracket,” Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. “Then we started thinking, ‘uh-oh, we got Texas.’ We got Stanford. That’s a tough four teams we’re going to have to eventually play . ... But it was an opportunit­y for us to look at what we did last year and see if we could take one more step.”

A year ago in the Sweet 16 at Lexington, Stanford beat Notre Dame 90-84, ending a 26-game winning streak for the Irish. The Cardinal then lost to Washington in the regional final.

Now both are back. One will reach the Final Four for the sixth time in seven years. The other, Stanford, will go for the first time since 2014.

“I think it’s good to play the team you’re comfortabl­e with,” Stanford forward Erica McCall said. “I know the scouting report on them. I think the NCAA committee just really likes this matchup, and they want to see it time and time again. It means it must be pretty iconic.”

Other things to watch in the Lexington Regional final:

COMING UP BIG: Notre Dame guard Lindsay Allen is averaging 24 points in two games against Stanford, including 20 last March. She’s also averaging five rebounds and 41⁄2 assists against the Cardinal.

TIME TRAVELERS: Stanford players, their bodies accustomed to Pacific time, shrugged off Sunday’s early tipoff. They have adjusted after being away for more than a week. “It’s been basketball, finals and resting,” guard Marte Sniezek said.

MARQUEE COACHES: VanDerveer (1,011) and McGraw (853) meet in just the second NCAA Tournament game between women’s coaches with at least 850 wins each. VanDerveer had 925 when Stanford beat North Carolina’s Sylvia Hatchell (935) in the Elite Eight three years ago.

 ?? JAMES CRISP/ ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? Stanford’s Erica McCall, right, is pressured by Texas’ AudreyAnn CaronGoudr­eau during a regional semifinal in the women’s NCAA Tournament on Friday in Lexington, Kentucky. Stanford won 77-66.
JAMES CRISP/ ASSOCIATED PRESS Stanford’s Erica McCall, right, is pressured by Texas’ AudreyAnn CaronGoudr­eau during a regional semifinal in the women’s NCAA Tournament on Friday in Lexington, Kentucky. Stanford won 77-66.

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