USC stuns No. 4 Stanford to reach Pac-12 finals
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Seattle, WA (SportsNetwork.com) - Alexyz Vaioletama tallied 19 points and 15 rebounds as USC shocked fourth-ranked Stanford 72-68 in the Pac-12 semifinals on Saturday.
Ariya Crook added 15 points for USC (21-12), but Cassie Harberts was the hero. The senior forward scored 10 of her 13 points during a personal 10-0 run with the Trojans trailing by three points late in the contest. Her three-point play with 1:23 remaining capped the burst and made it 67-60, and the underdog Trojans held on from there.
USC has won five straight tilts and will meet Oregon State in the finals.
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Chiney Ogwumike netted 30 points with 21 boards and five blocks in the setback and moved into a tie with Candice Wiggins on top of the Pac-12 record book for career points with 2,629.
Lili Thompson and Amber Orrange donated 13 and 11 points, respectively, as Stanford (29-3) failed to reach the Pac-12 finals for the first time since the tournament's inception in 2002. The Cardinal had their seven-game winning streak halted.
There were seven lead changes and seven ties during the back-and-forth affair.