Candice Wiggins checked off the one accomplishment missing in her career at Stanford – getting the Cardinal back to the Final Four.
The three-time Pac-10 Player of the Year, Wiggins scored 41 points, and got some help from unlikely sources as the second-seeded Cardinal pulled away from No. 1-seed Maryland 98-87 last night in the Spokane (Wash.) Regional final.
Playing with a swagger and confidence bred from Stanford being denied a No. 1 seed in the tournament, the Cardinal is back in the Final Four for the first time in 11 years. Stanford will face either Connecticut or Rutgers in the national semifinals in Tampa, Fla.
“We knew coming in we were the underdogs,” Wiggins said through tears as her teammates jumped up-and-down on the NCAA logo as “All Right Now” was played by the Stanford band. “We stayed tough and did the things that got us here and we're going to keep it going.
“It's amazing. It's the most incredible feeling.”
With a young supporting cast, Stanford took its cue from Wiggins, its senior star who failed in two previous regional finals as a freshman and sophomore. She bounced all over the court, providing problems for the Terrapins, whether hitting step-back three-pointers or rising between defenders in the lane.
Her best bouncing may have come at the end, when Wiggins (La Jolla Country Day) started hopping around, leaving the ball on the court as the final seconds ticked off.
“My teammates had my back, they always had my back,” she said. “We knew coming in we were going to win this game. It's such a wonderful feeling.”
After hitting for a career-best 44 against UTEP in the second-round, Wiggins was 10-of-22 shooting, including five three-pointers, and made 16-of-19 free throws. The 41 points was the fifth-best performance in tournament history and she is the first player with two 40-point games in tourney history.
Stanford won its 22nd straight, and will be the first Final Four team from west of the Rockies since the Cardinal's appearance in 1997.
Meanwhile, the Terrapins (33-4) failed in their attempt to reach the Final Four two years after winning the national title. Kristi Toliver led Maryland with a career-high 35 points.
New Orleans Regional
LSU 56, NORTH CAROLINA 50: Sylvia Fowles had 21 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots, lifting LSU to victory over top-seeded North Carolina in last night's finals. The victory sent the second-seeded Lady Tigers (31-5) to their fifth Final Four in as many seasons. For North Carolina (33-3), forced to play before a hostile crowd wearing purple and gold, the loss snapped a 16-game winning streak and left the Tar Heels one victory short of a third straight Final Four appearance. LSU coach Van Chancellor, advancing to the Final Four for the first time, coached 19 years at Mississippi, reaching four regional finals. He then moved on to the WNBA, where he won four titles with the Houston Comets. He also won a FIBA world championship in 2002 and Olympic gold in 2004 before a brief retirement.
