Sun Apr 6 21:53:31 2008

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11 years in the making: Cardinal advance to NCAA title game

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Tampa, FL (Sports Network) - Candice Wiggins put her team on her shoulders, scoring 25 points to go along with a season-high 13 rebounds, and the Stanford Cardinal pulled away from Connecticut, 82-73, to advance to the national title game.

Wiggins, the senior star, was backed by a young Cardinal squad playing in the Final Four for the first time in 11 years. They will face either LSU or Tennessee on Tuesday for the NCAA Women's Tournament championship.

Teammates Kayla Pedersen and Jayne Appel were also solid for Stanford (35-3), which won its 23rd straight game and 35th of the season to set a new school record. The club had punched its ticket to the Final Four with a 98-87 victory over Maryland in the Spokane Regional final.

Pedersen finished with 17 points and seven boards, while Appel poured in 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. J.J. Hones, also a huge compliment to Wiggins, ended with 11 points in the victory.

Meanwhile, the Huskies (36-2) failed in their hunt for a sixth national championship. Maya Moore led the way with 20 points and nine rebounds, but Connecticut was held to just 38.8 percent shooting -- including 7-of-26 from beyond the arc.

Renee Montgomery chipped in 15 points, Ketia Swanier had 13 and Charde Houston donated 10 off the bench for UConn, which had a 15-game win streak snapped. The Huskies had advanced to the Final Four with a 66-56 win over Rutgers in the Greensboro Regional final, but never looked like the same team that had dominated opponents throughout the tournament.

It was Stanford's game from the outset, as the Cardinal used a series of quick spurts to swing the momentum. The first was a 6-0 run used to build an early 8-3 lead, and after the game was tied at 10, Stanford gained control with a 12-6 push.

It was Jillian Harmon who kicked things off with a three-point play, before Pedersen eventually capped the rally with a short jumper near the midpoint of the first half to make it 22-16.

UConn failed to climb back in it, and faced a 40-31 deficit at intermission.

The Huskies used an 8-2 run early in the second half to close within a point, 47-46, but Wiggins canned back-to-back threes for Stanford. A Petersen layup followed to make it 55-46, and UConn never regained its footing.

Stanford's lead grew to 66-56 with 5:19 remaining, and the Huskies couldn't get closer than five the rest of the way.

As the final buzzer sounded, the Cardinal had avenged an early-season loss to the Huskies and now lead the overall series, 5-3. The Cardinal are 2-1 against UConn in NCAA Tournament meetings.