Stanford on collision course with UConn

Stanford pulled safely clear of Oklahoma in the final few seconds of its Final Four clash yesterday to win 73-66 and set up a national championship showdown with Connecticut.

The Huskies defeated Baylor 70-50 in the other semifinal game, setting up a loaded final between Stanford and UConn. In December, the last time the two sides met, the Card fell to UConn 80-68 in Storrs, Conn.

The Cardinal (36-1, 18-0 Pac-10) stayed ahead of the Sooners (27-11, 11-5 Big-12) for almost the entire game, with Oklahoma closing to tie it just once in the first four minutes. But Stanford struggled to close out the win as the No. 3 seed put on a late charge.

The difference that separated the two sides was all-American sophomore forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike, who put in a bid for MVP of the tournament, scoring the highest number of points by a single player ever in a national semifinal, 38, and grabbing 16 rebounds.

“My team and my coaches made me very comfortable,” Ogwumike said. “We wanted to bring a lot of intensity. Everyone was really exhilarated and excited. We talked about playing with fire, and I think we lit that fire tonight.”

After scoring a point for every minute of her time on the court, the Texas native deflected the credit for this achievement to her team.

“Without my teammates I wouldn’t have been able to do anything,” Ogwumike said. “They gave me the passes, they screened well for me and I tried my best to reciprocate that for them.”

Both teams started the contest with a lot of ugly shots, lacking the right direction or power. For the first few minutes neither team managed to rack up many points, and neither was able to capitalize on the other’s mistakes.

The Cardinal hit the first points with over two minutes already gone, but the Sooners tied the game up soon after and kept it close until the 13th minute. From there, Stanford started a 12-1 run and held the margin to lead 34-21 at the half.

At the midpoint of the first half, the Sooners were shooting just 16 percent from the field, and their leading scorer, junior guard Danielle Robinson, shot just 4-12 in the first half.

Defensively, redshirt senior Rosalyn Gold-Onwude held senior forward Nyeshia Stevenson, a player who scored 31 points in the Kansas City Regional Final, to just seven points before the halftime buzzer. The defensive approaches of the two teams were markedly different, Stanford allowing the Sooners room to play but contesting the paint, and Oklahoma pressing all over the court.

In the second half, the Cardinal struggled to make the gap count and finish its opposition off. Each time a few flashes of good dynamic play seemed to be opening a lead, the Sooners forced mistakes and kept the game close.

With just 1:21 remaining, senior forward Amanda Thompson made it a four-point game with a three-pointer, and brought back memories of the edgy contest with Xavier just last week. Senior center Jayne Appel was on the bench again, but this time as a tactical move by Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer, who brought redshirt junior guard JJ Hones into the game instead. Appel looked desperate to rejoin the game, and doubly so when Robinson hit a layup to close within three points.

Oklahoma was pressing hard and almost stole the ball with its full-court press off the next play. With 16 seconds remaining, the gap was back down to three from another Robinson basket, and the next play was crucial for both sides. Stanford had to make its possession count and Oklahoma deployed a stifling defense to hold the Card in its own half. Only one player was on the other side of the halfcourt line, Ogwumike.

Junior forward Kayla Pedersen then took everyone by surprise to throw a long, looping pass over the heads of all the other players, leaving the Texan alone for an uncontested layup.

The Cardinal women finally took the game home when junior guard Jeanette Pohlen stole the ball and Ogwumike drew a foul to head to the charity stripe one last time.

The lack of accuracy from both sides played a big role in this game. Gold-Onwude’s three-pointer at 12:22 in the first period was the single successful shot, out of a total of 15, for the Card from outside the arc. Meanwhile the Sooners were much improved in the second half, but they could not make up for their sloppy shooting in the first.

“We missed some really, very make-able shots,” VanDerveer said. “But I’m really proud of our team. Ros [Gold-Onwude] playing defense, Jeanette [Pohlen] played the whole game and I just think they tried really hard, and we’re excited to be playing on Tuesday night.”

Ogwumike continued her amazing form to lead her team, returning to the floor a few minutes after hitting the ground hard from an Oklahoma foul. Fellow all-American Appel had a much better game than earlier in the week, though lingering doubts about her ankle remain, and the guards kept Oklahoma honest. But most of all, the team is through to the final.

The National Championship game between No. 1 UConn and No. 2 Stanford will tip off at 5:30 p.m. PST from the Alamodome in San Antonio on Tuesday.