Stanford, Cal headed for third showdown?

STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford senior Joslyn Tinkle would enjoy seeing a rematch with Pac-12 Conference rival California. It would mean a lot to both teams and the conference.

Fourth-ranked Stanford (31-2) was given the No. 1 seed in the Spokane Region of the NCAA women’s tournament. No. 6 California was awarded the No. 2 seed.

“It’s a fun rivalry game; they’re a good team and we went at it earlier in the year,” Tinkle said. “Sometimes if you get that far, you don’t know teams that well. We’re so familiar and it’s great competition. It would be awesome to see that game happen again.”

Stanford and Cal tied for the Pac-12 regular-season title, with the teams splitting the season series. The Bears were knocked out of the conference tournament by UCLA.

Stanford, the Pac-12’s qualifier after winning its seventh straight Pac-12 tournament title, is going for its sixth straight Final Four appearance.