No. 4 seeded Stanford women’s basketball will take on the No. 5 seeded Oklahoma Sooners Monday afternoon with its eighth straight trip to the Sweet Sixteen on the line.
Stanford enters into the second round of the NCAA tournament after beating Cal State Northridge, 73-60, on Saturday afternoon. After going down 29-28 at halftime, senior forward Taylor Greenfield and sophomore guard Lili Thompson combined for 26 second-half points to put the Cardinal back in the lead and secure the win. Senior forward Bonnie Samuelson and sophomore guard Erica McCall also contributed 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Oklahoma, however, will prove to be a tougher opponent than the Matadors. In their first-round matchup against Quinnipiac, the Sooners notched 111 points off of 55.6 percent shooting. The team also shot 13-of-29 from behind the three-point arc and had six players score in double figures.
“They are very aggressive on offense, they are an extremely balanced team, they can score on the inside and outside,” said senior point guard Amber Orrange. “They do a good job of focusing on their post and getting out to their shooters.”
Oklahoma’s leading scorers — all averaging nearly or over 10 points a game — include Peyton Little, Kaylon Williams, Sharane Campbell and Gioya Carter. Yet in the game against Quinnipiac, Gabbi Ortiz, Vionise Pierre-Louis and Maddie Manning scored at least 15 apiece, reflecting the Sooners’ numerous offensive weapons that Stanford will have to hinder.
The victor of Monday’s game will face No. 1 seeded Notre Dame in Oklahoma City. The Fighting Irish beat DePaul, 79-67, on Sunday to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
Regardless of the outcome, this game will mark the last time Stanford’s seniors — Orrange, Samuelson, Greenfield, as well as Erica Payne, Jasmine Camp, and Alex Green — will play at Maples Pavilion.
“We are hoping to go out with a bang and have a really good game tomorrow,” Samuelson said.
Stanford will play Oklahoma in the second round of the NCAA tournament Monday, March 23 at 3:30 p.m. in Maples Pavilion. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
Contact Alexa Philippou at aphil723 ‘at’ stanford.edu.