SEATTLE – Once she got the clearance from doctors to be in attendance, there was no way June Daugherty wasn't going to coach Washington State.
Even if that meant she had to view the game from a different perspective and could only be on the actual court during timeouts.
"It was definitely different. Sitting up a couple of rows higher, and able to watch it from a different perspective and then on timeouts, I just tried to help with some of the adjustments that we were trying to do and some of the substitutions," Daugherty said. "So it was really different. I don't want to do it anymore. It wasn't that good."
Chiney Ogwumike had a double-double by halftime, finished with 23 points and 21 rebounds and No. 4 Stanford remained perfect against Washington State with a 79-60 win Friday night in the Pac-12 Conference tournament quarterfinals.
The Cardinal won their 15th straight and improved to 55-0 all-time against the Cougars. But losing to Stanford was secondary for Washington State.
On Thursday, just a couple of hours before the Cougars were set to face Arizona State in the first round, Daugherty had to be rushed to a local hospital for emergency appendix surgery. The procedure was successful and Daugherty's husband Mike, an assistant coach, led the Cougars past the Sun Devils and into the tournament quarterfinals.
But Daugherty felt the need to be there for her team facing the Cardinal. A few hours before Friday's game, she was given the OK to be in attendance as long as she stayed behind the bench while the game was in action. She was on the floor giving out high-fives just before the opening tip and during timeouts would join her team in the huddle. Occasionally Daugherty would linger next to her husband and give instruction as play was happening before returning to her seat, but she followed doctor's orders for the most part.
"I can't say enough about my team," Daugherty said. "To handle the adversity yesterday, it was a major distraction, because it happened about two hours before we took off for the game and again today. And Mike and the entire staff are phenomenal leaders."
Lia Galdeira led Washington State (11-20) with 16 points, but the Cougars simply couldn't keep up with Stanford. Galdeira was limited to just four points in the first half thanks to foul trouble then was hounded by Sara James and sometimes Ogwumike in the second half. She finished 6 of 15 shooting and was the only Washington State player in double figures.
Those numbers seemed to matter little compared with having her coach in attendance.
"Her presence here did it all. She didn't have to say anything," Galdeira said.
Ogwumike's skill on the interior overwhelmed the Cougars in the first half before getting help from her teammates in the second half as Stanford (29-2) finally pulled away. It was the second 20-20 game this season for Ogwumike, who had 27 points and 24 rebounds against Oregon. It was the first 20-20 game in Pac-12 tournament history and her 21 rebounds were the most ever in a Pac-12 tourney game.
James added 17 points — 14 in the second half — and Joslyn Tinkle scored 10 for the Cardinal. Stanford beat Washington State last Saturday in Pullman 72-50 for its 54th straight win over the Cougars. It became 55 in-a-row six days later, although it was a first-half performance the Cardinal will not be pleased about with the exception of Ogwumike. She was 6 of 7 shooting and 5 of 7 at the line and recorded a double-double within the first 13 minutes. She finished the first half with 17 points and 12 rebounds, but the rest of Stanford's lineup was a combined 6 of 20 in the first half.
"We got a lot of contributions from a lot of different people," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "Having said that, we're going to have to play a lot better tomorrow."
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.