Georgia Finishes in a Hurry, Finishing Long Beach, 87-77 : Women’s basketball: Tall, talented Bulldogs advance to West Regional final to play Stanford.

Cal State Long Beach, which had been speeding along the road to the women’s final four, ran into a road block Thursday night.

Georgia, the Southeastern Conference champion and the West Regional’s top-seeded team, matched Long Beach move-for-move, pulling away in the second half and holding on for an 87-77 victory before 1,237.

Georgia (28-3) advances to Saturday night’s regional final against Stanford, a 73-47 winner over Washington on Thursday.

Long Beach, whose fast-paced tactics and pressure defense had been enough to beat its previous 16 consecutive opponents, scratched and kicked after finding itself down, 75-62, with 4:08 remaining.

The 49ers (24-8) got to within five points twice, and Penny Moore hit a three-pointer with 31 seconds left to make it 80-77.

But Camille Lowe inbounded the ball to Adrienne Shuler, who made a long pass down the court to guard Lady Hardmon, who was fouled by Dana Wilkerson.

Hardmon made both free throws to put the Bulldogs ahead by five and they pulled away after that.

She finished with 26 points. Camille Lowe had 14 points and Shuler had 12. There were five Bulldogs in double figures.

Wilkerson and Trise Jackson had 17 points each to lead Long Beach. Moore had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Moore and Wilkerson will play at the college level no more. Long Beach Coach Joan Bonvicini, with 10 chances in 10 NCAA tournaments, remains without the national championship she so desires.

Long Beach started strongly, Jackson and Wilkerson hitting quick three-pointers to spark the 49ers to a 10-3 lead.

But Georgia was strong on the inside from the outset. Center Stacey Ford tied the game, 14-14, with a layup with 12:20 remaining in the first half.

While Georgia dominated the rebounding, the 49ers capitalized from the free-throw line, from which they scored 12 of their first 22 points without a miss to go up, 22-18, with 9:34 left.

Wilkerson, the 49ers’ leading scorer, was unable to penetrate the inside--where Georgia’s 6-foot-2 Ford and 6-4 Tammye Jenkins held fourth--and appeared frustrated.

She was charged with her third foul--after scoring five points--with 1:30 left and sat out until the start of second half.

Serina Strange and Georgia’s Shuler traded jump shots several times in the final 7:35 of the half to spark their respective teams, with Georgia coming out on top, 39-37, after a last-second shot from the top of the key by Kenya Robinson as the buzzer sounded.

“I was disappointed even in the first half, when it was close,” Bonvicini said. “I never felt comfortable because we were not very intense.”

In the other game, defending national-champion Stanford overcame a miserable first half but dominated Washington in the second to advance.

The Cardinal played without center Trisha Stevens, who injured a knee in the opening minute of the game.

Stanford (25-5) turned the ball over 14 times and shot only 31% in the first half to trail, 30-24. But Christy Hedgepath had 11 points to lead a 25-9 run to a 49-39 lead with 9:15 remaining.

After that it was all Stanford. The Cardinal shot 58% in the second half and had eight steals.

Stevens--a senior who has been plagued with tendinitis in her right knee--watched the game with her leg in a brace and is probably out for the season.