Huskies Headed to First Final Four
March 27, 2016 | Women's Basketball
Box Score | Final Four Tickets | Tournament Central
LEXINGTON, KY. – Washington is headed to the Final Four. The Huskies' incredible NCAA Tournament run continued on Sunday, as the Dawgs knocked off Stanford, 85-76. The seventh-seeded Dawgs will head to Indianapolis for the first Final Four in program history after another dominating display, this time in the Regional Final at Rupp Arena against the fourth-seeded Cardinal.
The result was an example of perhaps the hottest team in the country clicking on all cylinders, playing complete team basketball. Chantel Osahor was named the MVP of the Region after another monster game, tying a career best with 24 points, while ripping down 18 rebounds.
Kelsey Plum distributed early and scored late, finishing with 26 points and eight assists. Talia Walton (12) and Alexus Atchley (11) also scored in double figures as the Huskies shot 49.2 percent (29-59) for the game.
The Huskies could not have started faster, reeling off a 12-0 run to begin the game as Osahor knocked down a pair of 3-pointers. The Huskies continued to build their lead as Walton knocked down three jumpers and great ball movement led to a pair of layups from Katie Collier. Washington led 22-7 after the opening 10 minutes by shooting 50 percent (10-20), while holding the Cardinal to 18 percent (3-17).
Stanford responded in the second quarter to cut the lead to eight, but the Dawgs battled back with a spark off the bench from Kelli Kingma. The sophomore knocked down a pair of 3-pointers from the corner as the Huskies extended the lead back to 14 and led 37-26 at the break.
After the half, Stanford tried to make it close, but the Dawgs seemed to have the answer every time. Osahor went to work in the post, while Plum got it going being aggressive going to the basket. The Cardinal would get as close as seven in the third quarter, but Washington answered with Plum getting to the line and then Atchley knocking down a 3-pointer. The Dawgs led 63-51 heading to the fourth.
The Huskies took their biggest punch to start the fourth quarter as the Cardinal knocked down 3-pointers on four straight possessions to cut the lead to four. Calmly the Dawgs regrouped and slowly built their lead once again. Walton had a putback, before Atchley blew by a defender to regain a cushion.
Stanford made one last effort with just a minute to play, cutting the lead to five, but Washington would get stops and make free throws the rest of the way. After struggling from the foul line against Kentucky, the Dawgs made 19 of 22 against Stanford, including Plum going 8-for-8.
The win over Stanford was the second this season as the Huskies also knocked the Cardinal out in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal. It was the first time since 1987 that the Dawgs beat Stanford twice in the same season.
Washington improved to 26-10 and will advance to the first Final Four in program history. The Dawgs will take on No. 4 Syracuse in the National Semifinal on Sunday, April 3, in Indianapolis.
