COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA TOURNAMENTS : Stanford’s Women Win Back West

Stanford defeated Purdue, 69-58, in the women’s West Regional title game before 4,035 at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday night and advanced to next weekend’s Final Four at Minneapolis, joining Connecticut, Tennessee and Georgia.

Stanford (30-2) picked up the tempo markedly early in the second half.

Anita Kaplan, Stanford’s 6-5 senior post player, provided the spark with two 12-foot jump shots that put the Cardinal up by 39-28. The Stanford transition game had its first major success at the 14:40 mark, when guard Kate Paye stole the ball in the paint and went all the way for a layup and a 43-32 lead.

And when freshman Kristin Folkl, who made her first career start Saturday, drained a three-pointer from the corner, it gave Stanford a 46-34 margin with 14:00 to go.

It was the third Stanford-Purdue meeting in exactly one year. Stanford was the host for the West Regional last year and Purdue upset the Cardinal in the championship game, 82-65.

Stanford extracted some revenge in November by beating Purdue, 62-52, at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament at Jackson, Tenn.

Purdue’s 1-3-1 zone slowed Stanford at the outset, shutting off its perimeter offense completely. But the Cardinal still was effective enough inside to gain a 33-26 halftime lead.

At the other end, Stanford’s man defense throttled Purdue (24-8) inside, most often allowing only one shot underneath, if any. Purdue’s senior point guard, Jennifer Jacoby, knocked down two three-point shots midway through the first half and Jannon Roland, Purdue’s heroine of Thursday night against Vanderbilt, also had a three-pointer.

Jacoby’s second three-pointer, with 10:52 to go before intermission, gave Purdue its first lead, 16-14.

Stanford jumped off to a 10-4 lead, but Purdue made it up and played Stanford tight until a Kate Starbird drive and two inside scores by freshman Naomi Mulitauaopele put Stanford up by 29-22.

The thousand-or-so Cardinal partisans got into the game big time on the last play of the half, when Purdue’s Roland, bidding for the last shot, had the ball stolen by Starbird.

As the teams went off the court at the end of the half, Stanford’s Rachel Hemmer and Purdue’s Danielle McCulley had words and had to be separated.

Stanford got a defensive lift with 8:00 left, when Tara VanDerveer sent the 6-3 Mulitauaopele and 5-6 Jamila Wideman in. In the next 2 1/2 minutes, Purdue got off one shot and Wideman seemed to bother Jacoby while she was trying to run the Boilermakers’ offense.