STANFORD RALLIES, THEN HOLDS OFF NOTRE DAME
Block at buzzer sends Cardinal to Final Four
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer likened it to the Kentucky Derby after her Cardinal rallied from a 16-point, second-half deficit to stun top-seeded Notre Dame 76-75 Sunday in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament Lexington Regional final at Rupp Arena.
The game-winner for Stanford came on a short jumper by sophomore forward Alanna Smith with 23 seconds left.
The Cardinal had to withstand a furious finish that saw Notre Dame senior guard Lindsay Allen miss a 15-foot jumper with four seconds left. Stanford’s 6-3 senior center Erica McCall blocked Irish guard Arike Ogunbowale’s short shot on the right baseline at the buzzer.
Stanford trailed 47-31 in the early stages of the third quarter.
“I kind of used the analogy a little bit, we’re in Kentucky and this is horse country and what Kentucky Derby winner starts out and goes pole to pole?” said VanDerveer, whose team moves on to the Final Four in Dallas.
“It took us awhile to get going, but when we got going, we charged down that stretch and came across the finish line.
“We made some really tough shots, and when we needed our defense to step up, they stepped up really well.”
Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw appeared nearly as shocked by the finish as the Irish fans, who made up most of the crowd of 2,527. “We lost it in the third quarter,” said McGraw, referring to a 10-minute stretch that saw the Cardinal cut Notre Dame’s 45-31 halftime lead to 5755. “I don’t know what happened. We just couldn’t score, and we couldn’t defend. I think the more they got on a run, the tighter we got on offense. That was a killer.” Mississippi State 94, Baylor 85 OT: Point guard Morgan William scored a career-high 41 points as No. 2 seed Mississippi State knocked off top-seeded Baylor in overtime to make it to the school’s first women’s Final Four.
William hit six of eight from three-point range for the Bulldogs (33-4) and added seven assists. She had no turnovers. Baylor fell to 33-4. “It was just an unbelievable ef- fort by our team,” said coach Vic Schaefer, whose Bulldogs will face the winner of Monday’s game between Connecticut and Oregon.
Bridgeport Regional: Oregon coach Kelly Graves planned a trip with his family in January to watch the men’s Final Four this coming weekend.
It couldn’t have worked out better for the Ducks women’s basketball coach that his former school Gonzaga and his current one already have qualified for the national semifinals in Glendale, Ariz.
That was until his 10th-seeded team started winning its own NCAA tournament games.
Now the Ducks stand one win away from their first trip to the Final Four.
For that to happen, they would have to pull off one of the greatest upsets in women’s basketball history, knocking off No. 1 Connecticut on Monday.
“I tell you, I wouldn’t mind if I had that problem and had to miss the men’s Final Four,” Graves said, smiling. “I’d gladly take the hit financially.” Stockton Regional: Leticia Romero might not remember all the details. Yet one thing comes to mind from Florida State’s six- point loss to South Carolina in the Elite Eight two years ago.
“It was a fight,” said the Seminoles star from Spain. “I remember finishing the game and my whole body was hurting. We fought, and they did, too.”
Here they come again, with the top-seeded Gamecocks still chasing their first NCAA title and the No. 3 seed Seminoles determined to reach the program’s first Final Four.
A’ja Wilson remembers the previous NCAA matchup, all right.
“Going to the Final Four and just that feeling,” the South Carolina star recalled Sunday. “That’s something that I really want these girls to experience.”
Florida State coach Sue Semrau has chosen to scrimmage the Gamecocks in recent preseasons, then found herself cheering for Dawn Staley’s team throughout the season.
“We love that opportunity, because we have so much respect for South Carolina and the job that Dawn’s done and the program and team that they have put together,” Semrau said.