Cardinal caged Cougars long enough to make run to Sweet 16

Stanford struggled through much of the first half but turned up the pressure on defense in the third quarter to key a dominant 18-3 run on the way to 72-63 win over No. 7 seed BYU.

It's the Cardinal's 12th straight trip to the Sweet 16 and they will play Missouri State after the No. 11 seed upset Iowa State Monday night. Staford got all it could handle from BYU, especially in a rough first half during which the Cardinal made only five of their first 20 shots and settled for three after three against the Cougars' zone.

DiJonai Carrington carried Stanford in the first half with 14 points and her pull-up jumper in the final seconds gave the Cardinal a jolt of momentum and a 31-29 lead at the break.

Carrington's determined play stiffened the resolve of her Cardinal teammates to get through the frustration of not seeing open shots go in.

BYU got 15 points from their leading scorer, freshman Shaylee Gonzales, in the first half and 32 overall. Her fearless play was the engine for the Cougars in the first 20 minutes. Stanford's dominant run in the third quarter was in part due to containing her. She scored with 7:50 remaining in the third quarter and not again until 3:02 left in the game.

Stanford's toughness wore down the Cougars and their head coach Jeff Judkins said his team wasn't used to that level of physicality. The Cardinal leaned on their defense to settle down the rest of their game.

"I thought starting out at halftime we talked about the fact that we were rushed," said head coach Tara VanDerveer. "I think the very first play looked frenetic. Just calm down and play. We know what we can do, so let's come out and focus.

"DiJonai did a great job in the first half. She kind of put the team on her back. We're not used to Kiana (Williams) being in foul trouble (with two in the first quarter), so we went to the zone and the zone helped us. We were down seven and came back out of that. We just know that Alanna (Smith) is better than what she did in the first half. Lexie (Hull) hit a big three for us. Shannon (Coffee) hit a three. It was contagious."

But on a late night the Cardinal maybe fell into a false sense of confidence that the game was over before the final whistle.

It was with 2:11 left in the game that some March Madness creeped into Maples Pavilion. Stanford led by 18 but a series of steals led to three straight fastbreak buckets and VanDerveer called a timeout when the lead was cut to nine.

A BYU miracle was dashed when the Cardinal steadied and Smith made two free throws with 26 seconds left to put the lead back to double digits, 72-61.

Smith was one of the more frustrated Cardinal on offense in the first half and it was clear to see after each of her five three-point misses. (Stanford made only 4-of-23 three-point attempts in the first half.) Smith only had four points in the first 20 minutes of the game. She scored nine in the third quarter and the last eight of the Cardinal's points in the quarter.

Smith made sure her final game at Maples was special: 23 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and a steal. She'll be remembered as one of the best players to suit up for VanDerveer.

Stanford's "Big Three" of Smith, Carrington and Kiana Williams scored 55 of the team's points.

Williams didn't have the shooting performance she typically has in tournament play, but she made several key shots and was a calming presence. She had both of her turnovers in the the last 1:36 of the game.

She was off the court for several minutes and was checked by the medical staff during that time because she appeared shaken after taking a hard hit on a screen. She still still seemed affected when she returned to the game.

While she was out of the game Anna Wilson led the team by breaking the press and made a three to push the lead to 18 with 3:28 left in the game. That appeared to seal the win but BYU's charge got the crowd back on the edge of their seats.

Stanford only had eight turnovers for the game and for the most part played the type of clean basketball needed to advance as the tournament gets tougher. VanDerveer and the Stanford staff will get to work Tuesday breaking down film on Missouri State to try to end Cinderella's run.

"Hope it's a late game and at midnight Cinderella goes home," she said.

VanDerveer Opening Statement: "Well, first of all, we are very excited to be going to Chicago and be part of the 12th (straight) Sweet 16. I'm really happy to be able to say that. And I just want to complement BYU on their team. They have just a great team and a really special player in Shaylee Gonzales. She, I think, we had all we could handle with her.

I'm really proud of our team. I thought Dijonai, she really kept us in the game the first half and then Alanna really stepped up her game in the second half. Kiana did her usual, I think played really hard. Our team worked very hard defensively and again we're really excited to be moving on.

Q. Dijonai, your game was all over the place today.You were hitting threes, going to the basket, got a couple offensive fouls, at least one I think. You hit the floor about three or four times. How can you attribute to it the total game you had today? Are you sore right now?

Carrington: I'm just excited. I'm proud of our team. We struggled shooting, obviously, in the first half. But I think just the way that we stuck together, it wasn't really any one person. I think we all contributed in different facets. I think I was able to contribute mostly in the second quarter, but I think that just the way our team battled; it obviously wasn't a beautiful offensive game for us, but in any instance, we found a way to win and that's what we're going to have to do moving forward as we continue to seek a National Championship.

Q. What clicked for you in the second half, do you think?

Smith: I had a couple of my teammates just talk to me and tell me, "Keep shooting," like "we love that you're taking those shots and we know that they are going to go in eventually."

And so, you know, if I'm open, I'm going to take an open shot, and I think everyone on our team is confident in doing so, and it was great that the second half that we were falling.

Q. Can you describe your emotions in your final game here at Maples Pavilion?

Smith: Yeah, I think that it's -- it hasn't hit me yet but it's definitely -- I'm sad that that was my last game. I love Stanford. I love the coaching staff. I just love the atmosphere and playing at Maples, and I'm definitely going to miss it. It's been the best four years of my life.But you know, it's not over yet. We have more games coming up in the next couple weeks, hopefully and we've got to focus on the Sweet 16. And while it's sad that it was my last game in maples, I have another one in Chicago, so I'm just trying to ride this wave and ride it as long as possible.

Q. How would you compare Shaylee to some of the players you went up against in the Pac-12?

Carrington: I would say, I mean, she clearly was scoring anyway she wanted to kind of today, and I think she's a great player. I think that our defense still did a good job, though. I think we made it tough for her. She got a lot of buckets, but I think that Anna, Lexie, Lacie, everyone who switched on to her really did a good job of defending her. She's a good player though and good players are still going to score.

I mean, I don't really want to compare her to anyone. I think she has her own unique game and best of luck to her, her next three years. That's great, especially for a freshman.

Q. For either player. It was nip-and-tuck and then you scored 16 straight points midway through the third quarter. What do you think was going on in that stretch that allowed you to pull away?

Smith: I think we were hungry. We came out of the second half and we had a really good talkabout the first half, and we knew that we weren't playing our best basketball. You know, the only way to go is up, and to improve, so we were hungry in the second half, and we wanted to play better. And we knew -- we had been getting open shots and that we weren't hitting them so it was just about hitting those open shots and taking advantage of what the defense was giving us, and I think we had a better idea of it after that second half.

So going into the third quarter, we knew what we had to do and we executed really well. People started hitting shots and it just kind of all fell into place.

Q. After Saturday's game, Kiana said that you guys still had not peaked yet; that you still had a lot to show. Your thoughts on what she said, especially after tonight's game.

Carrington: I mean, absolutely. I think we can only go up. I really am so confident in my teammates and our coaching staff. We missed how many threes? 20-plus? I mean --

VanDerveer: 23.

Carrington: 23 threes. I think that right there tells you that this isn't the cap for us. Everyone's potential, the sky's the limit for each of our players and as we move on, we're just going to keep getting better and better. This is the time for us to peak, and I think Kiana said it best, yeah, we haven't even touched the surface yet -- scratched the surface yet at all.

Q. How do you feel about playing the No. 11 seed now, Missouri state, in Chicago? They are like the Cinderella team of the tournament, or one of them, anyway.

VanDerveer: Well, we did that in the Pac-12 tournament, too. You know, hope it's a late game and midnight, Cinderella goes home (laughter).You know, obviously they are playing very well to be in that spot, and quite honestly, I have not looked at any game past this bracket just because this bracket, so far for us, took a lot of preparation. But we have played them before in a Florida tournament three years ago, so we'll dig that tape out and we'll really study up and be ready to go. We'll meet for a short amount of time tomorrow. You know, we'll be ready.

Q. What did you think was the cause for your big explosion there in the 16-0 run in the third quarter,obviously you're hitting your shots, but what more was there involved in that?

VanDerveer: Well, I thought starting out, at halftime, we talked about the fact that we were rushed and you know, I think people -- like the very first play, it was like a little phrenetic. You know, shots and just like calm down and play. So we have 20 minutes;we know what we can do. Let's just come out and focus.Dijonai did a great job in the first half. She really put the team on her back. You know, we're not used to Kiana being in foul trouble, so we went in the zone andthe zone helped us. We were down seven and came back out of that. And then we just know that Alanna is better than what she did in the first half. Lexie hit a big three for us. Shannon hit a three. It was contagious.In the second half, we really got going offensively, and we were still working very hard defensively.

You know besides obviously Shaylee Gonzales had a great game, but you know, they have a great three-point shooter, No. 1. She was 3-for-11. You know, No. 13, 5-for-18. So I think other people, our team, it's about everyone playing well, and we've played against some great players in the Pac-12 that have had great games against us and our team still wins, so we just kept playing hard.

Q. Along those lines of the competition you've seen in the Pac-12, five teams --

VanDerveer: I know, it's awesome.We're really excited for five teams to be in the Sweet 16. I think it's a great statement about our league.Is there another league with five teams in the Sweet 16? I don't think so. But I mean, I haven't followed it that closely, but you know, congratulations to UCLA and Oregon state.We're excited. That's awesome.

Q. Late in the fourth, you were up by 18, and in a minute, it was down to nine and you called a time-out. What was your message to the team at that point?

VanDerveer: Well, I think there were some things, we got careless with the ball. They are an aggressive team, and they are going to make a run.You know, it wasn't -- I think that sometimes I think our team maybe felt that the game was over, and we just got sloppy. We only had eight turnovers for the game and we probably had four of them in that one-minute stretch.

Turning it over, and we just needed to take care of the ball a little bit better, so just tried to remind them of that.

Q. Going back to that run in the third quarter, Jeff thought maybe your team wore them out and that it was more physical than they were used to. Do you think there's any truth in that?

VanDerveer: I thought they were physical, too. You know, we were able to -- I think we were able to play, you know, get people some rest in the first half. Anna came in. Unfortunately she got two fouls. But Lexie, Lacie, Dijonai, I thought Shannon Coffee helped us a lot. I don't know how many minutes she played, but you know, 16 minutes, and then Maya, they were tag-teaming.

The pace of the game was really fast in the beginning of the game, and sometimes that can -- you know, you can't recover from that. Sometimes you come out too fast. It's like a race. You start out really fast and then you're just dying. So it might have -- the pace might have hurt them a little bit.

Q. Just with Anna Wilson, she obviously missed the NCAA Tournament the last two years with injuries. How does it see is it to had he in action?

VanDerveer: It's great. She just gives us a low, quick defender that's just different than Lacie's defense, and Lacie has been playing great defense for us. It allows us to not have Ki defend the ball. We need her. I thought Ki did a really nice job onchase, but Anna, especially in the second half, I thought she was really a big key for us.

She kind of just made her (Gonzales) think about someone being there and got her hands on the ball a couple times. Then she hit her three. Again, I would have liked it if we could have made some free throws and taken care of the ball down the stretch but I'm excited to be moving on and I'm really proud of how everyone came played hard. Even when things were not going Alanna's way early,and she stayed with things. You know, it wasn't Ki's best game, but she kept playing hard. So I'm really proud of our team and how hard they work.