SEATTLE — Chiney Ogwumike had a double-double by halftime, finished with 23 points and 21 rebounds and No. 4 Stanford remained perfect against Washington State with a 79-60 win Friday night in the Pac-12 Conference tournament quarterfinals.
SEATTLE — Chiney Ogwumike had a double-double by halftime, finished with 23 points and 21 rebounds and No. 4 Stanford remained perfect against Washington State with a 79-60 win Friday night in the Pac-12 Conference tournament quarterfinals.
The Cardinal won their 15th straight and improved to 55-0 all-time against the Cougars. They will play either No. 18 Colorado or Washington in the semifinals on Saturday night.
Ogwumike’s skill on the interior overwhelmed the Cougars in the first half before getting help from her teammates in the second half as Stanford (29-2) finally pulled away. It was the second 20-20 game this season for Ogwumike, who had 27 points and 24 rebounds against Oregon.
Lia Galdeira led Washington State (11-20) with 16 points, and Dawnyelle Awa added eight. Both are 2012 Konawaena graduates. The Cougars had coach June Daugherty back on the bench a day after she underwent emergency surgery to remove her appendix.
Sara James added 17 points — 14 in the second half — and Joslyn Tinkle scored 10 for the Cardinal.
Stanford led by as many as 17 only to see the Cougars cut the deficit to 31-23 on Mariah Cooks’ basket with 1:45 left. Amber Orrange scored as the shot clock expired and Ogwumike’s steal and driving layup just before the halftime horn gave the Cardinal a 35-23 lead at the break.
But help arrived early in the second half. James hit a pair of 3s early in the half and Ogwumike didn’t score for the first 7 minutes. By the time she did, the Cardinal had stretched the lead to 19.
Galdeira was limited to just four points in the first half thanks to foul trouble then was hounded by James and Ogwumike in the second half.