• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Stanford women handle Colorado in Pac-12 tourney opener

Mar 8, 2014 - 12:41 AM Seattle, WA (SportsNetwork.com) - Chiney Ogwumike and Mikaela Ruef each recorded double-doubles as fourth-ranked Stanford posted a 69-54 victory over Colorado in a Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal matchup at KeyArena.

Ogwumike tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Ruef pulled down 16 boards to go along with 10 points to help the top-seeded Cardinal advance. Stanford (29-2) will face USC in Saturday's semifinals after the fifth-seeded Trojans edged No. 4 seed Arizona State, 59-57.

Lili Thompson and Bonnie Samuelson added 16 and 15 points, respectively, in a game the Cardinal trailed by a 26-21 score early in the second half before dominating the final 19 minutes.

Stanford took control with an 11-0 run that gave the Cardinal a 35-28 lead with just under 16 minutes to play, with Ogwumike and Thompson each netting five points during the burst. A Jamee Swan jumper pulled Colorado within five, but Thompson converted a 3-point play and Samuelson followed with a triple that extended the margin to 41-30.

The Cardinal gradually increased their advantage from there, with Samuelson sinking another trey to cap a 6-2 sequence that put Stanford up 53-36 with 10:36 remaining. The Buffaloes trailed by 13 or more points the rest of the way.

Brittany Wilson paced ninth-seeded Colorado (17-14) with 16 points, while Arielle Roberson grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds in the loss.