The defending national champions are heading back to the Final Four.
No. 1 Stanford avenged an earlier loss to No. 2 Texas with a 59-50 win Sunday night in the final of the Spokane Regional.
The game was close throughout, but the Cardinal never trailed in the second half. Playing in their hometown, Lexie Hull had a game-high 20 points and Lacie Hull played the entire game for Stanford (32-3), which has advanced to nine Final Fours in the past 14 tournaments.
Haley Jones added 18 points and 12 rebounds and Cameron Brink had 10 points and six blocks in the second half after playing just six minutes in the first half due to foul trouble.
Seeking its first Final Four since 2003, Texas (29-7) cut the deficit to 50-48, but Lexie Hull converted a 3-point play with 2:29 left.
Stanford heads to Minneapolis, where it will face the winner of today’s Bridgeport Regional final between No. 1 N.C. State and No. 2 Connecticut.
“We’re peaking at the right time,” Jones said during a postgame interview on ESPN. “We’re hitting our shots, we’re finding the hot hand, we’re doing all the right things. And I think we’re also physical, we’re being gritty. These down-to-the-wire games, we’ve pulled it off.”
The Longhorns were the only visiting team to win at Maples Pavilion this season, beating the Cardinal 61-56 in the second game for both teams.
Texas forced 20 turnovers in that matchup and its pressure continued to cause problems for Stanford on Sunday. The Cardinal had 20 turnovers and shot just 3 of 17 from behind the arc, but outrebounded Texas 45-28.
Brink scored Stanford’s first 10 points of the second half, including her 11th 3-pointer of the season.
Stanford (23) and Texas (14) entered with the two longest winning streaks in the country.
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Author: Harold Gutmann