Stanford rolls Utah Valley in first round
No. 1 Cardinal open NCAA Tournament with 8744 rout — next up: Oklahoma State women.
One down, five to go for Stanford.
Tara VanDerveer’s team needs five more victories if it’s going to win the program’s third national title.
One thing is certain: Should the Cardinal reach the championship game, none of the next five games will be as easy as
Sunday night’s 8744 dismantling of Utah Valley in San Antonio.
The matchup with the Wolverines (137) was decided, in effect, last Monday when the field of 64 was announced. Stanford (262), the top seed in the tournament, extended its winning streak to 15 games.
The Cardinal will meet Oklahoma State (198) on
Tuesday. The Cowgirls, an eight seed, rolled to an 8461 victory over ninthseeded Wake Forest (1213) as 6foot4 forward Natasha Mack racked up 27 points, 15 rebounds and four assists.
Mack, a senior who was named the Big 12’s Defensive Player of the Year, added four blocked shots and two steals.
She leads the nation in blocks per game at 4.12.
Senior guard Kiana Williams leads Stanford in career 3pointers. She opened Sunday’s scoring by connecting from beyond the arc. That gave her 295 3’s, tying Candice Wiggins’ program record.
Midway through the first quarter, Williams buried the recordbreaking trey from the left corner. The San Antonio native finished the night 6for11 from long range en route to a gamehigh 20 points. Williams’ school record for 3’s stands at 300.
“It hasn’t really been at the top of my list. I just want to win,” Williams said about the 3point mark in a postgame Zoom news conference. “It’s nice to have the record, but winning at the end of the day is way more important to me.”
Said VanDerveer: “You’re talking about some really, really good 3point shooters at Stanford. For Kiana to hold that record is really special.
“I’m really happy for her, and I’m glad that she could set the record here in San Antonio in front of her family and friends.”
And get this: Going back to the final two games of the Pac12 tournament, Williams has nailed 17 of her past 25 3point tries.
The Cardinal did not trail. Stanford led 299 after one quarter and 5320 at halftime. In the opening 20 minutes, Stanford shot 57.1% from inside the arc (8for14) and 57.1% from beyond the arc (12for21).
One scary moment for Stanford: Starting guard Anna Wilson took a tumble early in the fourth quarter and then limped off the court. In her postgame news conference, VanDerveer said she thought Wilson would be OK.
“A little ice and a good night’s sleep and I think she’ll be ready to go tomorrow,” VanDerveer said. “We’ve got our work cut for us. We’re going to have to have a really good day tomorrow to get ready for Oklahoma State.”
Briefly: Center Josie Williams led Utah Valley with 18 points . ... This was the 121st NCAA Tournament game in Stanford program history; the Cardinal improved to 9031. It was Utah Valley’s first NCAA Tournament game.