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Stanford sacks Blue Devils, heads to Denver

Mar 27, 2012 - 3:31 AM Fresno, CA (Sports Network) - Nnemkadi Ogwumike scored a game-high 29 points, leading four starters in double figures, as Stanford registered an 81-69 victory over Duke in the Fresno Regional Final at the Save Mart Center.

Also scoring in double figures for the top-seeded Cardinal (35-1) were Amber Orrange and Joslyn Tinkle with 13 points apiece, followed by Chiney Ogwumike who delivered a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.

The second-seeded Blue Devils (27-6) were paced by Chelsea Gray with 23 points, hitting all nine of her free-throw attempts, while Tricia Liston tacked on 15 points in the setback. Elizabeth Williams and Shay Selby accounted for 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Duke led early on in the meeting, 4-2, but it wasn't long before the Cardinal was enjoying a double-digit advantage, en route to a 40-25 edge at the break. Stanford shot not only 51.7 percent from the field in the first half, the team also converted 5-of-11 behind the three-point line in the period as well.

In the second half the Blue Devils were able to cut the deficit down to single digits a number of times, but Stanford was simply too strong as the defense held Duke to a mere 2-of-10 shooting behind the three-point line.

Duke, which finished a perfect 16-of-16 at the charity stripe, shot just 21.4 percent on the perimeter and 39.7 percent from the floor overall.

Stanford, riding a program-record 31-game win streak heading into tonight's action, has now tied the NCAA record of the most consecutive Final Four appearances at five with both LSU and UConn.

With the victory Stanford will now clash with Baylor in the Final Four on April 1, with the Lady Bears having run away from Tennessee earlier in the evening, 77-58, in the Des Moines Regional Final in order to remain undefeated through 38 games.