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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- Good free-throw shooting was contagious for Stanford on Saturday night.
The Cardinal hit nine of 10 free throws in overtime to defeat
25th-ranked Michigan 81-74 in an NCAA West Regional first-round
game.
Milena Flores led Stanford (21-8) with 20 points, including
5-of-6 free throws. Sarah Dimson, who made only 47 percent of her
free throws this year, went 6-for-7 Saturday.
"Our clutch free-throw shooting made a big difference down the
stretch," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said.
Ninth-seeded Stanford will play top-seeded Georgia on Monday
night. The Lady Bulldogs defeated Montana 74-46 in the other
first-round game.
Bethany Donaphin scored 16 for Stanford, and Dimson added 14.
Anne Thorius led Michigan (22-8) with 19 points, and Stacey
Thomas chipped in 12.
Stanford led early in overtime after layups by Flores and
Donaphin. But Michigan's Thorius completed a three-point play at
the four-minute mark to close the gap to 68-67. Before Michigan
scored again, Stanford reeled off five unanswered points.
In the last 91 seconds, Michigan sent Flores, Dimson and Jamie
Carey to the line, and they made eight straight to put the game
away.
"We were definitely disappointed," Thorius said. "But we gave
it everything we had."
Michigan coach Sue Guevara said she told her team before the
game that the first-round matchup was "going to be a big
middleweight fight and that when the game was over that they needed
to come back in the locker room with nothing left."
The Wolverines nearly ran out of post players. Kenisha Walker
was limited to four minutes after a strained medial collateral
ligament. Stacey Thomas, Raina Goodlow, Alison Miller and LeeAnn
Bies all finished with four fouls trying to battle Stanford's tall
front line.
"I had to take one of my perimeter players (Heather Oesterle)
and move her into the paint," Guevara said. "But she's 6-foot.
... She was able to use her body. But those are big physical
players Stanford has."
Stanford could have won in regulation if it had hit its free
throws late. At 1:05, Lindsey Yamasaki made one of two free throws
to put Stanford ahead 63-62. Flores, an 88-percent free throw
shooter, also went 1-for-2 with 15.4 seconds to play to make it
64-62. Thorius penetrated and sank a leaning one-hander from the
lane with 3.6 seconds to go to tie the score.
Flores missed a long, wild shot at the buzzer.
Stanford opened the game with a barrage of 3-pointers, building
a 25-8 lead with 10:33 to go in the first half on the strength of
long-range shots by Carey (twice), Flores (twice) and Yamasaki.
With 5:15 left in the half, the Cardinal still led 31-18, but
Michigan rallied, mostly from in the paint. Raina Goodlow made
three tough layups at the end of the half as the Wolverines pulled
to within 38-33 at the break.
Stanford led 49-40 with 10:43 to go in regulation when freshman
center LeeAnn Bies sparked a 13-0 Michigan run with a pair of free
throws, a three-point play and a layup.
Thorius's 3-pointer at 7:31 capped the run and boosted the
Wolverines to a 53-49 lead.
Donaphin repeatedly attacked Michigan's foul-plagued inside and
brought Stanford back.
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ALSO SEE
Womens College Basketball Scoreboard
Stanford NCAA Team Report
Michigan NCAA Team Report
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