Stanford Doesn’t Forget Paris

Courtney Paris was double-covered all the time during Oklahoma’s 19-game winning streak. Triple- and quadruple-teamed too.

Only Stanford was good enough to make it work.

With Kristen Newlin and a rotation of teammates swarming the freshman, Brooke Smith rose to the challenge of being the best center on the court, making 14 of 16 shots and scoring a career-high 35 points to lead the Cardinal past the Sooners, 88-74, Saturday in the semifinals of the San Antonio Regional.

“I cannot think of one post player in the country I’d rather have on my team than Brooke,” Stanford guard Candice Wiggins said. “I’m just really happy that the whole nation could see what we see in practice every day and what a great player she is.”

Paris is, too, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound force who came in already having set more than three dozen records this season. She left with a handful more -- most significantly the NCAA’s single-season rebounding mark -- but most of her 26 points and 16 rebounds came long after second-seeded Oklahoma (31-5) absorbed what Coach Sherri Coale called “a sucker punch that knocked us dizzy a little bit.”

Third-seeded Stanford (26-7) made eight of its first nine shots, including three three-point baskets. The Cardinal led, 19-4, in the first five minutes.

Newlin anchored the defense against Paris, getting help from a different teammate practically every possession. Regardless of whether it was the 5-11 Wiggins or the 6-3 Smith, they forced Paris into mistake after mistake.

She had only eight points at halftime with as many turnovers (four) as field goals.

“I was double-teamed a lot this season,” Paris said. “It was nothing new. I won’t use that as an excuse.”

Stanford will play top-seeded Louisiana State on Monday night, with the winner going to the Final Four.