STANFORD, Calif. – Six players scored in double figures and Stanford beat visiting Quinnipiac 81-69 in the second round of the WBIT on Sunday afternoon.
With the win, the Cardinal is into Thursday’s quarterfinals where it awaits the winner of BYU and Missouri. Those teams play tomorrow night at 6 p.m. in Utah. If BYU wins, Stanford will travel to Provo for Thursday’s contest. If Missouri wins, Stanford will host a quarterfinal against the Tigers on Thursday, March 26 at 7 p.m.
Stanford was up four with two minutes to play, 68-64, but closed the game on a 13-5 run that was sparked by three consecutive steals. Chloe Clardy stole a pass from Karson Martin and went coast-to-coast for two with 1:53 left and swiped it again on Quinnipiac’s next possession, leading to a Courtney Ogden jumper. Ogden herself nabbed one away from Maria Kealy on the ensuing defensive possession, which Hailee Swain converted with a jumper in the paint with 50 ticks remaining.
Quinnipiac called timeout after the quick 6-0 spurt, which saw Stanford’s four-point advantage balloon to 10. The Bobcats attempted just four shots in the game’s final three minutes, their only make coming on a 3-pointer from Jackie Grisdale with 44 seconds to go.
Alexandra Eschmeyer scored a career-high 18 for the Cardinal on 6-of-7 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers. Clardy also had 18 and a game-high four steals. Nunu Agara had 13 points and eight rebounds, Hailee Swain had 10 points and seven boards and Ogden scored 10. Mary Ashley Stevenson had 10 points and nine rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench.
Stanford was 21-of-25 at the line (84.0 percent) and 28-of-53 from the floor (52.8 percent). In its last five games, the Cardinal is shooting 52.0 percent (157-of-302).
The game see-sawed back-and-forth in the first quarter and the Bobcats held a 16-15 lead after one. Clardy made a jumper off an assist from Ogden with 9:13 on the clock in the second to put her team up 19-18 and Stanford wouldn’t trail the rest of the way.