SPOKANE, Wash. — The reigning women’s basketball national champion Stanford Cardinal secured a trip back to the Final Four on Sunday night, becoming the second No. 1 seed to reach this year’s national semifinals, with a 59-50 win over the No. 2 seed Texas Longhorns.
It’s the 14th Final Four appearance for the Cardinal under legendary coach Tara VanDerveer.
“It does not get old,” VanDerveer said postgame. “You’re always happy to go to the Final Four, but sometimes you’re really happy. I’m really happy. It is a great group to be with, they care about each other, they’ll do whatever. I wasn’t worried about the effort at all today.
“We have great leadership, unselfishness and I think whoever we play — whether it’s Connecticut or NC State — we’ll be ready.”
First, Stanford had to survive a rematch against the Longhorns. When these teams met in November in Palo Alto, Texas spoiled Stanford’s ring-night celebration of last season’s title with a fourth-quarter comeback to win 61-56 on the Cardinal’s home court.
Stanford took an identical five-point lead to the final period Sunday. This time, the Cardinal made it stand up in large part thanks to the play of senior Lexie Hull, who scored a game-high 20 points in front of family and friends in her hometown.
The Longhorns had cut Stanford’s lead to two when Hull drove for a runner while being fouled and converted the ensuing free throw for a three-point play. On the following possession, Hull made two free throws to give the Cardinal a two-possession lead for good.
“It was a big play, no doubt about it,” Texas coach said.
Although Hull’s twin sister, Lacie, was scoreless, her play was also a key difference from the November matchup. Back then, Stanford was struggling to replace point guard Kiana Williams, who left for the WNBA after the championship. The Cardinal handed out a season-low seven assists and turned the ball over 20 times against Texas’ pressure.
Turnovers remained an issue for Stanford on Sunday, as the…
Source : espn
