Stanford, CA – No. 1 Stanford's size advantage, not to mention its great shooting, was a big factor in tonight's 92-49 NCAA Tournament first round win over No. 16 Sacred Heart at Maples Pavilion.
The Cardinal roster, which includes a 6-foot-7 center and a 6-5 guard, has two players under 5-10, not to mention a pair of All-Americans. There are a handful of Pios over 5-10, none taller than 6-1. That's one reason the home team outrebounded the underdogs 57-28, including 22 on the offensive end.
That didn't prevent the Northeast Conference (NEC) Champions from putting up a fight. Sacred Heart had multiple leads in the first quarter with scoring coming from many hands. Two Ny'Ceara Pryor mid-range jumpers and an Amelia Wood three had the Pios cooking early before Wil'Lisha Jackson added five points. However, Stanford clawed back to grab a 23-18 edge after one quarter.
"This was good exposure for our team," said Kelsey Wood. "But they are so big and strong."
Sacred Heart, which used a 21-point second quarter to celebrate the school's first NCAA win in hoops on Wednesday in the First Four against Southern, had its shining moments tonight as well. There was scoring from nine different players, including Pryor with 12, while Kelsey and Amelia Wood each had eight.
"We stayed with Stanford for the first quarter, and that will stay with me for the rest of my life," said Pryor, the NEC's MVP and triple crown award winner.
Jessica Mannetti, in her 10th season as the Sacred Heart head coach, knew what to expect from the Cardinal.
"Stanford's offense is so different," Mannetti said on Thursday. "Their players are so different. It is certainly going to be a different approach. They're great players and they're going to make big plays and have big moments."
Those moments came in the second quarter during a 13-2 run that made it 34-20 on the way to a 19-point halftime lead. Cardinal senior guard Haley Jones had 17 of those as her squad finished just shy of 50 percent shooting overall in the game.
"Stanford is a dynamic, balanced well-coached team," said Mannetti. "It was an incredible experience to play against that type of talent. I was most proud of our kids because we were not scared by that talent. Proud of the way we responded to some of their runs."
The Pios finish the season with a 19-14 record.
"This doesn't feel like a loss today," Mannetti added. "This is a huge steppingstone toward what we want to build. Why not do it again? The sky is the limit with this group."