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NewsvineStanford has danced all the way to Tampa, but in order to keep its Final Four run going, the second-seeded Cardinal will have to knock off No. 1 Connecticut, arguably the best team in the country.
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Stanford fell to Connecticut earlier this year, 66-54, but the Cardinal have improved their games throughout the season and matchup well against the Huskies, who are the only thing stopping Stanford from a finals appearance.
But no team is hotter than Stanford, who carries a nation-best 22-game winning streak into the semifinal game against the Huskies. When the two squads tip off on Sunday, it will be exactly three months since the Cardinal last lost.
Still, Connecticut poses a mighty task for Tara VanDerveer’s squad, who fell to the Huskies 66-54 at the Paradise Jam on Nov. 22. Connecticut took an early lead in that contest, and the Cardinal was never able to claw its way back.
Maya Moore, the Huskies’ star who on Tuesday became just the second freshman to earn All-American honors, led all scorers with 19 points, most of which came during a 23-6 run during which the Huskies outran, outshot and outrebounded the Cardinal. She leads a very athletic Connecticut team that will seek to control and utilize a faster tempo on both sides of the floor.
But the Cardinal’s transition game has developed throughout the season, as they have been able to outrun teams on offense and hustle back on defense. Junior forward Jillian Harmon and freshman guard Jeanette Pohlen have been especially proficient in this regard. Even if the Huskies maintain power over the pace of the game, Stanford will be in better position to compete than they were five months ago.
The Cardinal, though, will not relinquish control of the game so quickly — they’ll look to set up their offense through senior guard Candice Wiggins and sophomore center Jayne Appel. With the exception of the Sweet 16 game against Pitt, Wiggins has been on a historic tear during the NCAA Tournament, scoring 40 points twice — she is the only player in NCAA history to do that and just the fifth to score over 40 points in a tournament game. Her latest performance, a 41-point effort against Maryland, led Stanford to its first Final Four in 11 years.
But Wiggins is hardly the sole reason behind the success — the team is finding contributions from a variety of sources. Appel has been equally hot throughout the tournament, scoring 20 points in three of the Cardinal’s four games, including a career-high 33 points against Portland State in the first round.
Freshman forward Kayla Pedersen is averaging close to 12 points a game in the NCAAs for the Cardinal, and sophomore guard JJ Hones netted a career-high 23 points against Maryland.
The cohesiveness and total team effort has drawn the praise of VanDerveer.
“We did it with I think everyone really contributing, willing to do whatever it takes,” she said. “I’m really proud of our team, I think that through the whole NCAA tournament so far they have really responded to the challenge.”
This trend will have to continue against the Huskies, who boast a complete team of their own. Besides Moore, Connecticut features threats in Renee Montgomery, Ketia Swanier and Brittany Hunter. Tina Charles adds instant offense off the bench. Not only will the Cardinal’s defense need to hold, but the offense must be on its game as well.
Redshirt sophomore point guard Rosalyn Gold-Onwude will be charged with leading both attacks — her shut-down defense will be the first line of resistance against the Huskies, and her deft passing will help the Cardinal set the offensive tone. Gold-Onwude is emblematic of a deep Stanford team whose contributions don’t necessarily show up in the box score but add to the entire formula needed to succeed.
“They really play hard for each other,” said VanDerveer. “It’s really special.”
The Final Four trip has been a long time coming for Stanford and Wiggins in particular, who, in her senior season, was finally able to make it to the promised land. Her thoughts went back to her freshman season three years ago, when the Cardinal fell to Michigan State in the Elite Eight — a result that has motivated her since.
“I just thought about my freshman year at Michigan State,” she said. “They were celebrating and dancing and I was just like, gosh, I just want to dance like that, just be excited and go to the Final Four with my team. And I kind of had that image in my head before the game started. And sure enough, we were all out here dancing.”