SPOKANE, Wash. -- Pitt's opponent in the third round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament is making its 21st consecutive appearance in the tournament, owns two national championships and is coached by a future Hall of Famer.

Stanford (32-3) is one of the elite programs in the country, but don't expect the Pitt Panthers to be blinded by the star power of the Cardinal when the teams meet tonight in an NCAA West Region semifinal at Spokane Arena.

Sixth-seeded Pitt (24-10) has played one of the more difficult schedules in the country this season. In addition to playing in the ultra-competitive Big East Conference, which has five teams alive in this tournament, the Panthers competed against some national powers from other conferences in the non-conference portion of the season.

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Scouting Report

• Matchup: Pitt (24-10) vs. Stanford (32-3), 11:30 p.m. today, Spokane Arena, Spokane, Wash.
• TV, Radio, Internet: ESPN2, WBGG-AM (970), www.pittsburghpanthers.com.
• Pitt: Advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time with a 67-59 victory against No. 3 seed Baylor Monday night. ... Led by junior G Shavonte Zellous (18.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and senior C Marcedes Walker (13.9 ppg, 9.6 rpg).
• Stanford: In the Sweet 16 for the 15th time and for the fourth time in the past five seasons.... Coach Tara VanDerveer is in her 22nd season at Stanford and has won two national championships (1990, '92). ... Led by senior G Candice Wiggins (19.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg), sophomore C Jayne Appel (14.9 ppg, 8.8 rpg) and freshman F Kayla Pederson (12.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg).
• Hidden stat: Pitt and Stanford have played once before. The Cardinal won, 59-49, Dec. 5, 1986, in Pittsburgh.

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Pitt lost at Maryland by 13 points in November and by two against Duke at Madison Square Garden in December. Maryland is the No. 1 seed here in the West Region and plays No. 4 seed Vanderbilt in the other semifinal tonight. Duke is the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region and plays No. 2 seed Texas A&M in a Sweet 16 game tomorrow. The Panthers also played Penn State from the Big Ten Conference and Arizona from the Pac-10.

"I think the coaches had a purpose in us playing some of the top teams in the [non-conference] such as Duke and Maryland," Pitt senior Mallorie Winn said. "And I think it definitely prepared us for the tournament. So I don't think we're going in with any kind of intimidation. Our schedule has prepared us to the fullest."

Pitt coach Agnus Berenato returned the top players from a team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament last season. Knowing that she had an experienced group, Berenato wanted to challenge them with a tougher schedule.

"I think people thought, 'Oh my gosh, what are you doing?' " Berenato said. "But we definitely had the NCAA in mind. Last year, we scheduled for 20 wins because we really wanted to be in the tournament. This year, we had a veteran team, so I needed to schedule up for seeding."

In the end, her plan worked to perfection. The Panthers made the NCAA tournament and are competing in the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. But there was a time, about a month ago, that Berenato was having second thoughts about the non-conference schedule. The Panthers lost five of six Big East games in February, and their NCAA tournament hopes were in question.

"We went through a really hellacious part of our schedule in February where we played five of seven teams that were in the top 15 in the nation," Berenato said. "And we weren't in the top 15. And we took some dips. So, of course, everyone immediately, from media to people to the community to people across the country, were like, 'Well, we knew Pitt wasn't any good anyway.' We were just like, whatever. But it did get to a point where, I'll be honest with you, we were really stressed. We had 18 wins, and it was almost like, 'Oh my God, are we going to get two more wins?' "

In the Big East, Pitt competed well against most of the teams that advanced to the Sweet 16. The Panthers were 1-0 against Louisville, 1-1 against Notre Dame, and 0-1 against Rutgers.

The only team Pitt did not compete well against was No. 1 Connecticut, which laid 26- and 27-point defeats on the Panthers.

"I feel like for my team, I don't know how they can look at anyone and be intimidated because as long as you're not Connecticut, we feel like we have a chance," said Berenato.M