WEST REGIONAL : Gauchos Come Up Short Handed, 82-73

One last look at Maples Pavilion basketball court told the final story on Saturday night.

Five Stanford players played the final 18 seconds--no surprise. But only four UC Santa Barbara players were out there.

The game of numbers was virtually decided by numbers. Third-ranked Stanford hung on for a 82-73 victory over No. 25 Santa Barbara before 7,145.

Next for the Cardinal (26-3) is a West Regional semifinal meeting against Texas Tech Thursday in Seattle. That didn’t become a certainty until the final minute.

With 37 seconds left, Lisa Crosskey hit a three-pointer to pull Santa Barbara to within 79-73.

But all the Gauchos (27-5) could do after that was put Stanford on the free-throw line, and, put themselves out of the game. The Cardinal hit three of four free throws in the last 34 seconds.

By then forward Barbara Beainy, who scored 19 points, had fouled out, leaving Santa Barbara with four players on the court. Earlier, forward Erika Kienast (23 points) left the game with her fifth foul with 1:46 remaining.

Becky Brown and Cori Close also fouled out for the Gauchos, who had only eight players because of various injuries and attrition.

“I still thought we had a chance--even with 48 seconds left,” Gaucho Coach Mark French said. “We kept coming back.”

Said Stanford Coach Tara VanDerveer: “That’s the difference between a regular opponent and Santa Barbara. They’re not going to say, ‘Let’s hand it over to Stanford.’ They didn’t win (27) games by giving up.”

Evidence of Stanford’s depth showed with balanced scoring. It had six players in double figures. Junior center Val Whiting had 18 points and 17 rebounds.

The Cardinal repeatedly opened big leads, only to watch them disappear. Stanford led by 14 points with 8:50 remaining, but Santa Barbara made one last run to pull within 71-68.

“They gave us a lot of trouble with their defense, and we weren’t able to do a lot of things we’d like to do,” VanDerveer said. “We went on a couple of runs--hit a couple of three pointers--and (Santa Barbara) didn’t give up.

“But I think it’ll really help us do well in the NCAA.”