Warming up before the start of her final NCAA women's tournament, Stanford's Nnemkadi Ogwumike said she realized that the ending was about to begin.
As she recounted the moment, she concluded the story with a big burst of laughter.
Ogwumike played as though she is intent on having a blast in this final go-round as Stanford seeks a fifth consecutive Final Four. She had 22 of her 28 points in the first half Saturday in Norfolk, Va., as the top-seeded Cardinal beat Hampton, 73-51.
"It's so much fun when it gets to this point and you don't want to do anything but, believe it or not, continue to practice," Ogwumike said.
Joslyn Tinkle added 16 points and hit a career-best four 3-pointers in as many tries. Freshman point guard Amber Orrange had a career-best 11 assists, including one dazzling feed to Ogwumike under the basket.
Even a knee injury that kept Chiney Ogwumike, Nnemkadi's younger sister, riding a stationary bike late in the first half wasn't enough to keep her out of the lineup after halftime.
The Cardinal, however, didn't need her.
Stanford (32-1) extended its school-record winning streak to 29 and will face eighth-seeded West Virginia on Monday night in the second round.
Alyssa Bennett scored 19 points to lead Hampton (26-5), which was playing about 11 miles from its campus.
South Carolina 80, Eastern Michigan 48: The fifth-seeded Gamecocks showed they can do more than just play lockdown defense.
Markeshia Grant scored 12 points, and South Carolina (24-9) used a 23-5 spurt that bridged halftime to pull away from 12th-seeded Eastern Michigan (23-9) in West Lafayette, Ind.
Eastern's Tavelyn James, the nation's second-leading scorer, was held to 11 points, 13 below her season average. She finished her career with 2,461 points.
At Purdue 83, South Dakota State 68: Courtney Moses scored 29 points and set a first-round NCAA women's tournament record by making nine 3-pointers, helping the fourth-seeded Boilermakers (25-8) pull away from the pesky Jackrabbits (24-9) in West Lafayette. Purdue will face fifth-seeded South Carolina on Monday night.
West Virginia 68, Texas 55: Taylor Palmer scored 13 of her 18 points in the second half, including a huge 3-pointer with 3:39 to play, helping the Mountaineers (24-9) overcome the Longhorns (18-14) in Norfolk, Va.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
0 意見:
Post a Comment