Stanford women overmatch Gonzaga in NCAA first round win

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Tara VanDerveer had spoken about how much she wants to see her special seniors play a little bit longer. She had acknowledged Stanford’s struggles being so great this season she wasn’t sure there would be an NCAA tournament berth at all.

Then, as usual this time of year when it matters most, her determined Cardinal came through on the big March stage once more — with a shining star freshman doing a little of everything.

Alanna Smith scored 20 points, freshman Kiana Williams made a sensational women’s NCAA Tournament debut, and No. 4 seed Stanford beat cold-shooting Gonzaga 82-68 in the first round of the Lexington Regional on Saturday.

“We really had to work hard to be sitting in this situation so we’re playing Monday night,” VanDerveer said.

Williams scored 21 points and made 5 of 8 3-pointers and calmly pushed the pace on offense as the Cardinal created opportunities in transition. Early in the third, she stole the ball from Gonzaga’s Emma Stach and drove it the length of the court for a layup.

Williams’ teammates told her “just keep playing my game.” That kept her from getting too nervous for the moment.

“Oh no, my teammates they have so much confidence in me it’s hard to think about what I’m doing,” she said.

Stanford (23-10) used a 9-0 run late in the third to pull away and overcame a tough shooting performance by Brittany McPhee, who had 11 points on 4-for-12 shooting. She also contributed 11 rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals.

McPhee missed nine games earlier in the season with a foot injury and the Cardinal played perhaps the toughest schedule in VanDerveer’s 32 seasons on The Farm.

Stanford will face Florida Gulf Coast on Monday after the 12th-seeded Eagles (31-4) beat No. 5 seed Missouri 80-70 in Saturday’s first game — with not a single 6-footer on the roster.

“They put it right on their shirt, they shoot 3s,” VanDerveer said. “The thing I hope is Steve Kerr will take a couple of those shooters and have them play for the Warriors on Monday instead of against us.”

The Hall of Fame coach will face Eagles coach Karl Smesko after VanDerveer won her 900th career game against him at Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, in November 2013.

Jill Barta scored 21 points for the Zags (27-6), coming off their second consecutive West Coast Conference tournament title.

Stanford had plenty of motivation aside from protecting its home court and continuing a special season for seniors like McPhee and Kaylee Johnson, who had three blocked shots. Gonzaga won here at Maples Pavilion in the West Coast powers’ last meeting, on Nov. 18, 2016 — the Zags’ lone victory over nine games in the series.

“We lost last year to this team,” VanDerveer said. “I think our team took it very personally.”