Stanford’s semifinal win over Connecticut displayed the Cardinal’s shot-making ability and defense, but it was their dominance on the boards that set them apart from the Huskies and allowed them to take control of the game early.

One of the keys for Stanford was to prevent Connecticut from pulling down offensive rebounds. The Huskies were one of the best rebounding teams in the country this year: they averaged close to 45 a game, and finished fourth in the nation with a total of 1231 offensive boards through the beginning of the month. As a by-product of this success, they enjoyed an 11.7 rebound advantage per game over their opponents.

The Cardinal wasn’t too shabby either, averaging 41.4 rebounds per game coming into Sunday’s game. But Connecticut had successfully handled Stanford on the boards in their November match up — a 66-54 Huskies win — as they pulled down nine more rebounds than the Cardinal.

Not so on Sunday. Stanford managed to outrebound the Huskies, 43-37. The disparity seemed much wider than that.

First, Stanford needed to establish itself on the defensive boards. By way of their poor shooting, Connecticut had multiple offensive rebounding opportunities. But the Cardinal did an excellent job of boxing players out and gaining position on the glass — Stanford kept the area underneath the basket clear instead of allowing Connecticut to set up down low for second chance opportunities. It was as technically-sound as rebounding can be, and the Huskies simply had no answer for it.

“I think what we were able to do was we were able to keep them off the o-boards. We boxed out pretty well,” said coach Tara VanDerveer.

While rebounding is a strength of sophomore center Jayne Appel and freshman forward Kayla Pedersen, senior guard Candice Wiggins — a good rebounder in her own right — was able to contribute as well. She led the Cardinal with 13 rebounds, all of which came on the defensive boards.

With their position on their own hoop secured, Stanford turned its attention to the offensive glass, where Jillian Harmon, in limited time, excelled, pulling down three offensive boards. Pedersen and Appel contributed two apiece.

“Rebounding in general is important. And I think we won the rebounding margin. I think that really helped us a lot,” said Wiggins.

Indeed, it did: by controlling the boards, the Cardinal controlled the ball, and was thus able to set the tone of the game. Instead of allowing Connecticut to institute its fast-paced, run-’n-gun attack effectively, the Cardinal slowed the game down while on offense. They would routinely take 25 seconds to get a shot off, which took Connecticut out of its element — the Huskies prefer to force shooters to put the ball up quickly so they can establish their offense.

Despite the game’s style being completely different from what they’re used to, the Huskies refused to adapt. When they had the ball, UConn kept pushing, kept missing, and kept being outwrestled for the rebounds — they never found their offensive rhythm. Coach Geno Auriemma failed to adjust to the slower style of play. In fact, after the game, he chastised himself for not calling timeouts to slow his team down.

“They just want to go. That’s the kind of team we are,” he said, “If we could have stayed on offense a little bit longer, we could have caught our breath a little bit.”

Auriemma concluded: “We shouldn’t have played like that today.”

This disorientation and unfamiliarity wit the tempo of the game ultimately led to the Huskies demise — and it all started on the boards.