Though graduating seniors Brooke Smith and Kristen Newlin didn’t have the Stanford postseason live up to the expectations they expressed in this Mar. 2 story, the paint power of the duo was undeniable.

Smith started in all 34 season games and finished second in team scoring (13.9 points per game) and rebounding (7.6 per game). In Stanford’s Pacific-10 Conference Tournament win, she scored 11 points and eight boards against Arizona State, and in the NCAA first round she had a season-high 29 points on 13-of-17 shooting against Idaho State.

Newlin also started all 34 games and recorded six double-doubles on the season. She led the team in rebounding with 7.9 per game and contributed in the clutch at the Pac-10 Tournament with 10 boards and nine boards in the semifinal and final, respectively.

Now, the duo is splitting off into the WNBA. Smith was picked 23rd overall by the Minnesota Lynx, while Newlin went 34th to the Houston Comets.

For seniors Brooke Smith and Kristen Newlin, four seasons with Stanford women’s basketball came down to the final seconds against Southern California this past Sunday [Feb. 25]. With the Cardinal down 51-50 against the Women of Troy, and 2:28 to go, it was time for the two centers to step up yet again for the Cardinal.

Newlin responded to Sun Devil Morghan Medlock’s game-retaking three pointer with a jumper at 2:14 to go. USC’s Eshaya Murphy countered with a layup, but freshman center Jayne Appel gave Stanford its own one-point lead.

With just 11 seconds left on the clock, and the Sun Devils still fighting for an upset, Smith’s two free throws sealed the deal for the Cardinal, 56-53 — at the same time capping her and Newlin’s Stanford careers.

Except for the postseason, that is.

“[That was the end of] our regular season, but we really we see what’s coming up as a new beginning,” Newlin said. “We really want to keep the season going as long as possible.”

So, with the Cardinal’s first game of the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament tomorrow afternoon, and the NCAA tournament just two weeks away, Smith and Newlin are hoping for many more tight finishes — and victories.

“We’re both feeling a little sense or urgency, knowing that it’s now or never for us,” Newlin said. “Whatever we want to get done, we have to do it this year.”

Promising to “bring a little extra something” to postseason play, the power duo on the paint is looking to put the past behind them. Last Sunday’s senior day, featuring roses, hugs from head coach Tara VanDerveer and the customary snipping of the net was swept away with tip-off.

“It was little bit emotional, but we put that all behind us, and once we started playing, we knew we still had to win that game to become Pac-10 champs,” Newlin said.

The drive to clinch a seventh straight Pac-10 regular-season title for Stanford pushed Smith and Newlin through the final minutes and moments. Now, though, the seniors are fueled by the drive to reclaim the Pac-10 Tournament title after last year’s upset at the hands of UCLA.

And, ignoring the elephant in the room — at long last (after three straight trips to the Elite Eight), a trip to the Final Four, or daresay it, a national championship — Smith and Newlin agree that taking it one game at a time is paramount.

“Coming into the postseason senior year, we know we’re only guaranteed one more game, so we’re focusing on each one as it comes,” Smith said. “We know what we want, but we also know it’s a long way to get there.”

This weekend’s tournament will provide a barometer for Stanford, especially considering the possible three-game absence of junior guard Candice Wiggins. Smith and Newlin are ready to step up — as they already have.

In the two games thus far without the Cardinal’s leading scorer, Smith had 14 points (and 7 rebounds) against UCLA and 13 points against the Women of Troy. Newlin had 10 rebounds against the Bruins, and followed up with nine more against USC, along with 10 points. The performances finished off Stanford’s 17-1 Pac-10 record — and put targets on the backs of the two dominant seniors.

“We have to come out and play with energy and with desire,” Smith said. “The teams in the Pac-10 are going to come out wanting to beat us. We have to bring something to each game; we have to play with a little bit of attitude and really be aggressive.”

Helping the two will be the Cardinal’s recent leading scorer in Wiggins’ absence: the newly named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, Appel. She had 24 points and nine rebounds against UCLA and a further 14 points and nine rebounds versus the Women of Troy.

Developing into yet another force under the basket for the Cardinal, Appel was quick to give credit on Sunday.

“[Brooke and Kristen] have taught me everything . . . throughout the whole year, on and off the court,” she said.

Along with sophomore center Morgan Clyburn, Appel has taken on Newlin and Smith in two-on-two games during practice all season. The older posts avoid saying that the experience has taught Appel “everything,” though.

“Jayne’s obviously a talented basketball player,” Smith said. “She picks up and learns really quickly and has a great attitude and outlook on the team aspects of the game.”

Smith and Newlin, themselves, have proved largely beneficial to the team, whether contributing to the scoreboard or to the development of the team. Reminiscing about their own growth since their freshman seasons, the duo is happy “showing [the younger players] the ropes, helping them figure things out and giving back,” Smith said.

“Hopefully we’re setting a standard for what they might be able to pass on to younger kids coming in,” Newlin added. “I know I came in looking at the seniors, expecting to play as hard as they played, so hopefully we’re leaving that work ethic in them.”

That ethic will have to come through in the coming weeks for the Pac-10 and NCAA tourneys. With blue-shaded images of Newlin and Smith — as often seen, guarding the basket from a shot attempt, in a display of their height and strength — gracing the posters for the NCAA first and second rounds hosted at Maples, the duo hopes, and believes, it can make the effort to pull Stanford through the postseason as far as possible.

“We definitely want to help the team and make the experience last as long as possible,” Smith said.