Stanford women can't overcome slow start, fall to Huskies

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LEXINGTON, KY. — Three minutes into the game, Stanford sealed its own fate, even though it did not know that yet.

Washington scored the game's first 12 points, and even though Tara VanDerveer did not show much emotion, as is her custom, her pre-practice words from Saturday bounced off of every seat in Rupp Arena.

"We're both riding this emotional high, and you've got to come out ready to play," VanDerveer said Saturday. "You've got to be extremely aggressive."

The Cardinal's stumbling start was too much to comeback from on Sunday. The Huskies' offense carried Washington to its first Final Four in program history with a 85-76 win over Stanford in the Lexington Region final.

Down double-digits for most of the first three quarters, Stanford's biggest run began the final quarter of the season, as it hit four straight three-pointers to cut the Washington lead to four points.

But the issue at hand — after the seven-point first quarter — was the Cardinal's defense, ranked second nationally in field goal percentage. Washington's 7-1 run pushed the lead back to 10, and any last-minute fouling was rendered moot.

Washington's Chantel Osahor, left, pulls down a rebound near Stanford's Erica McCall (24) during a regional final women's college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament in Lexington, Ky., Sunday, March 27, 2016. (AP Photo/James Crisp) less Washington's Chantel Osahor, left, pulls down a rebound near Stanford's Erica McCall (24) during a regional final women's college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament in Lexington, Ky., Sunday, March 27, ... more Photo: James Crisp, AP Photo: James Crisp, AP Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Stanford women can't overcome slow start, fall to Huskies 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

The Huskies' key for a second straight game was Chantel Osahor, whose three-point shooting (three made), rebounding (18 rebounds) and passing strung Washington along.

Even then, her defense — along with forwards Kate Collier and Talia Walton — on Stanford's Erica McCall proved to be as important. McCall, coming off of a career-high 27 points against Notre Dame Friday, did not score in the first half as Washington built its double-digit advantage. McCall did have 17 points in the second half, but she made only five field goals, and the first half misfires helped keep the game out of reach of the Cardinal.

Washington stormed out to a 12-0 lead within the first 2:45 of the game, with Osahor showing off her set-shot three-point shot twice. Stanford's problems persisted most of all on offense, where it was 3-of-17 in the first quarter as the Huskies took a 22-7 lead.

Stanford began its comeback in the second quarter as Lili Thompson took on the scoring brunt with McCall struggling to find any room inside or out. As the Huskies switched defenses every few minutes, Thompson weaved in and out for 13 first-half points. But she was the only Cardinal to score more than five points, and Washington trotted into halftime with a 37-26 lead with its three high scorers — Kelsey Plum, Talia Walton and Osahor — totaling to 23.

Those three combined for 62 points and 30 rebounds by game's end, led by Plum's 26 points and Osahor's 24 points and 18 rebounds.

Stanford finishes its season at 27-8 and will go consecutive seasons without earning a trip to the Final Four for the first time since the 2006-07 season.