Reigning Champion Stanford Advances to Fourth Consecutive Semifinal
LAS VEGAS, NEV. The reigning Pac-12 Tournament Champion, Stanford, continued their dominance in the tournament beating Oregon State for the third time this season behind junior guard Kiana Williams’ 23-point performance.
“She's a March basketball player,” said Stanford Head Coach Tara VanDerveer. “She kind of starts out getting everybody involved, and then when it's time, she asserts herself.”
Stanford wasted no time getting their offense going with a 15-4 run during the first quarter putting them ahead by 16. The Cardinal opened up with a 25-10 first quarter and never let go of the lead.
Even though the Beavers trailed for the entire night, OSU was relentless in their pursuit.
“I was really proud of our team for battling how they did tonight,” said Beaver Head Coach Scott Rueck. ”I thought they played a phenomenal second half to battle back and they just showed the heart that they have.”
Oregon State tightened the gap with four points to end the second, shaving the lead to 13. But, Stanford’s defense would tighten up, shutting down Oregon State’s offense, particularly from the beyond the arc. The Beavers shot 38.5% from three-point land, a considerable drop from their impressive 56.3% performance yesterday.
“You know, they choose to take the three away,” said Reuck. “They just chased us everywhere and hugged us all over the three-point line.”
Beaver fans got a taste of hope when Oregon State’s deficit was cut to nine.
But OSU would allow back-to-back threes by Kiana Williams, letting the Cardinal run away with a 17 point lead to end the third quarter.
Oregon State would make one last push in the fourth quarter, slicing into Stanford’s lead to its lowest margin of 8. However, that would be as close as the Beavers would get as the Cardinal defense clamped down and took the win 68-57.
UP NEXT: With this victory, Stanford secured its fourth straight semifinals appearance. The Cardinal will face off against the UCLA Bruins tomorrow at 8:30pm. This is the first time since 2013 that all of the top four seeded teams are playing in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament.
