GREENSBORO, NC. — The Clemson Tigers delivered the first punch against the Stanford Cardinal in the first round of the ACC Tournament. The Tigers never looked back in their 63-46 win in which they beat the Cardinal at their own game. Rewarded with playing another day, they will match up against the Louisville Cardinals in the second round on Thursday, March 6th, at 7:30 PM EST.

Like the previous tournament game, it was closely contested through one quarter. The Tigers led 11-10, thanks to nine points from Loyal Mcqueen, who finished with 17 in the win. The Cardinal were led by Chloe Clardy and Mary Ashley Stevenson, who each chipped in four points. Although the Cardinal kept the game close in the first quarter, their offense never materialized, and that was evident in the second period.

As the first half came to a close, the Tigers took charge of the game with a 27-16 lead. Although Clemson only scored 16 points in the second quarter, their defense held Stanford to only six points. Throughout their program history, the Cardinal were talented enough to play elite defense whether or not they could generate offense. However, this quarter showed their lack of offense, which gave them a taste of their own medicine. Clemson head coach Shawn Poppie mentioned that his team stayed disciplined and took advantage of their matchups.

“(Stanford) beats you with player movement and ball movement, and if you have a level of discipline, it keeps them playing one-on-one which may not be their strength,” Poppie said after the win. “We stayed disciplined on their cutting actions and stayed chest to chest between them and the basket at all times. They’re obviously much bigger at most positions, so we tried to move them around and tried to use our athleticism to get downhill.”

Although the Cardinal are in a new era and a new conference, their past came back to haunt them in this game thanks to their lack of player and ball movement, with the Tigers being the beneficiaries. Clemson seemingly finished the job in the third quarter, winning 21-14, thanks in part to Mia Moore. Of their 21 points, Moore scored 11 points and finished the game with 14. The Cardinal played defeated coming out of the locker room, which only made the taste of defeat more sour. In the second half, Clemson dominated in the three-point shooting game, making eight threes in 14 attempts (67%). Stanford only made three three-pointers in their seven attempts (43%). In a battle where Clemson proved to be superior, they were able to cruise to victory in the final quarter. 

After dominating the second and third quarters with their discipline, taking advantage of the matchups, and their three-point shooting, the Tigers earned the upset. They will look to carry their momentum into the quarterfinals round, where they have another tough contest. However, they showed against the Cardinal they can beat anyone once the calendar hits March.