WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP : Hedgpeth, Hemmer Lead Stanford Victory

Christy Hedgpeth scored 19 points and Rachel Hemmer added 16 as Stanford held off a stubborn Montana team with a 66-62 NCAA West Regional victory Saturday night at Palo Alto.

The Cardinal will play fifth-ranked Colorado on Thursday in the quarterfinals, which also will be held at Stanford. Colorado defeated Oregon, 91-71, Saturday.

No. 11 Stanford (24-5) led midway through the second half, 51-39, before Montana staged a 19-8 run in 7:47 to pull to 59-58 with 4:04 to play.

But 6-foot-5 Cardinal center Anita Kaplan sank a free throw and Hemmer followed with a layup and two more free throws to keep Stanford in the lead.

With the Cardinal up, 36-35, in the second half, Hedgpeth scored seven consecutive points on two free throws, a long three-pointer and a steal and a fast-break layup to widen the lead to eight points.

Stanford led by as many as 11 points in the first half and took a 36-31 lead at halftime.

Center Trish Olson led 17th-ranked Montana (25-5) with 14 points.

In other games:

WEST REGIONAL

Colorado 92, Oregon 71--Paced by Jamillah Lang’s 26 points and Shelley Sheetz’s eight of eight at the free-throw line, the Buffaloes (27-4) ran over the Ducks (20-9) at Boulder, Colo.

Ahead, 16-13, with 14:48 to play in the first half, Colorado went on a 14-2 run. DeCelle Thomas had six points during the run and Amy Palmer’s three-pointer put the Buffaloes ahead, 30-15.

Oregon could come no closer than nine points after that, 39-30, with 4:27 to play in the half.

MIDWEST REGIONAL

Texas Tech 75, Creighton 65--Janice Farris scored 11 points, Nikki Heath had 10 and Melinda White eight in reserve roles to negate injury problems and allow the defending national champion Raiders (28-4) to beat Creighton (24-7) to advance at Lubbock, Tex.

The Raiders play the winner of today’s Alabama-Iowa game in the region semifinals, Thursday at Austin, Tex.

Penn State 85, Kansas 68--Helen Holloway scored 27 points, including 11 during a 19-5 second-half run, as the Nittany Lions (27-2) beat the Jayhawks (22-6) at State College, Pa.

Seton Hall 71, Texas 66--Jodi Brooks hit a shot with 1:52 to play to snap a tie and the Pirates (27-4), who blew a 23-point lead, beat the Longhorns (22-9) at South Orange, N.J.

The Pirates will play Penn State on Thursday at Austin, Tex., in the region semifinals.

EAST REGIONAL

Southern Mississippi 72, Western Kentucky 69--Janice Felder scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as the Golden Eagles (26-4) held off the Hilltoppers (24-10) at Hattiesburg, Miss.

Southern Mississippi next plays the winner of today’s Connecticut-Auburn game on Thursday at Piscataway, N.J.

Vanderbilt 98, Minnesota 72--Heidi Gillingham scored 15 of her 25 points in the first half as the Commodores (25-7) beat the Gophers (18-11) at Nashville.

Vanderbilt plays the winner of today’s Old Dominion-North Carolina game on Thursday at Piscataway, N.J.

MIDEAST REGIONAL

Tennessee 78, Clemson 66--Tiffany Woosley scored 21 points as the Volunteers (31-1), ranked No. 1 in the nation in the regular season, rallied to beat the Tigers (20-10) at Knoxville, Tenn.

Tennessee is 22-0 in NCAA tournament games at home.

Louisiana Tech 82, Mississippi 67--Debra Williams scored 16 of her 24 points during a second-half surge as the Techsters (28-3) beat Ole Miss (24-9) at Ruston, La.

Louisiana Tech, which has played in the women’s Final Four four times, will carry a 22-game winning streak into next Thursday’s game against Tennessee at Fayetteville, Ark.

Virginia 67, Southwest Missouri State 63--Wendy Palmer scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and the Cavaliers (27-4) used their height advantage to hold off the Bears (24-6) at Charlottesville, Va.

Virginia next plays against USC on Thursday at Fayetteville, Ark.