Four straight Final Fours.

With a dominant 83-60 victory over the 11th-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs in Spokane, Wash., the Stanford women’s basketball team advanced to its fourth Final Four in as many years.

“Yeah, I’m so excited, I really can’t even put it into words right now,” said senior guard Jeanette Pohlen, who will leave Stanford having never missed the Final Four. “Going to the Final Four every year, I mean it’s a dream for people, some people don’t even get that close.”

The emphatic victory that punched the top-seeded Cardinal’s ticket to Indianapolis was the best game Stanford (33-2) had played all tournament, and the win was particularly impressive considering that Stanford faced a sold-out, hostile crowd that was silenced by hot shooting–particularly from the dominant Ogwumike sisters.

“Before the game, I told our team, ‘history will be made tonight,’” said Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer.  “Let’s be on the good side of it.”

Junior forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike made sure of that, leading the Cardinal with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while freshman forward Chiney Ogwumike added another double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds.

The Cardinal shot 65 percent from the field in the first period en route to a 47-38 lead thanks to powerful play from the Ogwumike sisters, who combined for 23 points in the first half.

Gonzaga (31-5) did manage to keep within shouting distance thanks to senior guard Courtney Vandersloot, who once had 18 points in a row for the Zags, and during one nine-minute stretch in the first half, was the only Bulldog to score.

Vandersloot, the only player in Division I basketball history (men’s and women’s) with 2,000 points and 1,000 assists, finished with 25 points to lead all scorers in an emotional farewell game in front of the pro-Gonzaga crowd.

However, the strength of Stanford this season has been its ability to make a run in the second half. By forcing its way into the paint, getting to the free throw line and shutting down Vandersloot, the Cardinal had extended its lead to 21 points after just seven minutes of play in the second half.

By switching to a 2-3 zone defense, Stanford held Vandersloot to just four points in the second half. Gonzaga was the number one scoring team in the nation through the regular season, but the powerful Card defense held the Zags a whopping 26 points below their season average of 86 points per game.

“I think we did a great job in the second half; it was a great decision to go to zone, because they have that pick and roll play,” Pohlen said. “I didn’t know if it was the best matchups for us or I don’t know what it was, but I think our zone really came through big for us tonight.”

A balanced effort from the Stanford starting lineup also helped, with senior guard Jeanette Pohlen scoring 17 points, junior guard Lindy La Rocque knocking in three threes to score 11 and senior forward Kayla Pedersen scoring eight points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

Stanford’s solid team chemistry came in the midst of a Spokane crowd that heavily favored nearby Gonzaga.

“I think that that type of environment gets us really excited,” Pedersen said. “I think it gets our blood pumping, when everybody’s rooting against you.”

The trip to Indy marks the first time that the Cardinal has been to four straight Final Fours, and Stanford is just the seventh team to reach four consecutive Final Fours in history.

Head coach Tara Vanderveer said the packed Spokane Arena made for an exciting challenge.

“Gonzaga has so much to be proud of, what a great atmosphere,” VanDerveer said. “I’m really proud of our seniors and our whole team…we’re very excited to get the win here, and we’re going to Indy.”

Nnemkadi Ogwumike said the Card’s ability to keep Vandersloot quiet in the second half was the difference-maker against a motivated Gonzaga squad.

“Vandersloot is amazing; she was killing us, so we just said ‘Lets zone it up and be as aggressive as we can,’” she said. “When they stopped scoring and we kept scoring, it got really exciting.”

The Cardinal now awaits the winner of Baylor and Texas A&M, who play Tuesday night in Dallas. Stanford’s Final Four game will take place on Sunday, April 3 at Conseco Fieldhouse.